Dla renewal refused

[foggiepete]

I sent in an a letter stating that I wanted to appeal against their decision more than eight weeks ago.

To date I have not even had an acknowlegment from DWP that they have received the letter. (Very strange).

I highlighted all the excuses they used to deny me DLA and reasons why I disagree.

Here is just one of their reasons........

 

Mr T_ _ _ _ _ has no problem turning over and adjusting his sleeping position or bed covers as he could use ........his right hand and both arms.

 

Well excuse me!

My left arm has all of a sudden grown back again.

Call the newspapers!

A miracle has happened.

 

Makes you wonder what kind of people work at DWP.

 

I am going to phone them tommorow to check whether they received my letter or not.

I expect the answer to be no.

 

I still have copies of the letter but I expect to have to submit a fresh claim, knowing them and how they so conveniently can lose someones letters.

[djgordyp]

Have you thought about contacting your MP over this. In my 45 years on this planet I have come to the conclusion that the more entitled you are to benefits, the harder you have to fight for them. Then there are the ones who seem to have no problem getting more than they're entitled to.

[foggiepete]

So true!

 

I did not ask for this life changing accident.

But, I feel so let down by......the system, I can understand why people just give up.Its as though they just throw you to the rubbish tip and forget about us.

These days with the astonishing rise in day to day living, have our benefits gone up ?...............NO !

And they speak about discrimination.

I am now getting the same money as someone who is classed as temporally sick.

Or the same as a junkie gets.

As I keep hearing .....The law says this is how much you need to live on, so get on with it.

What kind of quality of life are we supposed to have.

Who the hell works that out?

 

Yes, I have been abroad many times but that was my savings, now gone.

I got my mobility award back so I could go and order another car, truth being, I can't afford to pay for the adaptions or the petrol to put in it.

 

One thing that I have realised is, that all these so called decision makers (that can and do ruin our lives) have not got a clue.They cannot begin to understand people with dissabilities and how it affects us.They are very poorly trained and most of the staff at DWP I have spoken to are always blaming someone else.

The only people that understand dissability are ourselves, not some jumped up decision maker who has done a couple of hours training and think they know it all.

 

Speaking about those that seem to get everything.......

Guy in my village just recently got awarded DLA.He now has a motability car for himself.

What does he do in his spare time.......................Teaches LINE DANCING!

It doesn't make sense.

This country is now ruined and if I could I would be gone in five minutes.

As for contacting my local MP I don't even know who he or she is.

I will have to look in to that.

[callumsgran]

Speaking about those that seem to get everything.......

Guy in my village just recently got awarded DLA.He now has a motability car for himself.

What does he do in his spare time..................... ..Teaches LINE DANCING!

It doesn't make sense.>>>>>>>

 

No it doesnt make sense and it makes my blood boil, perhaps you should sign up for his classes and ask him how he can manage to dance and get DLA when you cant!!??

Best of luck with your personal fight Pete, will be thinking of you

And find out who your MP is (its always handy to know who it is lol)

[legalpickle]

So true!

 

I did not ask for this life changing accident.

But, I feel so let down by......the system, I can understand why people just give up.Its as though they just throw you to the rubbish tip and forget about us.

These days with the astonishing rise in day to day living, have our benefits gone up ?...............NO !

And they speak about discrimination.

I am now getting the same money as someone who is classed as temporally sick.

Or the same as a junkie gets.

As I keep hearing .....The law says this is how much you need to live on, so get on with it.

What kind of quality of life are we supposed to have.

Who the hell works that out?

 

Yes, I have been abroad many times but that was my savings, now gone.

I got my mobility award back so I could go and order another car, truth being, I can't afford to pay for the adaptions or the petrol to put in it.

 

One thing that I have realised is, that all these so called decision makers (that can and do ruin our lives) have not got a clue.They cannot begin to understand people with dissabilities and how it affects us.They are very poorly trained and most of the staff at DWP I have spoken to are always blaming someone else.

The only people that understand dissability are ourselves, not some jumped up decision maker who has done a couple of hours training and think they know it all.

 

Speaking about those that seem to get everything.......

