False claims for DLA?

[CatWreathkeith]

Can someone explain to me how this is even possible?

My dm has undergone cancer treatment twice, and this has left her with osteoporosis. Two of her vertebrae have crumbled completely, and the rest aren't looking great.

She can't stand for any length of time, can't iron, do her housework or go shopping, nor can she lift more than a couple of pounds.

We recently applied for dla (or pip, as it is now called) so she could pay someone to do her housework/ironing and have been told she doesn't meet the criteria, so I am travelling 60 odd miles twice a week to do it for her (and blow dry her hair, she can't even do that without intense pain)

She's got medical evidence for all of this, but the assessment is that she isn't in enough pain to qualify.

Yet I still hear people bashing people who do receive dla on a regular basis, particularly for 'having a bad back'. How the fuck do they think it's an easy thing to claim fraudulently, and how as a country have we become so unsympathetic?

Has she applied for attendance allowance?
She could use it to pay for help

No, that's her next port of call I think.

She is very fortunate in that my dad is still around, although not brilliant at housework he has been trying, and I am able to go over, but there must be people in her situation with nobody. How the hell do they manage?

Have you asked the dwp for a statement of reasons as to why she failed. Get this and then counteract it point by point in writing and send in the mandatory reconsideration. If they still so no appeal and go to tribunal.

Attendance Allowance is for over 65s, PIP is for under 65s. She needs to appeal. You don't get it for help with housework, you get it for the things they ask about on the form. People who slag off others for "false" claims need to take a long hard look in the mirror, disability benefits are NOT easy to get.

It's mostly a creation of the media!

It is bloody difficult to get it, with reports and interviews and all sorts of hoops.

Government own figures show overpayment due to fraud across all benefits as 0.7%, that's the total. (according to the DWP publication "Fraud and Error in the Benefit System: 2013/14 PreliminaryEstimates (Great Britain) )

It's tiny. Particularly when put against government wastage, house of lords scams, tax avoidance schemes...

Yet the papers and the ignorant would have you believe that everybody is claiming thousands and on the golf course every other day.

TV programmes showing the tiny few don't help.

Nor do stories of my brother's neighbour's cousin's sister...

Look at the PIP criteria, if you think she qualifies then appeal. It doesn't sound from your limited post that she will qualify. As vrtra points out, if she's PIP age then she's not old enough for AA. AA is harder to get than DLA was so she's not missing out in that respect.

Always appeal. There was a leak recently stating that some 20% of claims are routinely turned down because many don't understand how to appeal.
Dh got turned down, he cannot walk without two sticks, he has two speeds, slow and stop, has regular falls and various other difficulties. We got to the appeal and the judge swore at the dwp. We were in for five minutes. The dwp had said he was a regular gym user!

Thanks August and Vrtra.

She is 65 in March.

I will contact DWP and ask for their list of reasons.

We weren't expecting the higher rate but just enough to afford some help.

Df is still working at 66, digging footings in the freezing cold because he is so worried about how they are going to survive as dm's condition worsens (and it will)

It makes me so mad that anyone would think that dla is easy to get. There must be an awful lot of people in this country unable to care for themselves properly if dm doesn't even meet the basic criteria.

She can't even get out of bed by herself in the mornings.

Appeal, appeal and appeal again. Get help. Go to citizens advice, go on the special needs boards and talk to people who've succeeded.

My Autistic son receives DLA. We were rejected first time around. I was devastated and felt it was yet another place saying bad parenting. I then read something online about 99% of online applications being rejected, which may well not have been fact based, but spurred me on to try again. I reapplied manually as I'd left it to long to appeal and we received the award. It opened the door to carers allowance and made life so much easier.

I completely agree with you about false claims. Its not like you just say oh my back gives me a bit of bother and then swan off on foreign holidays on the bottomless pit of money you can then claim. I try not to let it add to all the stress surrounded by caring.

I'm sure it's virtually impossible to falsely claim DLA - the form is 56 pages long and you have to supply evidence and/or they contact professionals direct.
Not sure about the process with PIP.

Sorry to hear your mum has been refused. Have you looked at online support pages about how to fill out the form? It's very centred on what can't be done, what they need support with, how much they need watching over etc.

