turned down again for DLA by linbob
turned down again for DLA by linbob I have reposted this to start a new thread on behalf of linbob
Kind regards
Forum Host
Breast Cancer Care
hI everyone I have just been turned down again for the 2nd time for DLA I feel its so unfair for us people. My next door neighbour is an alcoholic and he gets it. I got a letter to-day to tell me and they sent a sheet with it telling me not to lift large saucepans but to use small ones. I have never felt so insulted in all my life. I am now 48 and have worked since I was 16 never signed on on my life. I did not even know this DLA existed it was a nurse at my hospital who told me about it. I now wish I had not bothered. It makes you feel like a beggar has anyone else had this experience I would never try for this again. Thanks for reading this I am just so mad Linda
Same here My McMillan nurse actually filled the forms in for me and sent them off and I was turned down. Didnt bother pushing it too much going on at the time.
I am 60 now (just) and started work at 15 never claimed a penny for anything. The nurse actually said it wasn’t fair and that some get it that don’t need or deserve it, I guess it depends on who deals with the claim and makes the decision.
It does make you see red when you know people are claiming who appear to be perfectly capable of working,
All the best.
Jan
Sorry linbob
What is DLA? Disabled Living Allowance?
Was advised by my MacMillan nurse not to bother appying for this as you usually have to be very ill (i.e. terminal) to get it, and need constent care from a reli or other.
I know what you mean about being demoralised though, I applied for Incapacity benefit as I can’t live on my current reduced pay.
It took 2 long phone calls, 1 was 40 min long and I was ill through chemo at time, it was hard work to concentrate for so long. They then sent a form like a book for me to check, amend and return.
I did this and there were so many errors it took another hour to read and amend.
I was granted the benefit but since they keep phoning me to go in and arrange help for getting work! I have a job, I’m just too ill to return to it!
Now I have been sent another book to fill in and return, and if I don’t they will stop my benefit, it’s madness. Very annoying when you think of all the fraud and we are deserving
Just a quick point on your neighbour. Even though he/she is an alcoholic (self inflicted I’ll agree), they may also have the serious illness thing Poss a failing liver or something and that is most likely why they receive this benefit, not the alcoholism as such.
Mutual moan. I am getting truely fed up of this country these days now though.
Irene
It is such an unfair benefit. My son was refused it two months ago.He’s in the process of appealing.He lost his right arm and badly injured his leg in a car accident two years ago.The phantom pain in his arm is so bad even morphine doesnt help much.He’s out in terrible sweats and vomits for days with it.Thankfully he’s on a waiting list to have a pain releaving implant in the top of his spine.As for the alcoholic - I can beat that one but I won’t start!!! I think if you put on a damn good act - tell them your backs bad and you’re depressed - you’ll have no trouble getting DLA!
Hiya,
I was told by someone from my local cancer support that benefits agencies do not count breast cancer as having “real cancer” this is why you wont be able to apply for a lot of the benefits. How ludicrous!!! You still go through the same cancer treatments.
I can only apply for incapacity benefit even though as from today I will no longer have a job due to redundancy.
I am expected to live off £61 a week? Hows that work then???
I wish you all luck in trying to get your benefits that your entitled to.
Julie x
thanks all thanks for replying at least I am not alone. I sat for 1 hour waiting at the advice centre to get that form filled in she told me if I was refused to appeal so I had to go back again for 1 and a half hours why do they give us false hopes. They must know we wont get it as these people fill these forms in all the time. I wont be appealing again I will just have to manage on my Incapacity benefit it is terrible what we get to scrimp and scrape on. I wont be putting the heating on now as much as I got a very big gas bill with being at home all the time. Sorry for moaning as I know there a lot of you the same as myself Thank you for listening Linda
I have been turned down for every benefit I have applied for - I got stuffed for IB due to a 3 month gap in NI dating back to when I had to give up work to care for my late father until he went into care - I had to move 400 miles back from London to Scotland to do this and had worked from 1977 on with no breaks for maternity etc., I even worked my way through university as a mature student in the 90s.
We have just made a second attempt at tax credits as OH went self employed 5 weeks before I was diagnosed and he is on a very low income. We were turned down first time round. I’m glad it’s summer as I won’t need to put the heating on, my last bill was over £300. Don’t get me started on people with self inflicted illnesses, we have a couple at the other end of our street who are on a methadone programme. They have 3 kids and are getting provided with everything by the state, free house, council tax, school meals, milk tokens, the whole raft of benefits. From what I gather, neither parent has ever worked and they must be about early 30s. Makes me wonder why I bothered!
Oh, and just for good measure, my local Jobcentre told me breast cancer is no excuse for trying to claim benefits!
Message for josyemarie I am a benefits adviser and used to be a welfare rights officer. I’m appalled that your son has been turned down for DLA but, from what you say, he should do well at appeal.
Try to get someone to represent him at his appeal - a welfare rights officer or someone from CAB or an independent advice agency should be able to help. They will understand the criteria and will push for the highest rate possible.
My first thoughts are that he would certainly qualify for at least the lower rate of the care component under the ‘cooking test’- - I imagine he would be unable to prepare and cook a meal for himself. I can also see clear problems with dressing and undressing.
