Odd find, secret DLA allowance....

[sooperdooper]

I live with my DP, we're getting married later this year

I was just doing some tidying up, and sorting out a pile of paperwork/letters etc on the kitchen table, putting stuff in the pile to shred/file away etc

And I've found a letter, to DP from the DLA, about Disability Living Allowance, that he's getting nearky £400 a month on a higher rate care & lower rate mobility allowance - which I had no idea about whatsoever?

I wasn't snooping, just sorting through what was important and what could be thrown away, it wasn't in an envelope, just in with other letters on the table

I know his in his family there is a medical history if disabilities - his brother has spina biffida & learning difficulties, and his sister has spina biffida but works normally although I know she does suffer a lot of pain sometimes & has had so many ops over the years to enable to her now live a fairly normal life

But he has never, ever told me her receives DLA, it's so strange and I just don't know what to think

He's at work today and then going to a friends tonight from work, I won't really see him until tomorrow, but this is just so odd

I don't even know what advise I'm looking for really, guess I'm just confused

DS has an 'invisible' disablility - ASD.

However you only have to spend any time in his company to realise that he has Autism. Surely if the OP has spent time with her DP then she may have some idea of why he is getting DLA?

wouldn't he have mentioned that?

you can have something that is episodic and well controlled but still be eligible for DLA based on how bad it is when you relapse even if that's only every so many years

britta i think fast track rules apply in case of terminal illness....when ds was born the consultant paed applied for dla for him under the special rules.....

i am pretty sure you would not be awarded higher rate care for something that only affected you every few years.
happy to be told otherwise though

All seems very unlikely. Perhaps op read the letter wrong and is too embarrassed to come back?

All seems very unlikely. Perhaps op read the letter wrong and is too embarrassed to come back?

well when I was first awarded it I suppose I was hospitalised at least once a year, but it was reviewed when I was relapsing about once every three years and the amount stayed the same

but am overlooking all the day to day stuff that am used to, that probably is more serious than I think - the joy of denial

It is supposed to be awarded based on how much care you need the majority of the time.

You can get higher rate care if you have a terminal illness (likely to die within 6 months) even if you have no care needs; and it continues even if you don't die within the 6 months. So there are some people who got it for being HIV positive in the early 90s and are still (legitimately) getting it now. He might be one of those.
But you don't get any sort of mobility allowance unless you actually need help, so that wouldn't explain the whole claim.

Oh dear, I don't think comments like 'marking place' etc are very helpful to the OP. that makes her issues sound like Jeremy Kyle entertainment or similar... Hmmm. Tis true I sound all judgy pants, but all the same, I wouldn't like it at all. Seriously, would you?

Personally, I wouldn't care. munches popcorn

Clearly things haven;t gone the way the OP was hoping. If it had been a non issue I think she would have been straight back to say so.

I agree that there is something strange about this claim. DS was given a two year fixed award with higher rate care and mobility after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He had completely lost his sense of balance so couldn't walk unaided or do very much for a long time after surgery. I do suspect though, as the hospital social worker warned us, that he was given it under 'terminally ill' rules although there was nothing on the paperwork to indicate that.

Back in 1995 not many children survived brain tumours so apparently pretty much all claims with that diagnosis were designated as 'terminal'. At the end of the 2 year period DS was sufficiently recovered that we didn't need to reclaim although they sent us several forms inviting us to. However I was very glad of the benefit for the time we needed it.

But these days, DLA is very hard to get and there is no way that an adult requiring higher mobility and care wouldn't be noticed by a partner. This is very odd!

hmm, please come back and update us op

.

Has there been any resolution to this OP?

Maybe she didn't feel able to confront him about it yet?

Any news OP?

Any news OP?

So are we to take the radio silence from the OP that OP's partner has now confessed to fraud, demonstrated how important the income is to the household and she's decided to stop incriminating themselves on the internet? Or am I just a misanthrope?

Oh I hope not, it doesnt look good though does it?

I think that's what's happened too!