Just in case anyone missed the past two occasions I have attempted to get my Disability Travel Pass they are above.
Well I mustered up the courage and determination to tackle my local council once more, but this time armed with all the paperwork they insisted I had the second time I went and would not even take it any further. I listed all the 13 conditions I am been treated for. But stated on this list that I have confirmation of these condition on accompanying letters from my Lung and heart specialists which confirm the difficulty I have of having a normal life and lack of mobility. I also had a very good letter from the PH association that explains how it can affect me and those with PH. For good measure I copied my 14 prescriptions to show I am under some treatment.
So off to the car-park around the back of the council office and pay as I cannot show my badge as it will be with me in the council office. I have not been any where near my normal for some time since my tablet change so it was not a great trek to the office. When we got there a poor man was explaining in front of us how is 93 year old mother had had a week to quit her house but it has been arranged that she moves on the 28th June with the same department? The Reply was "It is a stock form" so thinking that was going to pacify the irate son she was very much mistaken. At this point I needed to sit down as all we could do was listen to bureaucracy compete with logic. Well it got to people blaming at that point and as if by magic the person named was not in that office today.
Some one further down the office could see my wife prowling the floor while we waited and I sat. "Do you want to come over here and I will see If I can help you!" Up I spring like a snail on a lettuce and get over to the desk and explained I was looking to apply for a disability travel pass and I have bought all my conditions and accompanying letters from the specialists with information that I feel will help the claim including my Blue Badge!
OK bare with me the system has just gone down! Not that long and she was in. OK we need the address and proof supplied her with the driving licence blue badge rates bill electric bill all with the same address and post code. Can you confirm your post code as it is different here? Well a little muttering to herself and it seems it is now all right? We are now on the pass section. OK do you have any of these conditions or a Blue Badge I forgot my glasses so I asked her to tell me what they are? She then pipes up "You have the Blue Badge it is in front of me is it not?" "Yes it is along with all the information regarding my conditions!" "Your Blue Badge is fine i just need to take your photo!" I was at that point of do I bubble up and explode and then probably be asked to leave the office and never get the pass? Or sit tight and then get the letter writing brain in action on the poor way I have been treated. I chose the later. Once I realised my wife was tapping my foot to calm down.
Photo taken and she said it can take a couple of days (Council Days) before it is processed and sent but do not call us until 2 weeks have passed if you have not received it? Once I collected all the paperwork they did not look at I asked why could I not of done this the second time I came? She was quite honest and said it may of been that you did not look unwell enough? I politely told her that as I have unseen ailments it does not mean I am not disabled. You cannot see the 57% lung function the failing heart and arthritis but I can assure you I have to live with it 24 hours a day and it is'nt fun. I also came in with the Blue Badge that time too?
Gentle tug from the wife like the ref intervening boxers and off home. Maybe after 2 weeks there might be another post regarding my travel pass. Just have to wait and see.
Be Well
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Offcut
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It must be your council office - mine was very helpful and completed everything in the one visit after I had downloaded the form and filled it in and taken everything it said I needed. Like you, I took my husband with me as I can get very frustrated with "Jobsworths". The pass arrived when they said it would (a month here), in time for me to use it on holiday.
I am afraid it is a one horse town council so they are not the most efficient. When I moved house I found that they have one person that deals with search's for the entire council area. If she is off sick or on holiday no one else can do it so it can take longer than any other council it seems. With it being a mining area there are a few holes that have to be mentioned.
Hopefully it will come through soon Offcut - what an uphill struggle it's been for you - applause for your perseverance and biting your tongue when you needed to - all best wishes x
I will be writing to the council once I get the pass. As I really feel I have been discriminated against. They have based their initial assessment not on fact and logic but personal decisions and bias.
No, you won't have to wait two weeks Offcut - you will be on that phone next week demanding your travel pass. I have never heard anything so bureaucratic in my life and that is saying something. I really hope that this is the end of a very long saga and that your travel pass arrives very, very soon.
"Maybe you didn't look unwell enough" - disgusting!
That is why the wife took me away she knows how I get when people take what they see is what they think! Especially when you have shown them what I have, but they are not the run of the mill problems that people throw at them daily. I try to be positive with everything and I do put a front on with people I do not know. But as my years go by my fuse is becoming shorter
Hi Offcut, excuse my ignorance but what is a Travel Pass. I have a Blue badge (as you obviously do) I thought that was all I could get? Thanks Maximonkey
It seems that different councils have different things. In my sisters city which is only a few miles away you can get a travel pass at 60. So I have reached that milestone and thought I would apply. But in my council they only give them out when you are at your pensionable age so mine would be 66 now? However they will give travel passes to anyone with a Blue Badge or certain disabilities. Worth looking on your local council website to see what they do It will give you free travel on buses and some trains in our area. gov.uk/find-your-local-council
They seem not to tell anyone these things I found that if I fill in a form I can also get exempt from London congestion charges need to go to the TFL site If you hold a valid Blue Badge in the European Economic Area, you're eligible to register for a 100% discount, even if you don't own a vehicle or drive. this is the form you need to fill in tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/d...
Severn bridge is also toll free: UK and European Personal Blue Badge Holders eligible for an exempt crossing will be required to attend a manned toll booth and hand their UK/European Blue Disabled Persons Badge to the Toll Collector. The Toll Collector will check the presence in the vehicle of the the Badge Holder and the validity of the badge; the badge will be scanned and returned. The barrier will then be raised to allow the journey to continue.
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