DS1500 and Blue Badge

Hi Tessa (Homealone)  I already had DWP and a Blue Badge when they changed it all to PIP. In Scotland, everyone who applied for the 'new' PIP was called in for a medical assessment and they were therefore running about 3 months over time! I phoned and explained my BB was about to run out and I couldn't wait another 3 months to get it renewed and asked what I should do! I was told if I get the higher rate of PIP, you automatically get your BBadge but you could also get it even if you didn't get awarded the Benifit by going to my GP. I had to get a form from my Local Council Office, take it to my GP who filled it in, then I took it back to council offices where I emphasised how important it was I get it before the one I had ran out! They told me I could still use the outdated one as long as the application for a new one had been sent.

About 8 days later the Council rang me to say my badge was ready to be picked up, they didn't want to post it! I picked it up. It was 6 weeks later before I got the appointment for the assessment and a further 7 weeks until the letter came in saying I had been awarded PIP. I'm not sure if different councils have different rules etc but just thought I'd let you know I didn't have to wait for a decision about PIP to get my Blue Badge. I honestly don't know what I'd do without it! Good luck. It might be worth phoning your GP surgery to see if they have the same arrangement with your Local Council! 

Do you already have a Blue Badge or will this be your first?

I'm probably too late to join in with this, but I'm going through this at the moment.

I got my PIP renewal through in November or December as it runs out in June, then I got my blue badge renewal at the end of December. I called up the blue badge people to tell them I was renewing PIP and so didn't have a benefits letter to send them. So they told me the best thing to do was go through the assessment application.

There were about ten pages of questions to answer, asking about what I can and can't do, what's wrong with me, what medications I'm on, etc etc. So I filled it all in and attached the proof of address and a passport photo, and a copy of my passport. It took about 3 days and I got an email back saying I'd been approved and so to pay my £10 for it ASAP.

PIP on the other hand...... Still waiting. Did get a call at some ridiculously early time waking me up and asking me for details of my consultants. I'd filled in with my GP as the point of contact as he has an overview of everything going on, and I see him a lot more regularly and talk more in depth about things than I do with my specialists. So I started listing off the 10 or so specialists I see, and the guy on the phone got a bit flustered. lol. I pointed out this was why I only listed my GP! But he insisted on getting the details for my thyroid oncologist and specialist nurse. Apparently, if they can get sufficient info from from them, then I won't need an assessment. So I'm guessing I'll need an assessment, because my thyroid oncologist that I see once every 6 months, is always surprised when I tell her the same things I told her the time before, and the time before that. So I'm not holding out much hope.

Lass

xx

Hi Lass, I don't think anyone can be too late to join in any discussion! You know when I was reading your post I wondered how many more of us needed to renew their Blue Badges not long before the renewal date for PIP, so they don't have the correct paperwork for making it straight forward!

I'm curious, what is the £10 for? I don't remember having to pay anything! Is this new?

Well, the first option she gave me was stupid. She said I could send her a letter covering the current PIP and get a blue badge to cover me Feb to June. I asked if I'd have to pay £10 for that and then when I renew in June another £10, and she said I would. So I def wasn't going to do that as it's a complete waste of money.

So I ended up with the really complicated form to fill in. Though whoever wss doing it, possibly just looked at the length of the list of medications, and the length of the list of conditions and immediately accepted it. Lol

And a blue badge costs up to £10 in England, up to £20 in Scotland, is £10 in northern Ireland, and is free in Wales. It's been that way since I first started getting one 6 or 7 years ago certainly. I don't know about before that though.

Lass

Xx

I have just received my reminder to renew my blue badge and I have a Now Card for free or concessionary travel on the buses depending on when you travel. 

I did my renewal for the Nowcard last week completed the form sent off the first page of my PIP letter which I got in November and forgot about it. Then yesterday I got a letter back saying my award letter needed to be within the last year. 

The letter was dated 15th Nov 2019 so I could not see what was wrong with it. But when I read it again it said I was awarded PIP for the foreseeable future. It did not give a date, later in the correspondence it said they would contact me again in 2029. I have emailed nowcard again but I am certainly not happy sending the whole letter as it gives very personal information and details which have no relevance to whether I need a bus pass. I think the fact it states I get enhanced rate should suffice. 

However I am now concerned I might have the same issue regarding the blue badge. 

I will try to get hold of PIP next week to see if they can send me a letter that states my award and the duration without my personal details of inability being viewed by all. 

On a more personal note I have a funeral to attend tomorrow of my husband's cousin. She found out she had cancer 3 weeks before Christmas after going to A&E in agony but her GP just kept giving her gaviscon. It was quite a shock and weird as she had it everywhere I did and was only 52 but it spread like wild fire. It has left me feeling quite strange I am of course very upset for the family but I also feel guilty that I am still here and she is not. The family are lovely but I know tomorrow I will feel even more uneasy. 

Take care all