TV licences and a good rant

[Penny]

very fed up today. I just feel that every penny my poor Mum worked so hard for is being grabbed from her.

She has already sold her ex council house (so not a mansion!) to pay her care home fees. She had so little in savings that she was eligible for Pension Credit and her house was her only asset. Once the house sale money came through the PC stopped. she is paying about £900 a week for her care so her house sale money is rapidly diminishing. She is 96 and very frail having had cancer twice and major surgery. She has arthritis in the spine, kidney problems, replacement knee with very poor mobility etc.

Now they have stopped the free TV licences for the elderly I have had an email from the Care Home to say they believe she will have to pay for her TV licence herself. They have what is called a Hotel licence which covers TV in communal areas But not individual rooms. I looked at TV licencing site and they say there is a Concessionary licence for £7.50 so I will pursue that further. anybody had success with that? Because she now doesn’t get Pension Credit she is not eligible for a free TV licence.

To top it all I read today that we are sending £17 million to China in foreign aid. How outrageous when they are the 2nd richest country in the world, when we are fifth or sixth!!! It is total madness and we should be helping our old folk not countries wealthier than us. My MP will be getting an email tonight.

[sunnydisposition]

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if- ... 20bungalow.

Do you qualify?
To qualify for an existing ARC concession you must be:
Retired
You must be 60 years old or over. If you’re in paid work, this must be for no more than 15 hours per week. You can only work for more than 15 hours per week if you’ve had an ARC Concessionary TV Licence since 31 March 2004.

Or disabled
You must have substantially impaired sight, hearing or speech, a mental disorder or be substantially physically disabled by illness, any impairment present from birth or otherwise.

And living in an eligible accommodation
Please speak to your warden or administrator to find out if your accommodation qualifies for this concession.

It's covered why are the care home asking you - they should sort it.