Disabled Railcard

The NHS has, finally, been dragged (kicking & screaming) into the 21st Century. Sadly, the railways remain stuck somewhere in the 1970's.

Having been Deaf since birth, I've had a lifelong association with hospital audiology and ENT departments. In all those years, I've never even heard of a "hearing aid dispensing prescription certificate" Let alone actually seen one or been issued one.

Hearing aid battery books are no longer issued (in my area certainly, and I'm pretty sure in most, if not all, places) you simply ask for batteries as and when needed, with only an electronic record kept by the NHS. And with planet-saving rechargeable batteries becoming more common, even this is virtually obsolete.

The only proof the railway will accept is a mythical "dispensing prescription" or a long since disbanded battery book! Why an audiogram isn't accepted remains a mystery.

I initially got a Disabled Railcard many, many years ago, using my battery book, which even then was superfluous, and they were happy to renew the railcard each year without proof. Then along came Covid so I didn't renew. Now, I can't renew as its been too long & I can't buy a new one as I don't have the none existent proof. I mentioned this at Deaf Club and everyone confirmed they were in the same boat, with the only ones able to now get a Disabled Railcard those who haven't moved since their battery book was issued and that still have it & dust it off.

It is possible to get a signed form from Social Services as proof, but this has numerous downsides, firstly you've got to wait to be allocated a Social Worker, and as you only need one to sign a form for a railcard, you're not seen as a priority, so you'll likely qualify for a Senior Railcard before you get allocated one. Secondly, the Social Worker (whom you'll meet only once, or possibly not at all) doesn't know you or anything about you & is overworked, so will happily sign anything at all to move on to their next client. In other words, this "proof" is literally no proof at all. This is why a signed form from a social worker isnt taken as proof of anything by any other organisation. Taking an audiogram as proof would prove considerably more.

I know the movers & shakers in the railway industry read this forum, so hopefully there's one reading this now with the power & influence to get the railways into the 21st Century. Incidentally, the rules for bus passes were changed to reflect the changes in the NHS, so Deaf people can still get bus passes as they only require realistic proof, just not Disabled Railcards, because the railways remain resolutely stuck in the 1970's.

In the meantime, it's back in the car.

This sounds really frustrating. Can I just double check the obvious, have you been in touch with Disabled Railcard Office to see whether they can help? Failing that, have you considered lobbying your MP?

Oh yes, they simply quote the rules back each time & reject anything and everything else you send them!

I am fortunate that Hereford County Hospital still issues a Battery card with hearing aids, but I can see them disappearing shortly with a drive to cut costs etc.

Would a doctor’s letter satisfy the requirements?

Haywain said:

Would a doctor’s letter satisfy the requirements?

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Not officially. I have asked what else they'll take as proof, but it's just copy & paste of the same requirements. Common sense doesn't enter into it

Deafdoggie said:

Not officially. I have asked what else they'll take as proof, but it's just copy & paste of the same requirements. Common sense doesn't enter into it

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When did they cease to accept a doctor's written confirmation of deafness, then?

The deaf community seem to have a well established pressure group with some ability to get publicity, perhaps going the route of publically putting pressure on them to justify this apparent denial of your rights would be more effective than individuals trying to satisfy the railway's demand for non-existent paperwork.

Deafdoggie said:

Not officially. I have asked what else they'll take as proof, but it's just copy & paste of the same requirements. Common sense doesn't enter into it

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I thought that was in the eligibility requirements but it must have changed at some point. Perhaps doctors were being a bit to liberal about sending the relevant letters! I think in your situation I would contact my MP, as they have an ability to apply pressure to public bodies and get things looked at. Regardless of political affiliation, most MPs will look at matters such as this for constituents.

I think the quickest solution here is that you get a social services stamp onto the form. Have you actually spoken to Social Services? If you have had any dealings with them in the past then I would phone them and asked to speak to the Duty Social Worker. Then I would send in the post to them the form that you want them to stamp. Fill out the rest of your details already. This may speed things up if you were pro active.

Peter Mugridge said:

When did they cease to accept a doctor's written confirmation of deafness, then?

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Haywain said:

I thought that was in the eligibility requirements but it must have changed at some point. Perhaps doctors were being a bit to liberal about sending the relevant letters! I think in your situation I would contact my MP, as they have an ability to apply pressure to public bodies and get things looked at. Regardless of political affiliation, most MPs will look at matters such as this for constituents.

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In fairness, they've not said it isn't-it just isn't on the list of acceptable things! There appears to be no flexibility and everything is black or white.

