Ask the Experts

Ask the experts

Who gets a badge, who a sticker?

Q My wife is automatically entitled to a Blue Badge because she gets the higher mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA). A friend of hers, with walking difficulties caused by diabetes, also has a Blue Badge but isn’t automatically entitled to it. The friend says that soon, no one will be eligible for a Blue Badge unless they receive the DLA mobility component. Is that true?
Geoff Jacobs

Q I run a small business with limited car parking and have two clearly marked disabled bays. Because they’re the closest to the entrance of the premises, they’re often used by people not displaying any badges at all. I don’t have the resources to monitor this all the time and I’m looking for a simple sign or sticker that I can put on the windscreen of offending cars. I’ve been unable to find anything suitable and wonder if anyone knows of something I can use.
David Thomlinson

Helen Smith says: First, it’s not true that the DLA mobility component is going to become the only criterion for getting a Blue Badge. People who get DLA at the highest rate will automatically qualify for a badge, whereas those aged over 65 would qualify as a result of being specially assessed. This would also apply to under-65s who didn’t automatically qualify. The main change is that in many areas, instead of a GP doing the assessment it will be done by an independent assessor.

As for putting stickers on car windows, the problem is that if the car belongs to a disabled driver who’s forgotten to display his or her badge, you may be endangering their safety if they can’t remove the sticker themselves. There may also be an issue of criminal damage. So I really wouldn’t recommend anyone to stick something onto someone’s car. If you insist, though,
www.disabledstickers.co.uk has plenty of stickers to choose from. It also has leaflets specifically for people parked in disabled bays that aren’t sticky. That’s the leaflets, not the parkers.

Is it legal to sell a product that’s got essential bits missing?

Q I’m disabled and recently saw an advert for a lightweight folding scooter in the national press and decided I’d find out about details by looking at the firm’s website. The site confronted me with an application form, which I had to fill in, and advised me that the details would come in the post. When they arrived, there was a phone number to ring to get details from another company. What amazed me, though, was that the scooter came without a battery, and that they gave you the choice of buying either a lead acid or jelly battery separately. Can you tell me if this is legal? Isn’t it tantamount to selling a television without a plug?
Denis Shaw

Kate Shehan replies: I’m not an expert in consumer advice but I’d think that a scooter needs to have a battery to be a “scooter” and that to offer one without a battery is mis-selling, as it wouldn’t be fit for purpose. It sounds like a ruse to get contact details ahead of a person-to-person sales pitch (with or without pressure, depend­ing on the company). My personal opinion is that the advert sounds misleading and should be reported to the Advertising Standards Authority for investigation.

Can software make typing easier?

Q I’m disabled and have a lot of difficulty using a keyboard because I can only type with one finger. Is there any predictive software you know of that will save me having to key in whole words? A disabled friend who could hardly use her fingers was able to type whole lines on her Apple laptop as fast as an able-bodied person. Unfortunately she moved away and I can’t find the software’s name. By the way, I can’t use voice recognition software as I have speech problems as well.
Roger Kroger

Léonie Watson writes:
Predictive text is a standard feature on most mobile phones. As you enter the first few letters of a word, the phone tries to predict the word you’re typing. When it correctly predicts the word, you can fill in the rest of the letters in a single step. It’s a simple idea that makes the process of texting on a mobile phone considerably easier for many people.

Similar software is available for your computer, if you use Windows. Usually it’s aimed at people with literacy difficulties, so
predictive typing often comes as part of a wider bundle of tools.

Read & Write Gold from Texthelp Systems includes predictive typing among its features. The £140 package includes a speaking dictionary, text highlighting and text-to-speech capability.

An alt­ernative is the Penfriend XP. For £60 it includes predictive typing and an on-screen keyboard that can be used with
the mouse.

There are also features in Open Office and Microsoft Word that may help. Open Office, the free alternative to Microsoft Office suite, has a predictive auto-complete typing feature.

Microsoft Word has a slightly different auto-complete function. You can set up keyboard shortcuts that automatically fill in common bits of information. For example, you could set up a keyboard shortcut that would display your full address, just by typing in a single keystroke.

For more information, you can find Read & Write Gold at www.texthelp.com, Penfriend XP is at www.penfriend.biz, Open Office Writer is at www.openoffice.org and advice on auto-complete in MS Word is at www.practicalpc.co.uk/computing/tips/010917.htm

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