worried33. I found due to worrying over post it best to get my son to go to job centre and hand in the fit notes, they kindly photocopied it stamped it and I was able to then keep a record. Son has done a lot of running around for me as to be honest have not been but rarely leaving my bedroom for some time, so need to thank my kids being so caring again and again.

Follow up: Have been really poorly but wanted to update for benefit of others similar to me. I found it pretty exhausting making sure dla had all the info they needed, but the call made to me and me later to them, led them to speak to the right people for info. So exhausting but I now understand why it was so. Checking my bank last night as forgot my balance noticed a sum of money titled DLA had gone in and realised I had been awarded it so must admit felt relieved. Today letter came to tell me high rate care low rate mobility awarded which is a great fair result and I am happy to say I can try and de stress. I am grateful did not have to go through trauma of a medical as feel would have fell to bits and was worrying how could I tell a stranger my personal issues in detail when no doubt would be put in a white coat when freaked out ;-) Just so grateful both DLA and the people at the hospital/mental health have helped me get my entitlement and so so relieved my alarm and medicine dispencer is safe. Relieved i do not have to probably get medical certificates again as to be honest have found this traumatic as could not leave the house and on one occassion and son had to do three trips to pick it up due to error and he got angry with me. (frustrated it was a wet day after all and he was soaked, but I felt so bad) Do feel DLA in my case took care of me and hope others who need help are as fortunate. Been such a bad week and so under stress due to another issue and could not get out the door thursday to an appt for the dog, been feeling very very dark, but this obviously is a good part of the week. Thanks for letting me talk CAG

VJ82 Won his court case he was the defendant today in the high courts of justice against (TWITTER: scrooby tweets)mr chris mcgrath of milton keynes. If you look at both twitter id's scrooby tweets and mr chris mcgrath with links to mcg legal and the rants on there, you will see it must have been an stressful time for VJ. I bet VJ and family will sleep well tonight well deservedly. It was mr chris mcgrath against VJ and others....... VJ had a lot of supporters

DLA rang me today, nice woman. For got to tell her how kids had to stay off school and college to care for me recently. Really hope it goes okay as I will be able to keep my medicine dispencer and linked alarm. To be honest with you been so poorly last few weeks wearing incontinence protection, peeing me off and they are expensive. If I ask doctors for them I would have to I think go to special clinic, embaressing. Gonna go now as got headache but wanted to let you know dla are dealing with me. Why cant I go back in time, I dont want to be me xx

Got an appt quickly today which was nice change, just think its luck of the drawer if you type the number again quick enough. Saw the doctor about my chest as still problem after anti biotics and he put me on another type of antibiotics and steroids. To be honest fed up of coughing to extent wetting myself or being sick, but I now these steroids work quick to give me a break, doctor thinks they will work as asthma going mad because of it. Anyhow he saw the letter and promptly wrote me fit note from date required to end april, hoping my dla sorted then if not to get another note due to my illness. Hoping dla sorted by then but got a letter saying they were writing to doctor, he said he had heard from them and replied, so hoping not long to go. Booked appt with dwp near us and son on my behalf will take it in beginning next week, so fingers crossed I am awarded high rate care again and stress levels might go down for at least a couple of months. Also got letter from dla stating could take up to 8 weeks, but as told doccy replied so promptly hoping not too long for news.

As for dla, told they are now asking for doctors report to make a decision. I thought you had to have a medical now, heres hoping I dont as will freak out. I suppose shelter did not get one from doctor and sent it off without, but who knows. Sorry for being so miserable

Made appt with job centre monday, so have three days to get physical appt. Must admit did think it was odd to do a fit note over the phone, prob a reception error as dwp sounded not to pleased for one to be over phone. Trying to relax now but after last week feeling low, it was pretty bad, kids had to stay off school and college to care for me