Deafdoggie said:

In fairness, they've not said it isn't-it just isn't on the list of acceptable things! There appears to be no flexibility and everything is black or white.

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Yesterday I was able to renew my Disabled Railcard online even though it had expired in April 2021. (I had to request a password reset to log into my account, although I had a record of the old password). I chose the digital option and uploaded a photo, and the new card was then issued immediately after payment, without any request for new proof of deafness.

But my wife recently had exactly the same experience as you. She was eventually issued with a plastic card after submitting a copy of her audiogram stamped, signed and dated by the audiology clinic. However, she also sent a copy of the cover of an old battery book she had stashed away, so it may have been that they accepted!

Maybe I should just send this & see what they make of it!

[Image from google of generic battery book cover]

Deafdoggie said:

View attachment 151103
Maybe I should just send this & see what they make of it!

[Image from google of generic battery book cover]

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It must be worth a try.

I submitted a scan of the letter that Audiology gave me when my hearing aids were last replaced and that was accepted without question.

I thought you can use your previous railcard serial number to renew as it's proof of previous eligibility.

I have since renewed online and there is a record of me online and renewed no problems.

Did you try to renew online or by post ?

My first ever one was by post. They've always written to me thereafter to renew. I guess I could switch it to online, but there wasn't a great need. In covid I had no need to renew & now it has gone too long so they can't renew.

Deafdoggie said:

My first ever one was by post. They've always written to me thereafter to renew. I guess I could switch it to online, but there wasn't a great need. In covid I had no need to renew & now it has gone too long so they can't renew.

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If I recall when I first renewed online I registered and used my previous railcard number to renew, since then I just entered my user name amd password to renew as I'm on the database.

Previously it was paper based then I switched to online renewal.

I always went for a physical railcard.

Let me know how you get on, I'm curious.

Similar to lewisroad, I submitted my audiogram and the invoice for my hearing aids (went private) and got the railcard with no problems at all.

Is this an issue the RNID could take on board? Industries often respond better to a "formal" representation from reputable representative groups in these situations.

Vespa said:

I thought you can use your previous railcard serial number to renew as it's proof of previous eligibility.

I have since renewed online and there is a record of me online and renewed no problems.

Did you try to renew online or by post ?

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I have renewed many times. But there's been a few years gap now, so it's not an option.

elaine66 said:

Similar to lewisroad, I submitted my audiogram and the invoice for my hearing aids (went private) and got the railcard with no problems at all.

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I just a response back saying they need the battery book cover!

Does you hospital not even supply you with something like this This was accepted when I first applied

njr001 said:

Does you hospital not even supply you with something like this This was accepted when I first appliedView attachment 151144

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Nope. You don't get anything. You can go to many places to get batteries, hospital, GP surgery, certain pharmacies, clinics, pretty much any NHS place. Give your name & DOB and batteries are yours. Indeed you can get them for other people too, I used to get my mums. They enter the details to check you're not collecting batteries daily, but there's no paper record at all

Could you ask your GP/hospital to print out a proof of issue, or at least a note that you are deaf?

I think they accept a printout of your audiogram from the NHS too - if you don't have a copy then the hospital should be able to email it to you.

Kumquat said:

I think they accept a printout of your audiogram from the NHS too - if you don't have a copy then the hospital should be able to email it to you.

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I have a copy. I sent it to them. They want the battery book.

bcarmicle said:

Could you ask your GP/hospital to print out a proof of issue, or at least a note that you are deaf?

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They remain adamant they need the battery book

Deafdoggie said:

I have a copy. I sent it to them. They want the battery book.


They remain adamant they need the battery book

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Have you tried applying and having the application sent back or rejected or have you merely asked the question as a customer service query.

What are you going to do then? Unless you are pro active here nothing is going to change. Have you tried actually applying using any of the items others here have reported have been accepted? Also my suggestion above about getting the form stamped by social services by either sending them a copy asking then to stam and return or call and ask to speak to the Duty Social Worker.

The paper form does say,

"A copy of the front page of your NHS battery book, a copy of your dispensing prescription or other evidence that you are deaf or use a hearing aid from an official health provider or local authority."

This is what I used

lewesroad said:

I submitted a scan of the letter that Audiology gave me when my hearing aids were last replaced and that was accepted without question.

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That worked for us too but it was basically the hearing aid receipt and audiology scan that we sent in. The criteria they ask for - eg NHS battery book - just don’t exist any more.