How could they do this?

[brizzledrizzle]

You're on the verge of losing everything - but you don’t understand why http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-42789610

This should not be allowed to happen, this is supposed to be a civilised country. How could they do this to somebody

BTW I was worried about the process, I put it off for years. I wish someone had told me it might not be horrific.

im in the middle of claming pip-id been getting dla but theyve lost all my original notes and i dont have them either so no proof of my bi polar

appreently they dont even ask the gp for them they "dont have time for that"

so i have my assement in a co9uple of weeks with no proof and a mental health disorder which some days i can manage and some days i cant even leave the house

we all know which way its going to go

I helped a family memeber who had a review on pip after 2 years . I’m pretty good at filling out such forms so always get asked to do this sort of stuff

She sent the form back end of Feb had an interview mid March and was awarded the same amount end of April so pretty quick

A friend was transferring from DLA to PIP
He actually had his interview within 3 weeks of sending the form back because they asked him if he could do a short notice appointment.by text and he said yes .
From start to finnish and getting the full high rate care / mobility took less than 8 weeks
One big problem that I see loads is DLA to PIP.
The descriptions are similar but mean different things so people aren’t prepared for this . People also dont Iike to think about it so leave it right to the last minute before getting any evidence together often becaus they can’t .

Where most people fail on PIP its because they think that because they are ill they will get it but it’s nothing to do with the illness only how it affect your ability to do stuff whereas DLA was about your illness
So someone. Who has been on it for life for his illness will fail because they are often looking at the form in the wrong way if that makes sense

It might not be. I'm not expecting trouble with my husband's when they finally transfer him, because he has a measurable disability which means we can provide hard, incontrovertible proof of it and by extension of the things he cannot do.

Or you might be like my best friend, who is autistic and has a personality disorder. She got her award on appeal a few weeks ago. Her original assessment was in February.

To answer a pp, just to say no staff are not adequately trained by any means. In fact the general public would be horrified by the lack of comprehensive training and support whilst staff are trying to assist many vulnerable types of people. It is frustrating, stressful and often upsetting for those on the front line who have no control over any of the rules and sanctions in place. Just to add that perspective.

Grabsalot What have you done to get copies of your documents? You can't sit back and expect them to do it - they won't.

It's no good blaming the system if you don't have the documents when you attend. You need to be in control and ensure your have all the paperwork you need in case they say they have lost/misplaced them so you can just say "oh I have another copy here".

So call your GP or consultant and get a copy of what you need. Ask them to send a couple of copies, or get extra copies made yourself.

YeTalkShiteHen You may be happy to see 50 people screw the system but most aren't. I'd rather no one screwed it and the one person got what they were entitled to.

And most people don't end up being arrested when they go to benefits office so Beccas experience wasn't what would happen to most people.

Neshoma

You aren't allowed to give them copies, you have to send original documents. Copies are not treated as genuine documents. Its pointless having them.
If they lose the originals you cant send the copies as back up or as proof the original existed.

I'd rather no one screwed it and the one person got what they were entitled to

Back in the real world.....

I’d obviously rather that too, but it’s not exactly reality is it? The fact is that the anti benefits propaganda touted by the Tories is working, and it is causing very real hardship and distress to many people. If weeding out the 1.1% of those claiming who are fraudulent (without going after other fraudulent uses of taxpayers cash!!!!) causes hardship and distress to even one non fraudulent (ie the vast majority) claimant it’s too many.

If you’re happy to see people starve, become homeless, fall further into poverty, be unable to take care of themselves and their families then I think that says an awful lot about you as a person.

And if you think MH arrests are uncommon you need to do some research.

@Trumpodious

I claimed PIP last month and was surprised all I needed to do was make a call and fill in the form they sent me. It wasn't that hard and I didn't send much in the way of evidence just some really old doctors' letters that I already had that were about something else but alluded to my disability. I was awarded more than I expected to be. I'd heard the horror stories too but clearly it doesn't have to be a horrible process.

I am amazed that it was that easy for you to claim PIP. Both my daughters claim it, both have mobility issues due to pain (chronic pain and RA) but because they can walk a short distance, do small things, which still cause them extreme pain, they aren't considered disabled enough for the mobility component. This is despite a government report two years ago which stated that walking with pain is not considered walking normally. However, the blue badge people say they can have a blue badge each.

