A MAN who is registered blind has withdrawn his application for travel vouchers after discovering that he had to use the vouchers simply to collect more.

Geoff Hanscombe, from Maidstone, said he was shocked to discover that under the new scheme, administered by Maidstone Age Concern in Mill Street, Maidstone, he was obliged to visit the office in person to collect them.

This meant taking a taxi to the Mill Street office – and then using one of the vouchers to pay for the trip.

Mr Hanscombe said: “It would cost me £20 worth of the vouchers to collect my vouchers.

“I felt that they didn’t seem to understand – these are for people with disabilities. They are supposed to be trying to make life easier for people but they don’t seem to be grasping the issue.”

“I believe they could send them out by recorded delivery. I found it very frustrating.”

As a result of the issue, Mr Hanscombe said he had decided to withdraw his application.

Age Concern is administering the scheme on behalf of Maidstone council, which scrapped the vouchers last year over fears that it could lose financial help needed for the introduction of the over 60s free national bus pass, which was brought in April.

However, the current Conservative administration reintroduced a version of the scheme in September.

Paul Coles, chief executive of Maidstone Age Concern, said: “We have been quite proactive on this.

“When the scheme was set up, it wasn’t envisaged that we’d post them out. This is because we needed to ensure that there was a mechanism in place so we were sure that the people who were eligible for the vouchers were receiving them.”

As there is no photo identification on the vouchers, staff prefer to meet the recipient in person.

However, Mr Coles added that staff could deliver them in exceptional circumstances.