Hi does anyone know if the doctor charges a fee for signing the severely mentally impaired certificate, which is needed for council tax discount claim
Thanks in advance.. Exhausted 2015 xx
Thanks in advance.. Exhausted 2015 xx
Nothing new to add to what others have said - my sister's GP signed the SMI declaration without charge. He has also been very helpful with letters of support for other agencies. Good luck x
My Mums council didn't charge any council tax for someone with EMI. To get the relief you had to be in receipt of AA. I don't think they advertise it very much though.
Hi Jenniferpa thank you for replying to this post just wanted to update that I have in fact been charged £20 today for signing the SMI form xxActually while they may try to charge you, this is specifically one of the forms for which they may not charge. It's one of the prescribed medical certificates that they must provide free of charge.
Edit and nitram got there first.
Hi Jenniferpa thank you for replying to this post just wanted to update that I have in fact been charged £20 today for signing the SMI form xx
This makes me so cross.
I personally would print out the relevant sheet of the the document nitram gave a link to, contact the practice manager and ask them why they have charged you. Actually, I'd be inclined to go there in person but I know that can be tough when you are caring. Let me see if I can find how you make a complaint about being charged when you shouldn't be (that is, over their heads, because if they've done it to you, they've done it to other people).
Thank you both I will look into it tomorrow just had not got the time today had to take dad to the hospital for chest xray and it turned into a nightmare no parking spaces no wheelchairs etc so by the time I had got to the surgery with the forms dad was getting restless and needed to get homeTotally wrong that the doctors charged you, it's also not true that you have to get AA to qualify just an SMI is enough. It is true you may have to prove that someone has an SMI and a GP's signature is one way. I applied on line to Salford council, not many questions (from what I recall), they the e-mailed me and I photographed the diagnosis letter from the consultant to my wife's GP and the award letter for DLA and mobility allowance, attached the pics to an e-mail and sent it to them. They cancelled my council tax for the rest of the year and sent me a cheque (£400 or thereabouts) backdating the discount to the date of diagnosis.
I'd e-mail Nitram's link to the practise manager and ask if they're aware what they're doing is illegal, see how that goes down, don't phone unless you record it, put it in writing make them answer in writing, it's funny how peoples attitude changes when there's a paper trail involved.
K
We live in Scotland so some of the legalities may be slightly different. When I first asked our go to sign the form he was reluctant as he felt mum wasn't quite that bad. Around a year later I asked again and he was happy to sign. I wasn't charged. However, the point of this post is to say that our council then backdated the exemption to the date mum first received attendance allowance. There seems to be a real postcode lottery as to how rules are interpreted.