Jump to content

jippity

Registered Users

Change your profile picture
  • Posts

    39
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Reputation

1 Neutral
  1. When filling out DLA forms you need to inform them of your worst and better days, and how frequently each occurs. Giving a snapshot of your average day probably lead you to not getting the money you're entitled to. E.g - my Mum has a degenerative disk disease. She is in constant pain but usually manages to get about ok. 3 or 4 times a year her back gets worse and she ends up bedridden for 2 or 3 weeks, sometimes hospitalised. She gets the higher rate of both care and mobility. If she were to only have described her average day she would only get the mobility component, which pays for her car. Yet she needs the care component to pay for carers at her worst times. It's ok to use the phrase "My condition varies". Indeed, if I had £1 for every time I wrote it on my mothers form I'd be swanning off somewhere exotic for a holiday. My advice would be rather than pick your worst, best or average day, describe all three. In detail. Fill the form out on your computer so that you can copy and paste (being as the forms ask the same question, worded slightly differently, multiple times). For example..... "My condition varies. At my worst I cannot move at all, am bedridden and cannot move myself up the bed, I need two carers to lift me in to a seating position to take sips of water...etc. This occurs for two to three weeks at a time, on average three or four times a year. When recovering from my worst periods I can walk but only with help and aids.... etc On my better days I can walk without aids but am in constant pain and bending down is very difficult, I still need help to put my socks on... etc." This is the short version of a very lengthy description. It also helps to give a diary kept over as many weeks as possible if your condition varies. I was awarded DLA without an official diagnosis for the first time. It was at appeal and only for a year, but I was in the room with the judge, the doctor and the other person and they could see that I needed it. The doctor even (after they had made the decision), gave me advice on how to chase my diagnosis. I did have a letter from my GP to say that I was ill, that my form was factual and that investigations as to why this was occuring were ongoing. By the time it came to renewal I had my diagnosis and letters from consultants and it all went through smoothly. Hope that helps!
  2. No, I don't rely on them either, they clearly can't be trusted. But for some benefits to have stopped when OP started work (assuming not just tax credits) then the DWP must have been informed somehow.
  3. i'll call tomorrow to ask. Is it the disability policy which puts you off going to legoland or is there another reason?
  4. Have you enquired about an evaluation for austism? Or is it something you would rather not persue? I wouldn't like to go back but my daughter would love to. She knows about the annual pass and also knows that it's "Mummy's Illnesses" that stop us going.
  5. I was thinking the same thing about autism. I have a friend whose son is autistic and rules are set in stone for him. It was not only the girl at the booth who mentioned autism but also the lady I spoke to on the phone. So clearly this is part of their training. They're very righteous about the whole thing, which I find strange, as I am a disabled person who is telling them how I feel, yet they argue with me because they think they're "right". I have spoken to other disabled people about this today and two of the four mentioned that they just won't go there. One had been before and had a similar experience, and the other had called and asked about the policy and had decided that the policy made it off limits to her disabled daughter. I will try to encourage them to write in also but if they decide not to, it feels good to know that I am not alone in finding this policy to exclude me.
  6. You're right, it's always best to inform the different departments, and you're also right that they will argue that they would never advise to call TC. But it's still worth taking legal advice. Afterall, the OP did pay the money back before it went to court and she did own up to the fact that she got confused. It is sad, that one mistake could have cost her job. I mean if she wanted to work illegally and claim benefits there are far less risky ways to do that. As you have said, the magistrate probably did consider that OP took the time to contact HMRC and obviously some information trickled through as her other benefits stopped. I think that may be where her legal argument lies (but likewise, I am not trained), in that the information *was* passed on to the other department but the error was theirs, and to cover that up they've persecuted her and cost her her livlihood. I'm in agreement that it is very sad indeed.
  7. That's not strictly true, whenever I've had a change in circumstances with any benefit I have called Tax Credits to let them know and they have told me that there is no need as DWP will inform them of any changes. I have always rung to be on the safe side, but I can see where confusion and the assumption that all information is shared would originate.
  8. Hello Honestly, I don't know. And that's not to say that I don't think you have a right to sue them, because I very strongly think you do. But I am not legal-minded. My advice would be to seek proper legal advice. Best of luck, what a dreadful experience!
  9. But the people doing the medical examinations for ESA generally aren't doctors at all. Mine was conducted by a nurse, who had never even heard of one of my illnesses. She argued that it was impossible for me to have brain damage from an underactive thyroid being undiagnosed for several years. I produced a letter from my neurologist which stated that I had brain damage from my underactive thyroid going undiagnosed for several years, and she completely discounted it because she had never heard of it! It meant that none of my problems related to the diagnosis were considered during my assessment. It didn't matter that I could hardly balance, struggled to hold a pen etc... all because *she* had not heard of this before (and it's not even considered rare...). I have no issue with regular check-ins but I do think that the doctors who are involved with the patients are the only ones qualified to make these decisions. Certainly not practitioners who have no knowledge of the patient and, as you say, no specialist training.
  10. Isn't there a question on the form for your practitioner to answer, which asks if the patients condition would improve in the foreseeable future?
  11. I wonder if a sensory disability would be covered under the description... but I suspect not. Its also very strange because if you compare it to other Merlin attractions such as Sea Life and Chessington, they have a very disability-friendly attitude (they also don't offer a pay-for-shorter-queues service).
  12. Their justification is that they offer a wheelchair, they let you bring a carer in for free (I have a disabled annual pass which lets a carer in free to all attractions) and some of their rides have some seats at some points in the queue...
  13. Nystagmite - that is the whole policy, it seems. Only people who have autism or similar are given an exit pass. The only thing they offer someone with a physical disability is the "complementary" wheelchair.
  14. Exactly GBarbm - They keep telling me that this policy is "right" for people like me but it makes me feel awful. So how is it right for me?
  15. Thanks, I'll try writing a letter. When I've mentioned all of this to the customer service staff they tell me that the policy has been checked by several disability agencies and deemed a good one. I find that hard to believe because of the fact that it makes me feel so uncomfortable that I won't visit the park... and surely that's wrong?
×
×
  • Create New...