Hi, my name is Nigel19! Is there any way of appealing or challenging the cost of a key safe?

Nigel19

Hi, I have joined the community on behalf of my Mum. My Mum is 85. She has poor vision and is a little bit frail. She lives in a first floor apartment and there is restricted entry to the apartments. There is a buzzer system which people use on the ground floor to gain access to the building. They ring a bell and my Mum is able to speak to them and decide whether or not she wants to grant permission for people to enter the block. My Mum wants to have a key safe fitted outside the entrance door so if there was an emergency someone can enter the building. My Mum wants to have a medical alert pendant but she needs at least one responder and a key safe. The company that own the freehold want £100 to visit and inspect where the key safe might be fitted and they want £300 for admin fees. My Mum can apply for a grant but there is no guarantee it would be accepted but I was wondering if anyone else has had this experience when extortionate charges are given and if they challenged the costs and if there was any way to appeal against these costs. I look forward to any help or suggestions to my dilemma. Thank you.

janer1967

Hi and welcome 

If you haven't I would refer your mum for a care needs assessment through the gov website 

A ot will come and do an assessment and recommend aids and adjustments these are then sometimes funded 

I had the personal alarm system installed and it didnt cost me anything 

Sandy_123

Hi @Nigel19  as Janer said get an assessment done, you may get funding or part funding. 100 pound for a visit and inspect seems expensive to me. Pendant alarms are good to have tho. 

Nigel19

Thank you all for your responses, very kind of you. My Mum has had care professionals visit her and they will help with the 'pendant' etc. but need my Mum to confirm if she has two responders that will hold keys or one responder and a key safe fitted to point of entry for the block. Key safes are affordable and a neighbour would fit it at no cost to my Mum and there would be no structural damage. There would be four drilled holes at most, four rawl plugs put in place and four screws but it's the £400 total for a site visit and admin costs which is unreasonable. It is a private block of apartments which might explain the high costs. I will ask my Mum to write again to the management and also suggest that my Mum applies for a grant to cover the management costs. It is disappointing though that the management seem to want make profit out of someone's disability for something that is desperately needed.