I wish their experience was as easy as you say yours was. It is highly stressful for them, causes a lot of pain during and for days after. They are made to feel they are lying, not so much by the assessor, but by the final report when it eventually comes back. A lot of what they tell the assessor is discounted, or taken out of context, as the person writing the report is not the same person as the assessor. It makes me very angry how they are treated, and they have not had it as bad as some others. Yes, if you need help, as its not just the money that can help, its the very fact you are eligible for PIP which helps. I just wish the system was a fairer one, and a more transparent one.

I have a relative who is very ill and bed bound most days. Occasionally he can manage with help to sit in a chair. He can not get into a car and can only leave the house in a vehicle with a wheelchair lift. He will die from his illnesses. He had no problem getting benefits because no medical knowledge is needed at all to see that he needs lots of help. Some people will find benefit claims easy. But few people are in this extreme situation.

longtompot

I wish everyones' was as easy as mine too. I would encourage everyone to apply, expect the worst and be really happy if they get the best. As I did and am.

Upstart then Grabsalot should phone up and ask for new 'original' documents. I wouldn't turn up empty handed.

It's horrendous. My 10 year old has been turned down for DLA recently at his renewal. Had his blue badge and motability car taken away as well. We will go to tribunal but that will take ages and in the meantime he is virtually housebound.

YeTalkShiteHen I don't believe this 1%. Take Grenfell - the number of sublet properties and at least 5 people who claimed to be residents and received payments only to be found out to be fraudsters.

I'm just glad he is 10 and oblivious to what the dwp have said about him. I worry about his mental health when he is an adult and has to deal with this stuff himself.

Neshoma ask the government why it has a New Enterprise Allowance specifically to help small businesses / sole traders set up! It includes an external provider who helps assess viability and offers basic guidance on HMRC etc.

It has helped a lot of people into work and I won't apologise for being one of them, why should I? Even if I hadn't paid into the system for 30 years at that point, why wouldn't I take any offer of help the government puts in place?

Neshoma I have read that there are criminal gangs who illegally claim housing benefit falsely and make a lot of money from it. But this is not the same as individuals.

Crunchy Some will be gangs but others working alone. We'll never know.

It’s just like the film I, Daniel Blake which anyone who doesn’t understand the benefits system or thinks people on benefits are taking ‘the easy way out’ really need to watch.

The assumption everyone is a liar and can work/be productive to society is the problem along with we must save money at all costs.

Any system will have fraud and problems - the answer is to address those without penalising those who aren't committing fraud.

Yes I've complex needs - that shouldn't mean I struggle more But I do.

GabsAlot, your GP can provide you with a statement about your condition.

I only see a Consultant in a hospital. If I am ill, I go to them. I had to get a statement of support from my Consultant, because they don't fill out forms/take phone calls etc.

I was seriously ill one year, bedbound at times and got turned down. They disagreed with my Consultant and complex care team. My Consultant had just been awarded an OBE and is on hundreds of thousands of pounds per year. I got it awarded the second year when I was bit better.

IMO, I should have been able to sue the NHS for getting my condition wrong, or the DWP, because one of them was wrong and it was a terrible waste of my Consultant's and the Team's time and NHS resources/drugs, if they were wrong.

If the DWP was wrong then I was entitled to the benefit.

""Where most people fail on PIP its because they think that because they are ill they will get it""

That isn't "were most people are failing on PIP". As the cases of deaths whilst using food banks, show. As well as the amount of the decisions being overturned.

I touched lucky at my ESA interview. The assessor had worked in Neuro and could read and understand my paperwork. Which is what the panel for PIP seemed not to be able to do.

That's the issue, those deciding aren't qualified to do so.

People on the bottom rung of society, who then get less money isn't good for Society. which is why businesses, especially small one's, disappear. We need a level of money circulating (for those that are gleeful at benefits being cut).

@Neshoma it is 1.1% according to official figures. Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant.

And your comment about Grenfell was a horrid example. 5 people were fraudsters, out of how many? How many people failed by the government who dumped them in a giant firefighter and left them to die? Or be forever traumatised?

Firelighter not firefighter