Disabled facilities grant - unhappy

luckybug

I have just been offered a disabled facilities grant to take out my bath and put me in a walk in shower, but after the man has been out to measure up I am very unhappy. My bathroom is next to my kitchen downstairs, and what the council have offered me is some crappy plastic board stuff to go around the walls with 5 choices of colours which all were revolting, where my tiles are, and some floor covering, that won't match my kitchen, as they are next door to each other I have tried to make the decor flow, so my flooring is the same.
Also offered me an electric shower, even though I have a perfectly good power shower running off my combi boiler, and if they want to put electrics in my bathroom they are gonna have to run cables all the way from my living room right the way through and I am not happy, I just think it's gonna be a cheap shoddy job and am not happy. Has anyone else had work done on a grant? and did you get a choice, personally I wouldn't have minded if they had tiled but I do not want thick plastic covering my walls and tiles.

jaspercat

Hi Luckybug, with regard to your grant, I recieved one a couple of years ago to take out my bath and put a walk in shower in the bathroom, I have to say that I have cables running through my front room but they have been encased in white, which matches the ceiling.

I had a choice of colour for the bathroom floor and choose blue which matches the tiles, they have done a very good job and I am really pleased with the outcome, if the O/T is helping you I suggest you talk to them about your worries. The council will have chosen a very good firm so the job will be okay, help this helps love Jaspercatxxx

luckybug

jaspercat wrote:

Hi Luckybug, with regard to your grant, I recieved one a couple of years ago to take out my bath and put a walk in shower in the bathroom, I have to say that I have cables running through my front room but they have been encased in white, which matches the ceiling.

I had a choice of colour for the bathroom floor and choose blue which matches the tiles, they have done a very good job and I am really pleased with the outcome, if the O/T is helping you I suggest you talk to them about your worries. The council will have chosen a very good firm so the job will be okay, help this helps love Jaspercatxxx

Did they tile the shower area or put plastic board? Also did they just put up a shower curtain or did they put on doors?

jaspercat

Hi Luckybug, with reference to the shower, they tiled around the shower and actually managed to match the tiles all round the bathroom, I have half sized doors and then a full length shower curtain, so it is easy to get into but covers my modesty, I also got a shower chair from the O/T and a handle to hold unto when I am in the shower. The off/on isulation switch is in the hallway, all in all a good job, no regrets love Jaspercatxxx

livinglegend

It's a grant for YOU, not the council. Insist on having it how you want as you have to live with it, not them. :roll: And if they don't like it. Tuff!

Joseph 8)

luckybug

I will see my O/T when she comes, as I am not happy, I am not going to accept what they are offering me, I will see if they will compromise with me and if they don't I will contact my MP, as I'm sure the council is doing this for cheapness. I own my own home, it's not a council property so why should they choose what goes in it?

jaspercat

Hi Luckybug, the answer is that they are providing the money and the people to do the job, and, if they haven't said, they will want to inspect the shower before you use it, to make sure it is up to their standards love Jaspercatxxx

luckybug

jaspercat wrote:

Hi Luckybug, the answer is that they are providing the money and the people to do the job, and, if they haven't said, they will want to inspect the shower before you use it, to make sure it is up to their standards love Jaspercatxxx

Yes well care and repair who give out the grant for the council, replaced my kitchen floor a few years ago, and took up all the floorboards and put down boards, which dropped my kitchen units by an inch and then the floor repairer threw my kitchen back in and it was broken to bits with them taking it out and putting it back in, the tiles had an inch gap below them to my work surfaces, and then the floor into my bathroom which was on the same level then had a step after they finished, I carried on with them, but because I signed a form which I had put in front of me, they said I had signed I was happy with the work, even though the man who inspected it knew I was not, my kitchen was of no use by the time they finished, luckily for me and after an awful lot of trying I won a brand new fitted kitchen, which I could not have afforded so someone up there likes me... So I'm not standing for anymore of their crap, I would rather struggle than have them disrupt my life again. And seeing how they put a thing on my house deeds, I think I should have some input. It's not coming out of their pockets personally, the way they talk you think they were doing me a favour?

mouseymousey

Just to put another side of this (incase it puts anyone off having anything done) the council installed a shower for me this year. I am so pleased, its terrific and it has helped so very much. (I can't manage the bath anymore). The chaps were really nice. It doesn't matter a fig if you own or rent in the end the work is done to help you. May I suggest if you don't like something you could always get any extras you see fit completed afterwards?

luckybug

Call me ungrateful but if thats the best the council can do, I would rather struggle and save up and pay for my bathroom sorting myself, rather than have it turned into an old folks home, I am a young woman with a disability that I have had since birth and have modern tastes, seeing how I coped all these years without their help or assistance I'm sure I will manage a little longer. I'm just glad I applied now before I was too ill to manage. As someone said earlier the grant is for ME, not for them, and they do make me sign to say I won't sell my house for x amount of years, so it does matter if you own your own home, a council tenant wouldn't be subject to that.
I save the council a fortune, as I am entitled to direct payments to help me bath and dress and housework, that I did not accept, I have a good family, who all help me and do everything for me for nothing, and all live very close to me, so I am in a fortunate position. I don't wish to put anyone off getting a grant, and I'm sure that the grants will differ from area to area, as each council will have it's own list of works they provide. I just think my local council does everything on the cheap, and when they price it all up it will run into thousands, yet I could have my WHOLE bathroom done for a fraction of the price they come up with for just removing my bath.[/u]

livinglegend

Just spotted this on the direct.gov.uk website in the section on Disabled Facilities Grant.

