Benefits/welfare problems.

I am in the UK and got a letter today my Disability Living Allowance benefit is ending and I have been invited to claim the new benefit Personal Independence Payment,these are benefits to help with the extra costs of being disabled.At present I am getting £307 a month for this but that will stop in 4 weeks.If I get PIP all well and good but if they refuse me not only do I lose £307 a month but I also lose from my Employment Support Allowance and extra £60 a week which is £240 a month so that is £547 which is half my total monthly payments.It is scary cos I have to fill in a 40 page form and have a face to face assessment with the health assessment practitioner.I phoned up today and registered my claim,it was fairly straight forward and they just asked me for some basic information.Next step wait for the How your illness affects you form and fill it in,40 pages long it is.Send it back to them and presumable wait for an appointment to go for my face2face unless they decide they have enough paper evidence.I will be asking my doctor and other health professionals for reports to support my claim.I have mental and physical ailments so I can't see them refusing me but it is a question of whether I get standard rate PIP or enhanced rate.More money than now or less.Wish me good luck.I am not going to worry cos I am resolved if I don't get what I think I am entitled to to go to appeal and all the way to the court tribunals.I am anxious to have to manage on less money.

Best wishes for success with this. I would guess that just the stress of it all must just make everything that much more difficult.

If you argue too well they will see you as healthier. This happened to me and they told with my smarts I could get a good job and they took all of my benefits away. Try to get someone else to fill out the paperwork and argue for you and your case.

There is no one else and they can't just take my money away they already have me in the support group which says I have limited capacity for work.I have mental and physical ailments that seriously affect my physical capabilities.It doesn't feel fair that you would try to scare me and worry me that they will take my benefits away,it may have happened to you doesn't mean it happens to everyone.

Definitely get all the letters that you can from doctors and professionals that you interact with to support your claim. It is an anxious time. Fingers crossed that you get your assessment appointment with some-one that understands forms and disabilities.

Thanks Possum.They advised me that I can request a paper based assessment because I have mental illness it would be distressing to have a face to face and I have limited mobility and bladder issues...so I might not have to have a face to face.If it comes to it and I have to have an assessment I might be allowed a home visit.

I am anxious waiting for the doctors to get the letter ready for my claim,they promised I would have it by this Thursday.I rang today(Tuesday)to see if it was ready she said no it isn't ready,I asked if it will be ready on Thursday she said yes,and she will phone me when it is ready.I can't relax until I have this letter and can send it together with the claim form to the DWP,then they will probably call me for a face to face assessment.

And there is the post.......... Waiting with you.

I sent the form back last thursday 8th March well within the deadline 14th March,with the doctors supporting letter.My doctor asked them if I can have a home assessment or a paper based one.Here's hoping they comply.I have to wait now to find out if I have to have a face 2 face assessment.I probably will have to have one.I have to wait to hear from them now.I am so nervous about losing my money I won't cope.I'll have to appeal all the way to court,it is struggling without the money until the appeal,it can take a year to sort it.

Anyway I got a text from them on Friday 9th March saying they had received the form that I sent them so that is good!

Waiting is a very hard part.

It has been nine days since I sent the claim form and they received it.I have heard no news as of yet.I am anxious trying to stay positive and hopeful to trust God will sort it and that they will do me justice when it comes to supporting me through my ill health.Part of me is desperately worried that I won't have enough money to get by on.No news is good news they say but I am as I say going to try and stay positive.

I am still anxious and worried about getting this PIP benefit,I have not heard from them yet,it has been two weeks,I am trying to stay positive.I have not been told that I have to have a face to face assessment,I requested a paper based assessment cos of the distress due to my mental ill health and my problems with mobility and needing a bathroom.My doctor requested if they do do an assessment to do it in my own home.The assessment is what worries me as others claiming this benefit have recounted horror stories of the assessor being nice and friendly then writing outright lies on their report to lose them points and refuse them the benefits.I told them on the form I don't trust the assessment process for this reason.I hope I won't need one.If I do I will tell them the truth and if they try to rob me of my entitlement I will challenge them all the way to the court tribunal to try and win my money back.I am trying to stay positive and it helps that I am resolved not to lie down and be walked all over if I don't get what I am due.
God is with me and will give me the strength to fight,obviously I hope it doesn't become necessary,we will see.The main thing is not to get defeated by the worry and fear and not to fall at the first or last hurdle.Most people who go to appeal win in their favour so we will see what happens.I could find it is a simple straightforwards process with no assessment and I get awarded what I am due with no hassle so lets wait and see and hope.

I hope it works out for you and you get some answers soon.

Government agencies do seem to take their own sweet time when it comes to processing paperwork. Seems to be taking forever. Wondering if you could ask your doctor to contact them and move things along a bit faster?

