Blue badge renewal

ash5896

My current badge expires next week. I made an application for my renewal in early April. An acknowledgment was received in May. A few days later I was asked for more information regarding my points as the letter I provided was not dated within the last 12 months even though my previous award letter showed my award was until 2028.
I called today and have been told that it could take another 4 weeks. None of this has been my fault and when I called the council today I asked if I can use my badge I was told no and I could be prosecuted for using an expired badge. I have 2 hospital appointments within the next 3 weeks and I’ve been told I can’t use it on the streets either so basically that means I can’t go out and about. I know some would say I can park elsewhere but unfortunately my mobility won’t allow me to walk very far at all. So do I pay the parking penalties or just stay in and cancel my appointments till I get my replacement badge. 

calcotti

woodbine said:

As far as I know parking at hospitals is still free, maybe you could get there really early and find a good parking space?

In England most hospitals charge for parking (if you can find any) with limited exceptions.

MarkM88

woodbine said:

As far as I know parking at hospitals is still free, maybe you could get there really early and find a good parking space?

I don’t think I’ve ever come across a hospital that doesn’t charge. 

ash5896

Our hospital charges for disabled parking too I think it might be easier to get a taxi. 

calcotti

ash5896 said:

Our hospital charges for disabled parking too 

I don’t think they should be doing that
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/free-hospital-parking-for-thousands-of-patients-staff-and-carers

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

Lisatho11987777

We have car park charging in some hospitals in wales 

Lisatho11987777

Disabled spots are charged at 2 20 as long as you are displaying your badge 

calcotti

lisathomas50 said:

We have car park charging in some hospitals in wales 

I thought car parking charges were abolished for NHS hospital in Wales back in 2018. Didn’t know they’d brought them back in.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45347166

Cher_Alumni

@ash5896 Would it be worth calling your hospital in advance to clarify if the disabled parking spots are free?  Failing that, your GP/health-care professional might be able to arrange some non-emergency patient transport to pick you up?  Visit this NHS webpage that outlines how to access transport services/get reimbursed transport costs.  

Please let us know how you get on.

Lisatho11987777

Not all hospitals charge but some still do which is annoying 

ash5896

I will call the hospital on Monday but I can’t park in a normal bay as I need the space to get in and out. It might be worth just getting a taxi. I mean I applied in the beginning of April for my renewal and I’ve had a blue badge since 2005 and every renewal the council make it difficult. They want the award letter showing the points and it must be dated within the last 12 months. I’m dreading going to other places and having to park away from disabled bays will be really difficult. You would’ve thought with all the tech that councils could easily verify the award saving this sort of hassle. 

calcotti

You can always ring DWP and they will issue you a letter confirming your benefit award that you can use for Blue Badge renewal.

ash5896

It’s just a nightmare. Considering I applied in April for the renewal and my current badge expires on June 6th it was more than enough time I would’ve thought. 

MarkM88

@bekindalways my statement was in reply to woodbine and not the OP, that’s why I quoted him. 

Where did I claim that anyone lived in a specific location? 

I don’t have to pay either actually, don’t make assumptions. 

66Mustang

Would it be worth displaying your expired badge as normal, perhaps with a short explanation on a piece of paper? If you got a ticket, appeal it; and if it went to court, see them there. I’d think it was very unlikely a court would rule against you and would be very very bad publicity if they did?

ash5896

I didn’t thank of that but it sounds like a good idea

Lisatho11987777

I tried to use an expired badge and still got fined  for not paying 

calcotti

ash5896 said:

I didn’t thank of that but it sounds like a good idea

Sounds like a very bad idea to me. If you try it, you should expect to get fined as Lisa says.

Lisatho11987777

My fine was 100.00  because I was displaying an out of date badge  and parked in a disabled spot without a valid blue badge  but it was my own fault the irony was I was going in to  get my blue badge renewed  it was only one day out I thought I would be ok 

ash5896

Yeah this is the thing I applied in April and it’s still not done this is what I’m trying to say it’s taken so long