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

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Nigel19
Nigel19 Community member Posts: 7 Listener
edited October 2021 in Benefits and financial support
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.
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  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
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    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 


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  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,663 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi Nigel and another welcome to scope, hope you are ok, the advice @janer1967 is sound advice, can we assume this is a private block of apartments? the charges do seem unreasonable and you could write to them explaining that your mum simply can't afford them (id that's the case?). But having said that she should apply for the grant first and see what happens.
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

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  • Sandy_123
    Sandy_123 Scope Member Posts: 50,753 Disability Gamechanger
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    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. 
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  • Nigel19
    Nigel19 Community member Posts: 7 Listener
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    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.
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  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,663 Disability Gamechanger
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    Before he passed away my dad had key safe next to the door of his flat which was also a private flat, it also had a lock that could be unlocked from the outside even if locked from the inside and the key left in the door (if that makes sense?)
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

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