Guy in my village just recently got awarded DLA.He now has a motability car for himself.

What does he do in his spare time.......................Teaches LINE DANCING!

It doesn't make sense.

This country is now ruined and if I could I would be gone in five minutes.

As for contacting my local MP I don't even know who he or she is.

I will have to look in to that.

 

I agree 100% foggiepete. I've just read your thread and it's absolutely abominable!

 

I would report that guy in your village anonymously, by whistleblowing on him. Teach him what he's worth!

 

I would also leave this damned country if I could. I made 3 applications for DLA till I finally got what I'm entitled to. I was put through hell by those idiots!

 

It's disgusting the way this country has become and I am planning to leave as soon as I physically can. I expect to be outa here by 2011 absolute latest. The place completely sucks.

 

You should complain about the way you were treated to DWP, and you may get some compensation for that.

 

Also, I would advise that you write a complaint to your MP about everything that's gone on, it may - though probably not, knowing those fraudsters [the biggest of the lot!] - help.

 

Another poster posted on this thread a link to Home : Benefits and Work that I'm looking at now and it seems interesting. You may want to look into it.

 

I would also contact Social Services for some help if I were you to deal with this, because it is obviously - and understandably - causing you quite a bit of distress.

 

Good luck & please keep us posted.

 

I'm rooting for you - though how much good that'll do I doubt, but nonetheless, the thoughts are there.

[foggiepete]

Thanks all for the support and kind words folks,

 

Latest update:

 

I recieved a letter from DWP this morning (9 weeks later), I was going to phone them today, (I kept putting it off)

 

They state:

 

You made an appeal against a decision about disability living allowance.

We have looked again at the facts and evidence we used to make our decision.As a result we have changed the decision. :grin:

Personal care

They have now awarded me the middle rate of care component.

Help with getting around

Higher rate.

 

Finally its nearly sorted.

I am happier with the decision as this means I now get back what I used to get,(minus a few quid) being the difference between middle and higher rate personal care.

This has been awarded with no end date, which means its for the rest of my life.

I don't think I will take it any further and appeal for the higher rate personal care.

I think that would be pushing my luck a bit too far.

I have also got my claim back-dated to when I first got refused DLA from 15/03/2008 to date.

So a big payment is due to me for personal care.

Which details of are in the letter. (To be paid tommorow)

YAHOO !

 

Next:

 

I then looked up benefit advice on the internet, and as I recall, I can now get back Income support if I receive the middle rate personal care component,

Well thats what it states on the DWP website.

I phoned Income support and asked them about this.

They are sure I am correct.

They are now going to look into this, and send me forms to fill in.

I did state that this was an ongoing appeal and I was assured weeks ago that if I was awarded Income support back I would get it back-dated.

 

But of course the person I spoke to did not know.

They owe me a fortune if my calculations are right.

I will be chasing them up about this, as they are quick enough to stop paying you.

This will also make a difference to me having to pay part of my rent. (Which I have been doing since March).

My local council stated that if I got back Income support they would pay me back.......every penny I paid towards my rent.

I don't hold much hope about this as I expect them to put my rent in credit with the ammount I have paid.

This is no good to me as my award has no end date which means the money sits in my account in credit for the rest of my life

 

It just goes to show that if you stick by your guns you can win.And without going to a Tribunal, which I stated I still wanted to go ahead with.

They must realise they made a BIG mistake, an apology would be nice.

Someone should be keel-hauled for this farce.

There was no way I was going to lie down and give up.

I now know my rights and stuff them

How many other people have they done this to ?.

 

I will keep posting about how things go, and cannot thank everyone enough for the good wishes and support I have received on this board.

I just hope everyone else gets things sorted out as I have.

This makes a huge difference to my quality of life and no more sleepless nights.

 

Now, where is my Passport ?

I need another holiday

Thailand here I come, again.

 

Best Wishes to everyone

Pete

[legalpickle]

Thanks all for the support and kind words folks,

 

Latest update:

 

I recieved a letter from DWP this morning (9 weeks later), I was going to phone them today, (I kept putting it off)

 

They state:

 

You made an appeal against a decision about disability living allowance.