Tried to make three doctors appts by doing the ring at 8am as you cannot book one in advance at my surgery. FULL Then developed chest infection related to my asthma and had two seizures, still could not get seen by doctor They chose to ring me and issued kids prescription for me for anti biotics and i told him needed to see him when better. Finally recovering and try to make appt yesterday, full as could not get thorough quick enough it seems, told full. Ring today and told to try again tommorow. Told them how important it was re my money and told sorry but they cannot release any appts. So trying not to panic as rang dwp last week as was too poorly after seizures and it was obvious speaking to me as had injured my tongue again. Was told my claim had been shut on system but told not to worry as held clerically, as in when call for appt at job centre had to tell them it would show as shut but was held clerically and would carry on fine when certificate handed over. So I am panicking told if cant get through to doctor tommorow they will get him to ring me !!!!! To be honest if I would have known a certificate could be issued over the phone I would have requested this in the first place. So trying not to panic till tommorow as my money is due next wednesday. Does anyone know if they for instance get the certificate early next week though will ring them as soon as get it for appt, will they pay me promptly, she seemed to say yes, but am still worrying. The seizres were bad so I dont need to get too stressed over this if I can.

I mean if DLA sent form to belfast they could have at least let me know. I had to find out today by phone myself. There is also the chance it could go missing again on route !!! I cant help but think is this something to do with the new changes and getting rid of dla, in that if they treat me as continued claim they would take care of me, but new claim on the scrapheap

HI, thanks. DLA is essential to me. I think the issue was now looking at it, that prior they had not required any medical certificates but once dla lost the form and it cancelled they needed certificates, but did not tell me. I was always told as if was income support paying you no certificate needed till transfer to esa. Told I have not even started the transfer to esa yet. Job centre say getting the doctors notes will help me and make it easier for them, I just think that if I had received letter from my job centre with relevant phone number rather than spend over an hour speaking to various people that it would have not been so bad for me today. Also how DLA can take in forms not confirm receipt lost them internally and then pass later form to another dept with no message or input on the system of dates or that they want to tell you in any case. Cany say decision maker will have past it to Belfast but that no input regarding it is on the computer. I will contact shelter as suspect they will have sent it recorded as I know welfare advice prior used to do so. I mean I have not had DLA paid since the last payment, its more that at the moment in the news, on the web you here how the disabled are losing benefits, losing dla and the extra stress of the claim not being linked through non of my fault feels just too much. I realise the dwp and job centres are overworked, the nice lady told me today, less but more work to do, so i do have sympathy for them, but wish at least the letters sent and numbers were accurate.

I did tell DLA I would join this site and post what happened for advice as to how get help, I have heard of Subject access and need to know how to contact them for one as although did mention it to them they did not tell me how and I was very upset. I am glad friend told me to record the call and the prior call some time ago as I have memory problems and being told not told something when you were is distressing. Sad as I always thought they/DLA were so helpful before.

