The DWP reduces get another mumsnetter to tears!!!!!!!

[Thomcat]

There is nothing I expect you to say, nothing I want any of you to do, it's all ok, just absolutely have to rant and then get on wihth it.

Got home to a letter that says 'we recently wrote to you about your DLA. As we have reduced your award of the higher rate of the mobility component of the DLA you are no longer eligible for the Motorbility Scheme. blah blah blah.'

So my first thought was where is the letter telling me about this decision and oh my god how can they reduce the my award.

So rang up and explained I appeared to be missing a letter. Was told no, the letter I just read out was the decision letter. I said it couldn't be, I'd had these letters before and this was wrong and where in the letter I had did it explain why I wasn't being awarded the high rate? At which point I was told by the oik at the end of the phone 'if I would stop talking for a minute he was trying to explain why to me but I hadn't given him a chance'! How I kept my mouth shut I don't know.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, guess what, I was right, no surprise there, I am missing the decision letter. Took the oik a few more 'I know what I'm talking about little woman' type snidey comments before he had to climb off his high horse but we got there in the end.

From the information he had in front of him it would appear that someone somewhere along the line has deduced that DD1 can walk anything from 10 mins to 60 mins!

Hmmm, I'm thinking seeing as how it was DD1's school that submitted the other evidence / report that it was them that did scribbled 10 mins in the 'from' box and 60 mins in the 'to' box.

So I'll be going into school tomorrow and talking the wheelchair back off them as she can obviously walk to mass now then. All the time they have been pushing her in the wheelchair and she could have been walking it.

And then I start fighting. Cos that's how it works. Because why would they make it easy?

on your behalf

Oh, Thomcat.

I am so on your behalf.

Give them hell ...

Fuck me, TC!

What a load of bollocks that you didn't need!

Oh, yes, the eternal struggle and being treated like a criminal.

And all you can think of is, 'What if she didn't have me to fight her corner?'

Got my guns blazing for you and DD1.

Thomcat

What a battle it all is. So wearing.

Have angry tears streaming down my face.

The way I was spoken to. The way I was treated like an idiot.
The way they make it so hard for the people who really need the help.

If we lose high rate mobility we lose the blue badge which means I'll have to start putting DD1 back into a buggy as there is no way she can walk from the bottom of the hill to the top and so on. There is the saftety issue, the fact that when she has had enough she'll just sit cross legged on the floor and not budge, the fact I have a 2 yr old and a 1 year old to manage as well. Oh and we lose the car as well, great! I just needed another 3 years and then hopefully she will be capable of walking for an hour.

If I ever have the misfortune to meet a DLA scammer I will throttle them.

Am so, so cross right now

But that's good, I'll use tht and I will get what DD1 deserves, I will.

does the school have a copy of the part of the form they sent?

sounds like they just cocked it up and now there's a mess.

I'm afraid I don't know anything about DLA etc but am very sorry t hear this - and peed off on your behalf.

Can dd's school or GP do anything to help? What about a letter to your MP?

can you ask to see the paper work?
I'd take the form into school and make them eat the bloody thing!

What happens now?
will it stay at the higher rate now?

( I know nothing about it either)

I've told asked the DWP to send me a copy of absolutely everything. So I'll see what was writtena nd who said what.

My betting is that someone, probably the school, have not really thought too much about it and in the box where it says "how long does it take then to walk this distance - to from" they have filled in 10 mins and 60 mins without really thinking about it. Of course whe can't walk an hour. She's never, ever walked for anything like an hour. I would say, hand on my heart , that the max might be a slow 10 minutes.

She walked about 10 - 15 yards today. It took about 10 minutes. In that time she tried to get into a strangers car, wanted to walk into every shop door that was open, licked a shop window, tried to grab a strangers hand who was walking past her and finished by sitting down cross legged on the pavement.

But no, we don't deserve the high rate motorbility

I would be having serious words with the school if it was them. Any possibility your dd's dla form has been mixed up with another child's (said Bullet, grasping at straws)?

i hope they can settle this without going to appeal.

Tosspots.

Ask them to reconsider it TC and then appeal. If it goes that far you'll get a copy of all the paperwork so will be able to see who's cocked up. And get school to write a letter for you confirming that she can't bloody well walk that far.

Oh hell - having not had the decision letter you are still in time to appeal, aren't you??

The rude and useless b*stards.

I hope they see sense asap, TC. xxx

Yeah the timing thing is cool. As of today they have put me down as requesting to be reconsidered. He is sending me all paperwork, all copies of reports and also the paperwork incase I want to appeal at any stage. Once I know who has said what I can get started.

Phew! Go get 'em TC!

Thanks everyone. You, along with a large glass of white, and the rest of the bottle next to me, has calmed me; a little

I have sent a psychic punch in the nose to the useless, patronising, twat who 'helped' you on the phone
I hope you get to the bottom of it quickly. In the meantime, you could always 'accidentally' bump in to/run over toes of any likely candidate at school with DDs wheelchair - as she doesn't need it anyway

Oh FGS!!! Rotten to be patronised like that too! Direct the silly twunt here and demonstrate that on MN, you are a celebrity! Enjoy the wine at least and deal with it in the morning!

Hey Thomcat, sending good vibes your way, and sticky bad ones to the bloke at the DWP. Hope you get it all sorted out soon!

I think the idiots staff on the DLA 'help'line are given special teaching on how to be as patronising as possible. I had a similar discussion trying to get them to send me the forms for the mobility component. The patronising git at the other end of the phone told me I had 'no chance' - felt like shoving the forms back at him when we were awarded higher.

I think there are lots of attempted cut backs with DLA at the moment.I'm half expecting trouble when we renew. the reader comment on my blog shows what it's like - just constant hassle

Morons

a child with m-sld whether in mainstream or not, should be entitled to higher rate. AShe needs help with all her primary care needs for a start. let alone the fact she has only just started walking I dont think mainstream 'get' the whole you have do worst case scenario thing, do they?