We have looked again at the facts and evidence we used to make our decision.As a result we have changed the decision. :grin:

Personal care

They have now awarded me the middle rate of care component.

Help with getting around

Higher rate.

 

Finally its nearly sorted.

I am happier with the decision as this means I now get back what I used to get,(minus a few quid) being the difference between middle and higher rate personal care.

This has been awarded with no end date, which means its for the rest of my life.

I don't think I will take it any further and appeal for the higher rate personal care.

I think that would be pushing my luck a bit too far.

I have also got my claim back-dated to when I first got refused DLA from 15/03/2008 to date.

So a big payment is due to me for personal care.

Which details of are in the letter. (To be paid tommorow)

YAHOO !

 

Next:

 

I then looked up benefit advice on the internet, and as I recall, I can now get back Income support if I receive the middle rate personal care component,

Well thats what it states on the DWP website.

I phoned Income support and asked them about this.

They are sure I am correct.

They are now going to look into this, and send me forms to fill in.

I did state that this was an ongoing appeal and I was assured weeks ago that if I was awarded Income support back I would get it back-dated.

 

But of course the person I spoke to did not know.

They owe me a fortune if my calculations are right.

I will be chasing them up about this, as they are quick enough to stop paying you.

This will also make a difference to me having to pay part of my rent. (Which I have been doing since March).

My local council stated that if I got back Income support they would pay me back.......every penny I paid towards my rent.

I don't hold much hope about this as I expect them to put my rent in credit with the ammount I have paid.

This is no good to me as my award has no end date which means the money sits in my account in credit for the rest of my life

 

It just goes to show that if you stick by your guns you can win.And without going to a Tribunal, which I stated I still wanted to go ahead with.

They must realise they made a BIG mistake, an apology would be nice.

Someone should be keel-hauled for this farce.

There was no way I was going to lie down and give up.

I now know my rights and stuff them

How many other people have they done this to ?.

 

I will keep posting about how things go, and cannot thank everyone enough for the good wishes and support I have received on this board.

I just hope everyone else gets things sorted out as I have.

This makes a huge difference to my quality of life and no more sleepless nights.

 

Now, where is my Passport ?

I need another holiday

Thailand here I come, again.

 

Best Wishes to everyone

Pete

 

 

WELL DONE FOGGIEPETE!!!

 

Make a complaint about their abominable behaviour, call your DWP office to ask for a complaint form. You may get some compensation. Also write to your MP. Hopefully - though doubtfully - some heads will roll because of this.

 

What did they gain? Nothing! At the end of the day they have paid you almost the same and spent some time trying to ruin you, so they've lost on staff time! It just doesn't make sense!

 

Please keep us posted and let us know how you screw the neighbour who's tried to screw you and others. I'd love to see their faces when they get screwed and suffer for all the misery they've caused you!

[Bungitin]

Hi,, My Certificate of Entitlement runs out in Feb '09. The back of the Certificate is a bit ambiguous and sort of suggests that if I need to reapply they will send me a new application form six months before (which would have been in August) .. Just to explain I managed to get the Higher level Mobility allowance after a nightmare experience claiming the allowance 5 years ago.. The DWP sent round their own Doctor to assess my health after a long battle and his report swung it...

 

I have to say that I am really anxious about going through all that again.Do you think that I will have to claim again or is the fact that they hav'nt as yet (and touch wood they won't) contacted me significant.. regards Bungitin

[foggiepete]

Sorry for the late reply,

Just returned from Thailand yesterday.

 

As far as I am aware, if your claim runs out on Feb 09 (meaning if it has an end date), I'm sorry to say that you will have to go through all the hassle of re-applying all over again.

They will definately contact you soon regarding this.

But don't let them get you down, you can win, make sure you visit your local GP and tell him the DWP will be contacting him about your claim renewal and he should be able to help or if you attend specialist doctors ask them for a report about your medical problems.

The more reports you can submit to DWP the better.

[Bungitin]

Sorry for the late reply,

Just returned from Thailand yesterday.

