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Disability Living Allowance

(35 Posts)
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vampirequeen Mon 09-Jul-12 21:31:54

I'm glad your son is getting all the help he needs. I would imagine his support is coming from the local authority rather than the DWP. They seem to be the ones who are attempting to save money by miraculously curing (cutting) the number of sick and disabled.

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kittylester Mon 09-Jul-12 19:50:59

My son got the highest level DLA (quite rightly) but, because he was living with us, he was not entitled to housing benefit which is ok because we could afford to take him in, but not all parents could. He had help filling in his application form from a lawyer working with CAB.

Now, however, having been allocated his own flat, the level of support he has been given is superb.

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jeni Mon 09-Jul-12 18:36:33

alisonma when was it on? What channel? I'd like to see if I can get it on iplayer.
I was working so didn't hear it.

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vampirequeen Mon 09-Jul-12 18:32:27

Thanks.

gracesmum...don't do it on your own. They aim to make you feel uncomfortable so that you don't claim your entitlements. Contact your local disabilty rights group. They told me what to write on forms and drafted letters for me to copy out. They also spoke to DWP with my permission. They were the ones who encouraged me to put in a second appeal. They will hold your hand every step of the way. Don't let the accountants win. If you're entitled then claim.

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Annobel Mon 09-Jul-12 18:31:42

Vampire, your story is all too familiar from my experience with CAB. I am frequently staggered that some person in an office can ignore the reports given by medical professionals. But they do. Appealing is a stressful procedure and not good for anyone who is in need of help, but always worth pursuing. Also it's always worth getting guidance from experts as you did. If it's Attendance Allowance, then Age UK will be the best port of call.

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jeni Mon 09-Jul-12 18:26:00

Also get proper help in completing the form. Many people do not fill it in correctly

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jeni Mon 09-Jul-12 18:24:20

vamp it sounds as though you never got to appeal. It seems to have been reviewed in house. If you appeal and opt dor an oral appeal you go before a tribunal of three people
A lawyer
A doctor
A person who has experience of disability.
They review all the evidence, question you as to your needs, invite you to put in any supporting evidence you have!
They can also commission other reports GP notes or commission an examination
When they are satisfied, they discuss the case and come to conclusion.
The percentage of successful appeals is higher in people who opt for an oral rather than paper tribunals!

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AlisonMA Mon 09-Jul-12 17:51:30

This is why we pay NI so everyone who needs it is entitled to it.

Today this was discussed on the radio and it think it was something like 40% of appeals are unheld so it is certainly worth doing. Good for you.

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gracesmum Mon 09-Jul-12 17:45:42

Well done for having the guts to persevere. After DH's ESA debacle last year I resolved never to "ask" for anything ever again so that some jobsworth could make me feel about 1/2 inch high or like Oliver Twist. Suspect entitled to Blue Badge for DH but find the whole application process too humiliating.

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vampirequeen Mon 09-Jul-12 17:41:21

Sorry if this is wrong forum.

Disability Living Allowance has become a lottery where someone in an office with no medical knowledge decides whether you're ill enough to qualify for extra support. They say they take advice but believe me the way the act on that advice suggests that they rarely read it. In fact I know of cases where people born with needs have suddenly appeared to make dramatic recoveries and had their DLA removed.

It seems that in most cases your claim for DLA will be refused unless you are so ill they can't deny it. At this point some people will give up their claim because they either can't or don't know how to appeal or think they will have no chance of changing the decision anyway.

This is a callous way to deal with people who are ill but it cuts the number of claimants and that looks good for the governments figures.

I wondered if anyone had advice for fellow claimants for DLA or any other benefit.

Here's my story.

First they made me wait for three months or so. Sure enough I was turned down. But I'm a bolshie mare at heart and I wasn't going to give up something I had a right to no matter how hard it was for me to fight. So I contacted my local disability rights group. With their help I put in an appeal. I was lucky because my GP is supportive and she gave me a letter explaining my needs.

Once they received my appeal they wrote me a letter saying they were reviewing my case then, I think, they threw it on a pile for another two or three months. Eventually they accepted that I needed help but only at the lowest level . At this point I ddn't give up as many people do. I sought more support from disabilty rights. They helped me to appeal for a second time pointing out that whoever had looked at my claim seemed to cherry pick from my GPs's letter and ignore the bits that meant I was entitled to a higher level.

So we appealed again and after an acknowledgement my form was put on a waiting pile for a couple of months. Eventually they accepted that I need a lot of care and awarded me higher level care and lower level mobility which works out at around £95 a week. This is £95 I wouldn't have had if I hadn't fought them.

Hurrah a success but one with a sting in it's tail because I have to start the whole sorry procedure again in November.

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