Best of luck - it sounds a really difficult situation and your mum does need to support.

dear/pip is a minefield unfortunately and unless you have out the exact wording they need to tick the box then it does regularly get rejected.

my friend has received it for years and the randomly got a letter saying it was being stopped, she physically cannot walk without sticks and needs help to do even the basics like putting her underwear on. she has had endless operations on her spine culminating in disc replacement and she still cannot walk more than 2-3 steps unaided.

I haven't applied as I meet the walking criteria so I know inbound be rejected however I have damage to my shoulder that means I cannot dress myself, make a cuppa or lift a pan without help or excruciating paid . I struggle daily and have to suffer the pain.

the criteria is designed to prevent false claims but unfortunately it also prevents alot of genuine people getting the help they need!

hope your appeal goes well

Thank you for all your replies, you've spurred me on to try again.

We haven't had a letter detailing why she's been rejected, just one that says it has been rejected as she doesn't meet the criteria so will get on that ASAP.

PIP is for under 65s and the government have told the assessors to reject 50% of applications (I kid you not). You need to follow the appeals process and evidence that she has her issues for more than half the time. Get her to keep a detailed diary for a week, it's really eye opening.

Thank you Preciousbane

I think that might be the issue actually, the 50% thing.

In the morning she has to be helped out of bed, and to get dressed. She can't walk unaided to the kitchen, and df makes her a coffee and toast, and gives her pain relief.

By mid afternoon the pain has eased sufficiently that she can get around the bungalow, and even drive herself to a friends or the shop, as long as she doesn't have to walk very far the pain relief means she is only in pain, not agony.

By evening she has begun to stiffen again, and if she has exerted herself she is again in agony, so has begun to avoid leaving the house.

She struggles with lifting her arms above waist height, but can prepare food etc in the afternoon for their evening meal, but she stops for a rest every few minutes.

Putting her bra on/sorting out her prosthetics is down to df, and she is mortified by that.

And it's only going to get worse for her.

I work for a well known advice charity and fill these in regularly. There is a list of points awarded for each question and you should fill the form in using examples of her worst day. You need 8 or 12 points for higher or lower rate. I have a list of how they award points . If you ask for mandatory reconsideration I believe they backdate the claim to the date she originally claimed if it is awarded. It is worth bearing in mind that in my experience PIP is taking roughly 10 months to be awarded but that could be because I live rurally and atos never have any appointments. Attendance allowance is taking roughly 6 weeks and I haven't yet had a client who went through a medical assessment. PM me if I can help.

Have a look on Age Concern site
www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/claiming-benefits/attendance-allowance/what-is-attendance-allowance/

To get Attendance Allowance you have to have needed care for 6 months before you can start receiving it.
You might be able to get Carer's allowance, but not your Dad as he probably receives retirement pension.
When you fill in the forms use her worst days as the criteria.

You have a month from the date of the letter you have to get in a request for a mandatory reconsideration - don't miss the deadline. You don't need to supply any extra evidence, just give reasons why you think they should reconsider and the whole claim will (supposedly) be looked again. Then you have another month from that being turned down (if it is) to get your appeal in. Go to adviceguide.org.uk and search "challenge dwp decision".

Thank you Mairy, that's really kind of you.

I find it terrifying that should you find yourself ill/disabled it is so difficult to get any help.

My dm was a vibrant, hardworking, always on the go kind of person just a few short years ago, and now is struggling to even wash her own hair.

It could happen to anyone of us, and the 7th richest country won't give a shiney shit if it happens.

Just to add support for you, DS has diagnosed OCD, and aspergers. He applied for PIP recently, his claim was initially rejected after a home assessment by someone who asked to speak to his mum on the phone. Since the main crux of his needs are based around living independently, it was obvious his claim had landed in the 'austerity' pile and not been read at all.
He asked for reconsideration - and was then awarded it, along with tidy back payment.

I doubt I would get carers allowance, I live 30 odd miles away, with a preschooler and a dh that usually earns a decent wage (he's been laid off til after Xmas)

I am struggling to get over there twice a week for a few hours tbh, I work at weekends and dd is at preschool 5 mornings.