 

As far as I am aware, if your claim runs out on Feb 09 (meaning if it has an end date), I'm sorry to say that you will have to go through all the hassle of re-applying all over again.

They will definately contact you soon regarding this.

But don't let them get you down, you can win, make sure you visit your local GP and tell him the DWP will be contacting him about your claim renewal and he should be able to help or if you attend specialist doctors ask them for a report about your medical problems.

The more reports you can submit to DWP the better.

Thanks for your reply.. not heard anything as yet from DLA

[Bookworm]

[Bookworm]

Foggiepete, I'd recommend you join Benefits & Work - it helped me deal with hubby's DLA claim. Once you're a member you have access to all kinds of paperwork and can download guides that take you through all the forms step by step, help you with the 'correct' wording to make the best possible claim.

Home : Benefits and Work

All of which have to be paid for. I have just joined and every single one of their guides carries a fee of nearly £20. Let's make some money ouf of the disabled. Disgusting.

[callumsgran]

All of which have to be paid for. I have just joined and every single one of their guides carries a fee of nearly £20. Let's make some money ouf of the disabled. Disgusting.

You are joking? Really?

I thought you only had to pay once?

[Missy Allen]

I have read your thread with absolute disbelief. I have a neighbour who has been awarded full DLA (got a car as well) and he is quite fully abled to climb up ladders, paint his house, dig, remove large concrete posts, wheel barrow a large amount of concrete a considerable distance so I find your case unbelievable. I would be inclined to contact your MP. Maybe they should stop giving DLA to unworthy cases. My deepest sympathies.

[Bookworm]

You are joking? Really?

I thought you only had to pay once?

You could be right, I didn't go as far as paying for a subscription, that's not how it read to me, but I could have misunderstood their system. Either way it charges... :-|

[tiglet]

There are usually local charities which will help you with this FOC. I know I'm getting a lot of help from Kent Autistic Trust.

[callumsgran]

You could be right, I didn't go as far as paying for a subscription, that's not how it read to me, but I could have misunderstood their system. Either way it charges... :-|

I think you do only pay a yearly sucscription of £19 ish hun

Still a bit cheeky though eh?

[callumsgran]

I have read your thread with absolute disbelief. I have a neighbour who has been awarded full DLA (got a car as well) and he is quite fully abled to climb up ladders, paint his house, dig, remove large concrete posts, wheel barrow a large amount of concrete a considerable distance so I find your case unbelievable. I would be inclined to contact your MP. Maybe they should stop giving DLA to unworthy cases. My deepest sympathies.

Thats disgusting, but a lot of it goes on

And its people like that who make it harder for genuine claimants

 

 

I'm not normally a dobber but i know what i would do!

[tiglet]

Of course, he could have DLA for a non-physical disability.

[Bookworm]

Sorry to Pete for hijacking his thread, but hang on a minute, MissyAllen and CG: How do you know he is not genuinely disabled? Not all disabilities are visible, you know. Terminal illnesses in particular have a habit of masquerading very well. Or chronic issues. Or mental health issues.

 

I have a child who's got Asperger's Syndrome (a form of autism for those who haven't heard of it, of which there are many). Outwardly, he looks the average 11 years old. But odds are that he will never be able to have a job, will never be able to live independently, will be mainly confined to home all his life. He gets DLA higher care and lower mobility. His renewal is due when he turns 12, and I am going to push harder for higher mobility this time, because as he gets older and bigger, it means that when he goes into meltdown, his issues are even more significantly different from another child of his age. When he was 5, him running in the tram path was a lot easier to deal with than now where he's nearly my height and a damn sight faster .

 

But if one of you kind people were to see him in the garden helping me carrying a flower pot or coming back from shopping and chatting and laughing, you'd be quick to condemn and point the finger, wouldn't you? Well, shame on you. Try to open your narrow mind to the fact that not everyone carries their disability on the outside.

 

For one Pete who should never have been put through all this but finally got justice done, there are hundreds, possibly thousands of people who miss out on what they're entitled to, so the sooner we eradicate this kind of judgmental thinking (and I use the word loosely), the sooner these people might be able to obtain the help they need.

