FYI: We advocate the use of the term 'Personal Assistant' in relation to the person that provides assistance at an event, as this is a neutral phrase that can apply to all forms of personal support. The use of the term 'Carer' does not reflect the reality of the majority of people, who do not require personal care. 'Personal Assistant', is also far more appropriate for a Deaf person wishing to make use of a Communication Support Assistant, for example.
It is unlawful to charge a disabled customer for more than 1 ticket when they require a personal assistant. Here at TicketSellers, we are able to deal with any Personal Assistant ticket requests directly, however we do ask that you consider the venue capacity. If the event is likely to sell out we recommend you keep back a small allocation of tickets or we can reduce your standard entry tickets when a Personal Assistant ticket has been purchased to ensure that your event doesn't exceed capacity.
We recommend that any customers in receipt of middle or higher rate DLA or any level of PIP are entitled to a Personal Assistant ticket, and that you do consider the needs of any customers not in receipt of these benefits on a case by case basis.
We advise that free Personal Assistant tickets are added as a 'secret ticket' away from public view, simply to stop unscrupulous customers from 'buying' these when they are not entitled. Our usual advise is that a customer purchases a full price ticket, and then contacts us by either phone quoting their order ID number, so we can add the PA tickets to the customers account. However, if you wish for the tickets to be processed in a different manner, please contact us here and we will be happy to help.
Asking for evidence
- If you require proof of eligibility before issuing Personal Assistant tickets, we suggest stating that the following forms of copied evidence make an individual ‘automatically eligible’:
- Front page of DLA / PIP (no specific rate)
- Front page of Attendance Allowance letter (no specific rate)
- Evidence that registered severely sight impaired (blind)
- Recognised Assistance Dog ID card
- Credibility's Access Card
- In addition, we recommend adding a statement suggesting that you will review an application without the recommended evidence on a case-by-case basis.
- We do not recommend that you explicitly ask for a doctor’s letter for automatic eligibility, as this can involve an additional cost to the disabled person.
We thoroughly recommend www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk for resources and practical guides on improving Deaf and disabled people's access to live music and events.
If you need any further guidance, or have any questions, please contact us here