THE Bowlplex in Basingstoke has been accused of discrimination after it refused to offer a concessionary rate to a deafblind boy during the school holidays.

Basingstoke mother Gemma Boys was left fuming after she was told by staff at Bowlplex, at Basingstoke Leisure Park, that her 11-year-old son Thomas Day would have to pay full price during the half-term holidays, because the concessionary rate offered to disabled children is only available outside of the school holidays.

The 34-year-old, from Brookvale, told The Gazette: "My son is deafblind and likes bowling, but obviously will not generally last a whole game, and doesn't generally understand the takings.

"We usually access the concession disabled children's rate that the Bowlplex offer, and this suits as he can usually bowl for a short time because of his complex special needs."

Miss Boys was furious when she was told that Thomas would be charged full price during the school holidays in February, adding: "Unfortunately my son is still disabled in the school holidays. They are using their disabled concession as a promotional tool during their quieter times, which surely is discrimination."

Thomas was born with the rare CHARGE syndrome, which is a genetic pattern of birth defects occurring in about one in every nine to 10,000 births worldwide.

Miss Boys, a mother-of-one, visited Bowlplex on Thursday, February 18 with Thomas, and ended up leaving without playing a game because she did not want to pay the full price out of principal.

She said: "It feels like they are using disabled children to promote their business when it's quiet. That's really unfair."

She added: "Thomas loves to bowl but he doesn't do a whole game. I could have paid the whole price but it's not the point. Using disabled children to fill it up during quiet periods is discrimination."

She has written to Bowlplex, which became part of The Original Bowling Company (TOBC) in December, but said she is yet to receive a response.

When The Gazette asked Bowlplex for a comment, the company tried to justify its decision.

Liz Penney, from TOBC, said: "We have now introduced a new reservations system and new simplified pricing structure. From the start of February our concession rate moved to £2.99 (representing a significant discount of 54 per cent off the standard rate) and is available across the majority of the year.

"However, promotional and concessionary discounts are not available in TOBC centres during school holidays, which we appreciate may have been a surprise for this customer."

She said the support office had received a complaint and responded the following day.

Asked why Bowlplex offers a concessionary rate to disabled children, Ms Penny said: "Like many other leisure operators, we choose to offer promotional and concessionary rates to a wide variety of our customer groups."

Vicky McDermott, CEO of Papworth Trust, a charity which supports disabled people, said: “We applaud the company for offering discounts to disabled children but we feel that if the concession is based on a person’s disability it should be applicable all year round.


“We know that for families with a disabled child, average incomes tend to be lower and the cost of living is far greater. That is why it is great to see leisure centres offering such concessions so that more disabled children can enjoy the same activities as their peers.


“To remove the discount simply because it is a school holiday seems unacceptable, and we would encourage the bowling company to review their policy.”