Have been feeling desperate today and suicidal over this and it was lucky my son came home early from college and heard what I was saying, so he stayed with me and I was able to realise how desperate I was by what was coming out of my mouth. I received a hell of a letter and the reason I say that is it eventually was put down as due to DLA taking in words of Job centre months to contact them, hence the delay, but for me it was a nightmare. The letter is dated 12/3/2012 and says it is a reminder as to medical certificates. A reminder being the first letter received on the issue to a person with memory problems and a reminder that took months to remind me of an issue they had no courtesy to tell me prior, so hardly a reminder, more a farce. The letter had a southampton stamp on it and two phone numbers 0845 saying if needed to contact them ring. When ring both numbers were no longer in service !!!!!! Confirmed old numbers by 118500 who gave me correct number for the address on the stamp on the top of letter. Ring the number to eventually be told they had no idea who had sent it, no idea how their dept had sent it and I should be speaking to my local job centre. will continue later when got rid of migraine................ Not gone but two migraleve taken !!! Any way eventually have to tell my life history if felt to one clerk who passed me through to another dept had to tell them again but at least was through to the correct dept. Turns out my money is paid by income support with and underlying incapacity claim which has not started the esa transfer yet. Due to DLA contacting this dept months later I received a letter asking for now a doctors note and it said from 12/1/2012 when as I got stressed they sent it 12/3/2012. Lovely woman took time to explain that they would not cancel my money and told me how to get form backdated and get it to them by making appt that son could take form in for me so did not go missing in post, which we will do. But what got me was the stress of it, not only have DLA let me down, but this form was stamped southampton, the numbers were not viable and took many many calls to trace who I needed to speak to. For a person with mental health issues and other issue, it felt too much today and found myself mentioning suicide. The woman who explained it all re income support/incapacity was nice and it was put down to the DLA error/issue. So I know my money will not get stopped but do wonder what more stress have I to deal with re DLA. Have spoken to mental health dept who wants me when calm to call shelter to get them to call DLA for me and she is coming out to see me soon, but I can fully understand why people feel things get too much, I sure did. Receiving no DLA at moment but know my income support is safe. Hoping my DLA gets sorted but shocked how they are happy to say sent too late yet not confirm when they received it to justify that. The lovely woman at job centre told me in any case they have to act in my interest and should backdate to end of last claim if my condition is same, which it is. Fingers crossed and I am not opening any more such letters if receive till someone is with me, as just too much.

I have been on DLA for some years high rate care low rate mobility and always grateful for the help and advice given. Today I have to say I felt at end of my tether and found myself hearing voices telling me to bash my head on the fishtank as was getting quite stressed. Lucky for my my son had come home early and was able to point out to me what I was saying and I realised I was very stressed. DLA renewal form was sent to them months ago in advance of claim reaching set renew date and they sent new one, this one I filled in myself. Heard nothing till an odd amount was paid into my bank account and worried this was an overpayment, I rang them. Told not overpayment but last payment at and of claim and that it had not been renewed. Told they had not received the claim form and asked them to look into it to be eventually told it had gone missing and could be on anyones desk was the way it was worded and that they hoped it would turn up, but in any case they would send me another to fill out in mean time. At first the told me had to do a new claim and then after looking into it told me that would deal with it as duplicate and that a decision maker would hopefully link the claims and realise it was not my fault missing. Told not to worry but to put covering letter in explaining all. Received two new packs, thought odd, but one said duplicate hand written on it and other said date of call to them as in I suspect as if making new claim, but it confirmed to me they had heard from me on that date. Mental health worker suggested as stressed and aware my prior form was filled by me and I stressed at prospect of doing it again gave me the number of shelter to ring. Rang shelter and they saw me promptly heard the whole scenario and took on the case as said their funders would cover cost for me of them helping, nice of them Form dealt with. Heard nothing for more weeks and assumed they were dealing with it but received odd letter today that pushed me over the edge in stress and realised it must be something to do with dla, so rang them first. DLA tells me they have sent the form to decision maker who has decided it should be a new claim as received late. I asked them when they received it and told not noted on the system !!!! But late enough to choose to deal with as new claim rather than continue the old due to lost prior form. Told they are not aware prior form had gone missing and that i would not have been told they had lost it, not true I know. Any way told it has been sent on to belfast and that I will here. I ask when was it sent to belfast and eventually told 9/3/2012 and ask to speak to them. Told no as it is not even on the system yet and has not even been processed. I said I am struggling as well the form was sent to you some time ago and you cannot or are not willing to confirm when you received it and to be honest due to mental issues I am starting to stress as know i have to deal with the issue of the other letter also. So DLA wise I am waiting to hear and very stressed, will put issue of other letter in next post. But I feel I have done all I can this end to process the DLA form properly, I have been told eventually on first call some time ago that it was likely missing in their office and even to extent could be on anyones desk and that they hoped it turned up, so the dealing with the next form as prompt as possible was very very stressful. I mean what do you do.