But there are wider issues too. For example, if he still has problems with his leg and is prone to stumbling he would be unable to protect himself if he fell. That’s an argument for constant supervision which would give him the middle rate.
I represent at appeals and tribunals love diaries as it help them get a feel for how much help your son needs on a day to day basis.
Start keeping a note of everything, no matter how small. Concentrate on areas where your son needs ‘hands-on’ help or supervision, rather than remote tasks such as shopping or housework which don’t count.
Problems with getting in and out of a bath or shower, dressing, personal grooming, cooking, eating, etc are all classed as personal care. Don’t forget supervision - think of all the areas where your son’s disability may put him in danger. He may be able to get out of bed to use the toilet, for example, but can he do it safely?
You can hand your diary to the clerk before you go in so the tribunal gets a chance to look at it before questioning you. You only get about half an hour so anything you can do to make things easier for the tribunal is always welcome. It’s a good idea to go with your son to the appeal as people often clam up and underestimate their needs on the day.
If anyone else wants to ask anything, fire away, although I’ve been off work for nearly a year so I’m a bit rusty.
Don’t listen to anyone who says breast cancer is not real cancer and you don’t get DLA for it. That won’t have been a decision maker who said that as every case is looked at individually. You don’t get DLA because you have a certain illness or disability - you get it because of the personal care or mobility needs that arise from it which varies from indivdual to individual.
If in doubt, appeal. Tribunals are independent and many are successful.
Lola
message for cherub hi cherub I to have just moved back to Scotland I lived in Birmingham for 25 years then we decided to move back home. I had only moved into our new house and was diagnosed with BC a week later I had a macectomy 2 weeks after that the I started my chemo I have had 6 now only2 to go and then its all finished I dont have to have radiation as they say I am border line whatever that means. I will then have to take Armitrex for 5 years I live in West Lothian Scotland I am just starting to settle in now with being ill and also missing Birmingham life hasent been so great but now when my last 2 chemos are finished hopefully I will enjoy living here Just thought I would tell you I am scottish as well. Hope you feel not to bad and you Take care Love Linda x
Thanks Lola,my son has other disabilities too.He smashed his pelvis, and two bones in his spine also had a bad schull fracture. I’m just so glad he’s still alive.He can get around on good days and he’s a proud lad but when I see the people on DLA around me who are pulling a fast one I’m past getting angry - I just cant figure out how they get away with it!
A fellow Scot! Cherub and linbob,
I’m Scottish, too, living in Glasgow. Where are you guys?
Scotland does seem to have a higher number of DLA claimants than the rest of the country. Sometimes it is merited (the east end of Glasgow has the worst health record in the whole of western Europe); other times it is just people living in poverty trying to ‘up’ their income by claiming anything and everything and getting lucky.
As someone who works in the field I can say that DLA IS getting harder to get. The form was originally designed for self-assessment and the DWP, in their naivity, trusted people to be honest. Of course, a lot of people weren’t and they have ruined it for the genuine cases.
The goalposts have definitely shifted over the years. When I started out in welfare rights 15 years ago you would get the mobility component if you couldn’t walk 50 yards without having to stop. That distance has gradually decreased and now you virtually have to prove you can walk no more than a few steps.
Everything is evidence-based these days, too, and a lot of it has to do with your doctors. My oncologist saw no reason why I couldn’t work throughout chemo (like he’d know!) so I knew there was no way he was going to support my claim to DLA. I didn’t even put in a claim.
It does annoy me that clients of mine who I know have fewer problems than I do get the benefit just because they claimed years ago when it was easy.
But, what can you do? The DWP are just following guidelines, which are getting stricter by the year. The only solution I can see is to petition the government for an overhaul of the system. That’s something cancer charities should be gettting invoved in. As individuals we are - I agree - powerless. And it sucks big time.
Lola
hi Lola Read your message well I wont be appealing again its just to much hassle I now live in a little village called Fauldhouse West Lothian after living inBirmingham for 25 years I was born in Glasgow and stayed there until I was 20 Tollcross I do miss Birmingham terrible as I was only in Fauldhouse a week when I was diagnosed with BC the treatment has been fantasic I have my treatment at ST jOHNS HOSPITAL I have got chemo to-day then only 2 to go (thank god) I am hoping to get back to work about August what about you how are you how far are you with your treatment let me know Off to the hospital now Love Linda xxxx
Hi ladies,
I’m in Fife and am being treated at Queen Margaret in Dunfermline for some aspects and Western General in Edinburgh for others (I need Herceptin and they can’t administer it at QM). I also have to use Victoria in Kirkcaldy for MUGA scans, so I get around!
On the benefit front, we’ve decided that if we get turned dow again for tax credits we are giving up on everything. I hope to do a Web Developer course in the autumn as this is my OH’s business and I’m undecided whether I want to work at home with him. I was jobhunting when diagnosed and attending interviews, but I’m not sure how I will fare when I’m better as I’m sure prospective employers won’t be keen to interview anyone who has been through this.
DLA www.bhas.org.uk/freeguides
i used this to help me appeal, that along with a letter from my doc to say i would have trouble with my shoulder for the forseeable future got me it. i have it for a year but won’t qualify next time as my shoulder is getting better.
i had trouble with personal care.