I've just been speaking with the DWP about an attendance allowance application form i submitted on behalf of my father, who at the time of submission was suffering from a condition diagnosed in May last year and the form was submitted in December (we were unaware we were allowed to claim for all the equipment we bought to allow him to remain living in his house).
Unfortunately he was admitted to hospital at the time of application submission with an unrelated issue, and unfortunately passed away in January 2024. The claim has been refused because he was in hospital at the time of passing away and they can't backdate anything to May.
The bit i really have an issue with is that the woman on the phone laughed all the way though the call for some reason when she was explaining this, as if i was an idiot. I asked her to stop laughing as this was my father who had passed away and she claimed she wasn't laughing, she just had a sore throat. The laughing then continued throughout the call until i ended the call, letting her know i was not willing to put up with the laughing any more.
I am still sitting here shaking. The money / claim is irrelevant to me, i'm not bothered about that, but cannot believe this is how people are treated. Don't even know what i'm looking for by writing this down, i'm just in shock at the insensitivity of DWP.