your blue badge application experience please. Anyone applied who wasn't automatically entitled?

happyfella

Hi, first of all, i only want to hear from people who were not automatically entitled to the blue badge scheme and had to apply for it.

I have been told by my doctor and also by my family and medical team to apply for the blue badge scheme. However, i did apply last year and then i withdraw my application due to horror stories.

I had a bad experience with PIP to begin with and this has put me off from applying for things and going through the assessment process

My situation is, i receive full PIP but i do not automatically get the blue badge even though i get a car.

I have mobility issues but not all the time.

I suffer from chronic pain and when i go to a car park sometimes i am forced to drive around for half an hour to find a space that i can park in, or one that is near enough to the entrance of the supermarket or shops.

Because of this, in recent months i have received two parking fines from private car parking companies because i was driving around for half an hour and left the car park because there was not a space i could get into, so i left. And the parking fine is saying i parked there when i did not.

Sometimes my mobility is ok, other days i struggle like mad and have to be held up due to chronic pain. I fall alot and have been unconcious a few times due to falling.

On a good day to look at me you would think there is nothing wrong with me. on a bad day you would see there is a lot wrong with me.

My worry is, because i suffer from depression due to my illness, that if the assessment is on a good day they are going to look at me and say there is nothing wrong with you and you can walk without help or without pain.

This would make my depression worse, and this stops me from applying. I have on my last application said to them to contact my doctor and they will see that i need help but they said everyone who does not automatically get an entitlement to a blue badge must go for an assessment. i know each council is different.

So, i am asking for people who were not automatically entitled to a blue badge to share their experience good and bad, so i can decide if to apply for a blue badge.

I spoke to a friend who had to apply a few times and each time they had a bad experience. he works for a hospital and has had two heart attacks. they said there was nothing wrong with his walking at the assessment and said because he works at a hospital he does not need help. He told them that at the hospital when he needs to work he uses trolly as part of his work, and they said well you do not need any help then.

luckily his last attempt, they understood his needs and gave him a blue badge. i would not be able to go through this process so many times.

any help and advice would be great

Tori_Scope

Hi @happyfella  

I appreciate that you're wanting to hear from people who've been through the assessment process, which I haven't, but I just wanted to point you towards some information on the Citizens Advice website which you may find helpful. 

You should describe your condition in as much detail as you can. Your walking problem has to be caused by a severe and permanent disability.

Try to estimate how far you can walk without help. If you’re not sure, think about how many parked buses you could walk past before you'd start to feel pain or need a rest. One bus is about 11 metres long - so if you can only walk past half a bus, you can only walk about 5 metres. Write this on your form.

If you can’t work out the distance, write down how many steps you can take without help instead.
Tell your council how long it takes you to walk this distance, and how you walk - for example if you need to take small steps or shuffle.

Describe how walking makes you feel, for example if it causes you severe pain or makes you breathless, so that you have to sit down and rest.

I hope that someone who's been through the process will see your post soon! 

happyfella

Tori_Scope said:

Hi @happyfella  

I appreciate that you're wanting to hear from people who've been through the assessment process, which I haven't, but I just wanted to point you towards some information on the Citizens Advice website which you may find helpful. 

You should describe your condition in as much detail as you can. Your walking problem has to be caused by a severe and permanent disability.

Try to estimate how far you can walk without help. If you’re not sure, think about how many parked buses you could walk past before you'd start to feel pain or need a rest. One bus is about 11 metres long - so if you can only walk past half a bus, you can only walk about 5 metres. Write this on your form.

If you can’t work out the distance, write down how many steps you can take without help instead.
Tell your council how long it takes you to walk this distance, and how you walk - for example if you need to take small steps or shuffle.

Describe how walking makes you feel, for example if it causes you severe pain or makes you breathless, so that you have to sit down and rest.

I hope that someone who's been through the process will see your post soon! 

The trouble is as mentioned each day is different. some days i can walk much further than other days, it depends on how much pain i am in.

easy

Hi @happyfella I too did not automatically qualify for a blue badge but I asked my Dr and he wrote me a letter saying I was unable to walk. I was given a blue badge with no need for a medical.

Reg

I applied for a blue badge this year. I was not automatically entitled as I have not applied for disability benefits.

I thought I would not get a badge as it is ages since I saw a neurologist and have not seen a doctor face to face for at least two years.

I called my local authority help line and explained I could walk on crutches and had good and bad days and my major issue was getting out of the car as I need a wide space to haul myself out.

The help line said they thought I would be eligible and to my surprise I got the badge two days after applying for it with no need to supply any medical evidence or assessment.

I have always thought I would not be eligible as I can walk and have good and bad days but in the bad days I cannot drive anyway ! The badge has made a real difference as although I cannot drive far it makes parking easier.

I was very lucky as I had no recent evidence and would have been put off by going for a medical assessment. My local authority says everyone who does not automatically qualify needs an assessment so just because your local authority says that an assessment is required it may not actually result in you being called for one.

Ross_Alumni

Good to hear you got the badge @Reg  

OverlyAnxious

I think you asked the same question a while ago and I replied but I'll say it again just in case.

I don't get any PIP Mobility because of the tight & inflexible criteria (though I'm more restricted than many that do qualify!). 

I also put off applying for a blue badge for too long as I didn't want the hassle and kind of convinced myself I wasn't 'bad enough' to need one.

Anyway, my health further deteriorated quickly earlier this year and a badge would have really helped so I applied for it online.  I had to send a couple of emails to explain that I couldn't use telephones and I couldn't travel to a face to face centre so would be unable to do an assessment (knowing how bad that looks from their side!) and was surprised to see that they allowed my application within a couple of days.  I found the process much easier than any benefits process, and sadly much easier than accessing any health treatment (which is only accessible if you can travel or use phones!).

Unfortunately I was only able to use the badge about 3 times before I could no longer drive at all but at least I have it now for future use, hopefully being able to start driving again, or as a passenger if I'm ever able to manage that instead.