DLA knocked me back again

[smiley]

Hi
I won't bore you with long details about my illnesses but I am dissabled with several severe illnesses, Chronic Asthma & Emphazima, I also suffer severely from IBS & it is so bad I black out at any time, anywhere without warning & need someone with me all the time. I also need to be-able to get to a toilet at very short notice so cannot use public transport & have to be driven round by my husband at all times as I am not able to drive due to my dissabilities.
I get the top motobility allowance & bottom care allowance & so that my husband who looks after me 24/7 can get careres allowance I have to have at least the middle care allowance, I need help all the time so should really get the top allowance but DLA after applying for the past 2 years still have knocked us back. The reason it's been going on 2 years is because they said a couple of times they diddn't recieve my papers or they had been lost like they do!!.
Anyway can anyone help me as I don't know what to do next, my husband has to stay at home & look after me as I black out & have on several occations hurt myself badly. I have even blacked out in the road before today. Can anyone give me some advice.
thanks brenda

[mariejader]

You need to ask for copies of the paperwork that was submitted and raise an appeal.

The secret with DLA is you have to keep repeating yourself so for instance you need to say I need to be taken to or helped get to the toilet 7 times a day "unlike other people with no disability" make a point that you need help to do the simple things that most people take for granted! every opportunity keep refering to what a able bodied person can do and what you can't do alone, it get's very depressing and upsetting but you really need to make the point so write it in every box if you can.

Good luck

[sarey331]

i would certainly advise you to appeal, if they have lost your papers you should also suggest it to them that they could fast track any new claim you make

also, it sounds as though this has really upset you and impaired your quality of life so i would say that you should write to them or call them and invite them to come round and assess you. when you do get new claim forms through, you should call up the helpline number they have and get someone to go through the form with you, they will then have a record of the call should your claim go 'missing'
good luck

[JonCris]

Originally Posted by sarey331

i would certainly advise you to appeal, if they have lost your papers you should also suggest it to them that they could fast track any new claim you make

also, it sounds as though this has really upset you and impaired your quality of life so i would say that you should write to them or call them and invite them to come round and assess you. when you do get new claim forms through, you should call up the helpline number they have and get someone to go through the form with you, they will then have a record of the call should your claim go 'missing'
good luck

Contact your local Social Services or CAB office as they have someone who will visit you & help complete the forms for you.

Before returning the forms you must photocopy them also send them recorded post

[Yyates2]

You need to contact Welfare Rights are your local council. I have recently had my DLA lowered form middle rate care for 4 years to low rate due to an ass of a doctor who came out and asked me 4 questions and only one was what are you disabilities, the rest were insignificant, and am appealing through WR. I know just what you mean about them losing papers as they lost mine for 7 weeks and then they turned up 4 weeks earlier after I'd had to request another pack to be sent out. If you don't receive an acknowledgement letter within 10 days you need to kick them and find out where it is as they are absolutely useless.

[ecobabe]

when filling out form you must fill in the worst case scenario for you, because if you have a bad day then that's the level of support that you need in place to keep you safe, as someone else said keep repeating yourself in each answer. It takes ages to fill out this way but i used to complete them for clients and it is the best way to do it

[normanpj]

Hi!

I have had mine completely removed

PJN

[sarey331]

i take it thats not because of a miraculous recovery?

what i dont understand is why they dont do a fair doctors assesment for all new applications, and make it easier to renew claims?
why cant they say, you need your gp to certify you meet certain criteria, seen as your gp knows your medical history better than any other doctor.
but that would be far too sensible i suppose

it sounds to me like they do occasional assesments and each of those is expected to reveal wrongful claims.its entirely the wrong approach because it doesnt weed out the people who actually dont have legitimate claims

[JonCris]

Originally Posted by sarey331

i take it thats not because of a miraculous recovery?

what i dont understand is why they dont do a fair doctors assesment for all new applications, and make it easier to renew claims?
why cant they say, you need your gp to certify you meet certain criteria, seen as your gp knows your medical history better than any other doctor.
but that would be far too sensible i suppose

it sounds to me like they do occasional assesments and each of those is expected to reveal wrongful claims.its entirely the wrong approach because it doesnt weed out the people who actually dont have legitimate claims

They want to keep the numbers eligible as low as possible & because they start from the premise that everyone is trying to fiddle the system.

[amartin1908]

I had mine reduced down to the lower rate this year, although I appealed and told them I still need the same level of care now that i needed two years ago - they have disputed this saying that i never answered the questions the same!!! Well this would be difficult, as the first time it was filled out by a charity worker from Chai, and this time by myself......its all just politics my dear - good luck

[ED1237]

I have gone through it with my wife who has relapse remission MS. You are entitled to ask for your DLA to be reveiwed at anytime and is sometimes easier then appealing. You need to get a statement from your carer, your Doctor and your Social Worker if you have one. When these statements and any forms are filled out, you must give answers as worst case ie if you black out 2 times a day with occasional 5 times, you must state 5 times. This is not fraud, this is how thier system works. You must take photo copies of everything you send, so that so long as nothing changes you can just copy over your answers on the next renewal. If you need any further advice, please let me know.

