DLA WAITING TIMES THREAD 65

[zoeybrooks45]

Please feel free to add your scan date and whether it's a new claim/mandatory reconsideration/change of circumstances or renewal.
New claims (NC) - people are being told the wait time has increased to 25 weeks! I would say most are done before this though around the 20 week mark?
Mandatory reconsideration (MC) and Change of circumstances (COC) is around 20-25 weeks.
Renewals tend to be between 15-20 weeks.
If you disagree with the outcome of an MR you can appeal and go to court (tribunal)
Scan date is the date DLA scan your application forms on to their system, if you downloaded your application forms then this will be from when your award will be backdated from. If you called up for forms then the date on those is the date yours will be backdated from.
If successful and claiming universal credit (UC) please update them as this will entitle you to disabled child element adding extra to your award.

I rang yesterday and she said it shouldnt be too long now but ive heard that about 5 times now 🤣🤣 its stressful

@Glitzxx yes Its driving me insane now

Perfect, I've just phoned them, they put a note done and I've to sent a picture of the prescription over so they can see the dosage when I pick it up the melatonin of Friday so hopefully they haven't made the decision before I send it☺️ good luck with your claim, my SD NC was 21/10 so hopefully we get a decision soon X

Following on my previous comments, I rang today to query the DBD385 form used in evidence to decline my son’s MR. The first call, at the mention of the form, the line went dead, I rang again and was told via another agent, after a long hold, this is indeed an “in-house medical service” requested by the DM, and as such the file was not on the system and she couldn’t tell me anything further.. after pressing how this can be obtained as I’m appealing she started to say how this could be requested via the gov website.. then the line went dead. Knowing that someone who 1) has never met my child and 2) didn’t even bother to correspond with me regarding my child has influenced this decision has made me even more determined to take this the whole way! System is an absolute joke!

Thing is i dunni if they would tell you if you have been awarded or do you have too keep calling to ask them as people aint been getting the text messages have they :/

@crb12345 mine was also a new claim so hopefully we get a quick answer. The wait has been horrendous! Really hope the melatonin helps you as much as it has me 😊 it's so hard to get them to prescribe but it's well worth the fight to get. Good luck with your claim x

I’m not sure on that one sorry. Ring uc they will tell you x

Nc sd 04/12 still a bit of a wait
Whats dates have gone threw today.

25/10- just got a updated EP report for EHCNA and don't know whether to send it

Send it just incase . Ring them first and let them know you're doing it . It it's already with DM they will see the note on the account then

Hi
Does anyone know if you receive a council tax reduction if your child gets DLA? x

been watching on here for a few threads now I’m SD 29/10 I’ve been calling every week for the last month was told yesterday in a que waiting to go to desision maker. I no how they like to lie lol but fingers crossed 🤞 won’t be much longer for us.

It might depend on council . But you should do . We get one for our old son who's in receipt of DLA

They are still looking at September , October and a few November have been dealt with too

Positive news. I rung for the 3rd time today as needed to update something and was told on the phone a decision had been made I asked to be put through to someone who could tell me as she said she couldn’t tell me what the decision was, she was really lovely and put me through straight away we have been awarded MRC LRM decision was made on Monday should receive back pay by next week. SD 24/10. Good Luck everyone still waiting

Congratulations 😊

Anyone been awarded MR recently? 21 weeks and waiting….

Same date as me, fingers crossed we're near the end now! The waiting is driving me crazy! 🤞

21 weeks and still waiting x

NC SD 21/11

@crb12345 yes sending evidence this late into the claim does delay things because the DM could have already obtained all evidence needed for a decision and rate based on the info already provided and then they need to include the new evidence and sometimes start again with the DM guide... Including a prescription could also affect the claim and lower the award or lower the length of the award especially a melatonin prescription as this could really help the child day and night and in turn lessen the daily care and night needs significantly.. As you've filled in the form with care needs without meds and now added meds and they don't know how this will affect things.
If you've already included melatonin in your original claim form then you're giving a self assessment of the child already on it.. But late evidence and a new prescription for it they don't know how it's going to affect the day and night needs so I've seen award lengths lowered or rates lowered if that makes sense.
It's hard to know what to send and what not to send isn't it 💫

See I thought it would go by as evidence that he's struggling to go to sleep so needing help, I'll maybe hold off and see if a decision is made at some point next week then, he's to try melatonin for a few weeks until his follow up appointment for diagnosis in April to see if it helps, I've filled the form in about his needs at night without meds as this is his first time being offered melatonin so I'll just wait and see, thank you for your advice X

@crb12345 I don't think that's right, if you get a DM that knows the melatonin medicine being prescribed then they would know that it can only be given once per night and it helps to get a restless child to sleep but does not prevent them waking up. Assisting in giving a child medication is a care need and waking up with a child multiple times in the night is also a care need and melatonin doesn't prevent the child from waking! They may make the date shorter as that poster just said but regardless the care need is there.

@crb12345 i wouldn't want to advise anyone to not send anything they feel is relevant and would help support their child's claim.
But what i can tell you is you've filled in your claim I'm guessing Oct time at the point of filling that in its correct and I'm guessing you've listed sleep issues with evidence to back this up...
Getting further evidence at this late stage for medication especially melatonin does help the DM to know the child has sleep issues but inturn also tells them the child is now medicated so that could mean the sleep issues go away and also helps the day issues so lessens what you've wrote in your original claim and because of this i have seen awards lowered and length lowered that doesn't mean that's going to happen to you just it has and does happen so it's totally upto you what you send as late evidence.
Other late evidence helps like official diagnosis and EHCPs or late evidence that's backs up what's been said in original claim..
But you just have to weigh up what you feel is going to support your claim and what isn't necessary.
Don't get me wrong if you are awarded HRC and then the child takes melatonin and sleeps soundly through the night the right thing to do would be a COC to say the night needs are no longet their but right now you don't know how it's going to help your child and your original claim is correct at the time of filling it out it's not your fault they are talking 20 weeks 🫠
As I said I'm not telling you what to send and what not to but just think about it and weigh it up before sending anything. If you think it's going to help and support evidence of your child struggling with sleep then send it off.
🤞🏼

@flutterbye99 you've said " I dont think that advise is right" with all due respect I would not give advise on anything I didn't know about and only offer advise here if I'm certain...
If the child is on melatonin at the time of filling in the claim form and there is still night time care needs and day as a reflection of the night and evidence to support this then the claim will be awarded based on that.
If you fill in a claim form with night care needs and evidnce to support this without meds the DM looks at that if you then send late evidence with a melatonin prescription as a new med the DM does not know how that's going to help so they do lower the length off award and rates in some cases.. Giving a child a single dose of medicine takes less than a minute.. The DM are not medically trained they don't know anything about melatonin which is why it sometimes delays the claim if already with a DM as they then have to refer to the dwp HCP to ask.
You've just stated it helps get a restless child to sleep so if this lady has stated it takes her 6 day attempts ( before she goes to sleep) and 6 night time attempts ( after she goes to sleep) to settle the child it cancelled out some of the day and night care she listed on her original claim. If that makes sense