If you decide to hire a tradesperson or builder yourself, it's important to choose someone who operates legally and is qualified for the job. You can find information about choosing a builder in the home and community section of Directgov.

This appears to say that YOU can decide who will carry out the work. While you have to contact your local council to APPLY for the grant, the council doesn't have to do the actual work. If anyone is considering applying for a grant ask the question in writing. Then post the answer here.

I would think that if it is a council property they would want to use their own people. BUT???? :?

Edit: copied from Staffordshire County Council's website, (other CCs may differ).

Direct Payment
A Direct Payment is a cash payment to you to buy equipment or minor alterations to your home to make life easier.

You can choose your own equipment or builder and we can help you to do this if you want. We can then discuss with you how the direct payments scheme works.

Edit: Ends

Joseph 8)

luckybug

livinglegend wrote:

Just spotted this on the direct.gov.uk website in the section on Disabled Facilities Grant.

If you decide to hire a tradesperson or builder yourself, it's important to choose someone who operates legally and is qualified for the job. You can find information about choosing a builder in the home and community section of Directgov.

This appears to say that YOU can decide who will carry out the work. While you have to contact your local council to APPLY for the grant, the council doesn't have to do the actual work. If anyone is considering applying for a grant ask the question in writing. Then post the answer here.

I would think that if it is a council property they would want to use their own people. BUT???? :?

Edit: copied from Staffordshire County Council's website, (other CCs may differ).

Direct Payment
A Direct Payment is a cash payment to you to buy equipment or minor alterations to your home to make life easier.

You can choose your own equipment or builder and we can help you to do this if you want. We can then discuss with you how the direct payments scheme works.

Edit: Ends

Joseph 8)

Thanks Joseph,
Just rang care and repair, told them I had been looking at the Gov website and would like to get my own builders in, suddenly they are allowing me to have tiles, suddenly they are allowing me to have a boiler fed shower instead of electric, and now I can choose my flooring. They still seem to have a hold though, they said I could get a builder as long as he's not a relative, and has all his paperwork up to date, and he can quote, but if they can do the job cheaper they get the grant? seems a bit iffy to me, they seem to have the ball in their court all the way.
Still considering which way to go now, as the plan they have for my bathroom I am not totally happy with. But your info was really helpful, many thanks. xxxx

frogmorton

Gosh Lucybug
I hadn't read this thread but what a palavar you're having!!!
Joseph's advice has been good.
You can still talk to your oT anyway.
Also MPs do have a lot of clout still - we used to call it a "Member Enquiry". Bit rude?!
Good luck
Toni x

luckybug

Does anyone know who sets out the rules of what a grant can cover? I'm still not happy, I will get what I want in the end, or they can keep the grant. I had a man out to quote me earlier this year regarding my bathroom as I wanted to know roughly what it would cost to have it refurbished completely, he priced it at between £2000 - £2500 all tiled, new bathroom suite, or walk in shower, expelair and all mod cons, new radiator etc. I asked today what care and repair was giving me in a grant they said £2500, I had the manager down today, he talked me through the work they were gonna do, Firstly without any discussion with me they were gonna change where my shower went and put it on an opposite wall, glad I got them in, as putting it the other way round would make my life harder, as I have restricted movement in my arms and could not use a grab rail that way round, so now they are not gonna replace my shower, they are leaving me with the one I paid for, I asked if he would replace the wood which is rotten at the shower end of my bath where my airing cupboard is, he said no we will just nail on a 6 inch piece all then way down so we can fit a curtain rail? I asked will you move my airing cupboard doors out so that it would be flush, he said no? How am I supposed to open my cupboard doors with this 6 inch piece of wood sticking out?? this makes me mad.... it's gonna be a botched job - and what really gets my goat is for the amount of grant it could be done right. Then he said the plastic tiling sheets he was gonna put around my bath was much more expensive than tiles and tiling, so when I said I would prefer tiles, he said well you can only have cheap white ones, no other option? I just feel they are trying to force me in a corner. I'm not accepting it, I will be getting quotes from builders and may contact my MP. I have RA and am very lucky as I can manage. All I asked for was my bath removing to make my life easier I didn't want a disabled bathroom, I didn't want a big deal, just my bath removing and a shower cubicle putting in. I'm a 43 independant woman, these disabled facilities grants want shaking up, as one size does not fit all. I am only allowed a shower curtain, unless OT says I need doors, I want doors, full size ones, but no I cannot have them - you can only have half size ones and only if you need help from someone else, I do need help from someone so will qualify for them, but I only need them for someone to wash my hair, or rinse it. So why they couldn't put full size ones in is beyond me, as my sister has coped over a bath for the past 20 odd years and no one gave a damn so why do they suddenly care when issuing a grant? so opening a door and putting a hose over my head would make no difference.
sorry for the rant but I have to get this off my chest.
I wonder if this is disabled discrimination? The grant should be for me to make my life easier - not care and repairs ideas of what will make my life easier. Anyone know any competitions to win a dolphin bathroom, my luck just might be in, as I'm having no luck with the council... lol :roll:

frogmorton

Lucybug
You have to get onto your MP if you're not happy You are a unique individual and have a right to be heard.
This is turning into a dreadful saga which cannot be doing you any good at all.
Remember stress is NOT good for RA
You look after yourself
Toni xx

woodbon

I don't know if this still the case but some years ago my brother recieved a grant for a downstairs showerroom for his wife, who was badly disabled. The plan they council came up with was not very good and wasted space. My brother was able to persude the council to change the plans by employing a trained person to come up with something better. They agreed. The work was carried out and was fine. I think you can negotiate with them, or as least you could don't know if this is any help. Sue. xx