Teddea

[freebird]

I'm not an expert but I do help quite a bit with families who have children with disabilities and most areas have their own disability action groups but I'm not too sure which area you are.........
here are a few web sites which you might find helpful
good luck
Freebird x
http://www.differentstrokes.co.uk/cg....pl?read=18697

http://www.disabilityuk.com/masterpages/dla1a.htm

http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/appeal/appeals1.asp

[mopayne]

Hi - sorry to hear your troubles with the DLA. They are a law unto themselves. I had to fight for my husband as they revoked both his awards due to a doctor who came to assess him. he was in bed at the time suffering an angina attack. He refused the doctors request to walk to the toilet so the doctor assessed him as having a 'normal gait' and 'well define muscular legs and arms'. Just how he came to this conclusion I'll never know. Anyway we got a letter from our doctor who just stopped short of calling the DLA doctor an idiot. It was this letter that played a huge part at the appeal and had the benefits reinstated. Get as much backing as you can from your GP, nurse, specialist etc.... anyone who sees you on a regular basis. Get social services involved. Don't give up as that is what they want and expect you to do - genuine cases do not give up. Good luck.

[Mrs Charlton]

I have found that DLA is very hit and miss, but the tip about repeating yourself is very much a necessity. I have had several run ins with them over the level of care entitlement for my daughter as she was just 5 months old when she began treatment for her condition, and when describing what needed to be done with her on a daily basis I got the response of 'well babies need 24 hour care anyway'.
We were successfull eventually but repetition and really enforcing the fact that certain things just could not be done without assistance 24 hours per day throughout the forms is vital.
Good luck. x x x

[kessik]

I would very much agree with the poster who said that you have to keep repeating yourself in your replies. You also have to make it clear that your disability means that you are unable to live as others without a disability do. My son is severely autistic and we got help from a local group, DAIN, who will attend appeals tribunals on behalf of applicants. They also know the right way to word the forms. I think involving some kind of advocacy service shows you are serious. Don't give up! I think DLA is more about testing your tenacity than your disability.

[qprouk]

Originally Posted by JonCris

Contact your local Social Services or CAB office as they have someone who will visit you & help complete the forms for you.

Before returning the forms you must photocopy them also send them recorded post

CAB informed me they DO NOT MAKE HOME VISITS RHYL NORTH WALES BRANCH
just thought i would put that in but perhaps another advice centre could help such as dial good luck

[dragonlord002]

I look after my wife who suffers from manic depresstion and needs 24 hour care.

The DLA are ****** to put it bluntly.
it took 4 yerars of fighting to get to pay up in the first place.

Last time we renewed it they nilled her and took another year to fight them againg

do not give up do appeal
problem is that you have been given bad advive you only have a limited time to appeal it.

dont bother with the citizens advice

ring you local law center and get them to take up you case.

will dla you just have to keep up the presure untill they give in and stop playing up. never take no for an answer appeal apeal apeal .

[Joa]

one more source of help and advice: Benefits and Work
I use it myself as a welfare rights practicioner and as a private individual with a disabled child.
This website is run by a committed rebel Stve Donnison- my admiration goes to him for the support he offers to disabled community.

[demon_x_slash]

I filled in the forms for both my nan and grandad, as they are both illiterate. As everyone above has said, don't try to put a brave face on things, and don't belittle your condition - if on a good day the person can walk 20 metres before breathlessness, and then on a bad day only 10, then 10 is the answer to put on the form. If they need assistance with dressing twice a day, then put it down! The person reading the form can only go by what you put down, and if you don't do it in as plain and direct terms as possible then you won't get your full entitlement.

My grandparents were so leery of claiming their entitlements ("Oh, we don't want to put anyone out," or "We don't want to be a bother..."), but they were in real need of financial help and had paid all taxes and contributions all their lives, as well as National Service etc. That extra bit of help, especially the disabled car badge, has made all the difference.

[CAGisforME]

My advice would be to appeal and to go down the lines of needing Constant Supervision. As long as you can get at least ONE docotr to write on your behalf.

I have just been through this process and won at Tribunal Level.

I told them I needed constant supervision, as advised by my treating specialist. I re-iterated this in the claim form and sent a copy of a letter from my specialist with the claim form.

I was knocked back.

I asked for the claim to be looked at again - knocked back again.

I then asked if the people making the decisions were medically qualified (I have a very rare condition that it's unlikely even some Doctors are aware of, or understand the ramifications on every day life) - apparently they aren't.

So i took it to appeal, and was knocked back again.

I then took them to the "final" stage (Tribunal) which I succesfully argued should be a domiciliary hearing (in my own home) they brought along a Doctor and I immediately asked how many people with my condition he had ever treated. None. The Chairperson of the tribunal laughed at this point.

I won the appeal at Tribunal level and was very pleased with myself.

Then the DLA decided to appeal the Tribunal to the Secretary of State - I think sometimes they are just determined not to part with the money!

6 months later it was decided to hold ANOTHER tribunal, the decision of which would be final.

I repeated the process above and got ANOTHER letter from my specialist, stating I needed supervision day and night and that I was incurable.

Finally - I got Top Rate Care & Mobility - for "an indefinate period" - they don't give it "for life" anymore.

I then challenged the fact that I had waited for so long after a positive decision had been made and received all the back money from the date of application!!!



PLEASE appeal if you think you have been unfairly treated. Only by making the system work for you will this arcaic department EVER get it's act together.