[tiglet]

Hear hear, Bookie!

 

My son has also just been diagnosed with Asperger's and I intend to apply (again) for DLA now that he has been definitively diagnosed.

 

Even my mother-in-law won't accept the diagnosis because he seems so "normal" - except when he isn't. Again, I don't know what the future holds, but as he is very high-functioning, he may well be able to go to university or hold down a job - but only with the right help and support.

 

Unfortunately, some of that help and support (for us and him) is going to cost money - if the government doesn't fund that, why shouldn't we get funding from them in a different way? At the end of the day, he has a disability so there is no reason why he shouldn't be helped with that so he can become a "useful" member of society one day.

 

As a parent, it takes so much more effort to look after a child like this. My son is off school today because he has a toothache - it has taken two days of not eating and two nights of not sleeping (and a planned trip to the doctor's this morning) to establish what is wrong. Job done? no, now I have to get him there (after trying to persuade him that wearing shorts and a T-shirt in the freezing cold is not a good idea and get pain medication down his throat) and then try to get him to open his mouth for the dentist and allow him to look inside without him having a full melt-down. Oh, and pay for a childminder to look after my toddler because as he is now so much bigger, I cannot physically manage him and her when he goes into one, which he will.

 

Now, to speak to him or look at him, the majority of people would see nothing different about him unless he was having a melt-down - a bit pedantic, perhaps, but a lovely loving child who has a few quirks. When he has one of his moment, people look at me as if he ought to be sectioned. fortunately, meltdowns outside the home are rare - he usually saves them up for when he gets home and then its like the lid blowing off a pressure cooker - but a neighbour may have been joking with him outside of the front door five minutes earlier and, if they didn't know him, would wonder what the hell all the screaming was about within two minutes of getting inside. They know now - it's because that's his safe place.

 

Apart from neurological disorders, there are a whole host of psychological ones which can be just as debilitating as a physical on, such as depression, bi-polar disorder, anxiety, paranoia etc, etc. These are also "hidden" disabilities which, trust me, makes it harder for the sufferer, not easier, because there is often nothing obvious for an outsider to see.

 

So before people decide to start phoning fraud help-lines and so on, perhaps it's worthwhile finding out what is wrong with the person concerned. if they are claiming fraudulently, then they deserve everything they get. if they're not, you could be causing distress to someone who is already vulnerable - really, would any human being want to do that?

[Missy Allen]

Oh I truly believe there are people in the world who have disabilities and really do deserve the maximum amount of benefit. This neighbour is nearly 50. Approximately 10 years ago he tried to fraud his employers by making out he had a severe back injury. They were almost at the point of settling for many many thousands of pounds when an insurance investigator caught him carrying out courier work on his Harley Motorbike! His "disability" has also not stopped him causing is elderly neighbours must distress to the point that the gentleman was diagnosed with cancer and him and his wife moved out of their house (leaving it empty) so they didn't have to put up with him ridiculing him whilst he was dying - this neighbour already warning this elderley gentleman that he had "retired" so he could keep on eye on him (and not in a nice manner) so forgive me if I think that this bloke should not be receiving full dla and a car so he can terrorise the neighbours including trying to run over 2 children and a woman in the neighbourhood and receiving a warning from the police for his driving!

[tiglet]

No need to apologise, honey - perhaps you should have made that clear in your earlier post.

 

Obviously when you have children with a "hidden" disability, as Bookie and I do, you want to protect the reputation of people receiving DLA genuinely.

[Missy Allen]

Of course, I understand completely. What is unfair is that there are a large number of people quite happy to claim it when they should not be eligible making it very difficult for the people who should be getting all the help. Anyway that's going into a whole different category and we don't want to go down the political route.

 

I am fortunate that I don't have any children with a "real disability" my husband and son have coeliacs disease and I know many people consider themselves to be at a disadvantage with it but lets get real - to avoid eating wheat and gluten is not such a hardship when you can live a perfectly normal life - who needs McDonalds and KFC anyway lol x

[tiglet]

Certainly not me - yuk!