Thanks for your replies......Hi to you all, it is 7th April tomorrow.I got a date yesterday for my face 2 face home assessment,it is now on the 19th April instead of the 12th,cos they were going to send a man and I asked for a woman.So I have a woman coming on the 19th.I also am getting CBT therapy at last after waiting since July last year,my first appointment is on the 18th with a therapist.That is good cos all this worry with benefits has triggered my PTSD symptoms.

So it is friday night...I am home all weekend,I have weight management class on Monday,Tuesday I go to post office and bank,wednesday I have CBT with the therapist and on Thursday I have my home assessment for PIP benefit from between 10am and 12pm the assessor will turn up and the assessment will last anything from 20 minutes to two hours.I am really nervous and worried I stand to lose so much money if they stop my PIP It is really scary to be going through this whole process I will have to appeal and go to tribunal if refused and it can take up to 12 months on half the money I usually get I don't think I'll manage.So lots at stake and it is an anxious time and I am really worried.

So how’s it going Marylin? Did the home visit go well? I know you were nervous about.

Thanks for asking Shazerac,the home visit isn't until this thursday,19th April,two more days to wait...getting more and more anxious but it will soon be over and done with then we will see what happens!

You will be okay. I am now living on 50% of what I made working and now have the added expense of medical supplies. Some weeks I have $5.00 in spending money but I somehow make ends meet.

Hi all I had the face2face medical assessment yesterday,I was made to explain humiliating details about my life and how my ilness affects me,I felt like I was rubbish and didn't matter and like I had done something wrong and had to prove my innocence,it was a horrendous experience and the woman who did the assessment was vile,absolutely vile.I am just recovering it made me ill,my mental health went into decline and I felt so really depressed and down suicidal,I had no energy after.To add to that I think she was trying to find reasons to lose me points so that I get less or no money.I have to wait six weeks now to find out what she said and to get a decision.I feel sick.Nasty pernicious system,fascists,we shouldn't have to go through this when we have a history of years of illness,I find it humiliating they made me feel like a pathetic creature and they were devoid of any human empathy.I shouldn't have had to go through such a degrading experience!

That's terrible. I'm so sorry you had to go though that.

Thanks for your support Nammu.I am starting to recover from the ordeal of the f2f assessment today.I think the worst thing was the assessor seemed to me to be a bit of a sociopath.She was nasty pretending to be nice and made out I would get an award but I think she will do all she can to fail me.Why I think that is because when she found out that I owned my house without a mortgage she looked at me with sheer hatred for a few seconds,went wheww right and had this look on her her face like she was saying right I am going to get you failed now.She also seemed dead jealous,so I think she will bring her personal feeling in to it and try to fail me.

If they fail me I will lose £300 a month and on top of that £62 a week off other benefits which is my severe disablement premium.I won't have enough for food and bills let alone to pay off my debts which are substantial.I will go to Mandatory Reconsideration and if that fails go to tribunal,before the court and a judges panel.I have to stop worrying and get strong physically and mentally so that I can take them on.I get so afraid is all and the worry ,anxiety combined with physical illness and mental anguish make me so exhausted and unable to go on at times,I fear they will cause me another psychosis in the end cause the stress and worry is too much to bear.

Even if they give me an award it might only be for three years and they will review it and make me go through the form filling and another assessment,it is cruel to make a mentally ill disabled person have to prove they can't work and look after ourselves over and over again and threaten to stop their money.We are being treated like liars and criminals wanting to cheat the system,it is fascistic the way the system treats us,it isn't a benefits system it is a punitive regime they are putting us through.

I am sorry to whine and complain,it is so hard,it helps to have this forum to rant on and get the pain out and write it down so I am not focusing and dwelling with the pain and anxiety alone.

Glad that you are starting to recover now. I am sorry that it was a hard situation. It's good that it's done with for now.

Fingers crossed that the outcome will still be a good one.

Going to start looking for advice on Mandatory Reconsideration and appeals online.
I need to stay strong...I am going to stop worrying,getting upset and angry cos that just wears me down and drains me of energy.Just get ready to go through fighting them if they take my money away.I am not alone lots of people are being persecuted with this.
I can fight it and win..so keep hopeful.Like you say Possum fingers crossed that the outcome is still a good one!

I heard from the benefits people for PIP on tuesday that they have received the assessor's report for my f2f assessment and I requested they send me a copy.It will give me some idea whether I got enough points to qualify for PIP.I am extremely anxious and could have another four weeks to wait for the actual decision.My anxiety is so high about this.I am all alone and have no support my family don't care or understand what I am going through it is not them will have to go without...they are narcissists anyway so won't give a ****.

I keep trying to keep calm but the fear is through the roof.I am feeling 100% certain they are going to try and stop my benefit and I will have to go to court,I am very very scared.I am sorry you have all supported me and helped me to not worry but here I am scared and worried again.I can't help it it goes out of my control,tonight especially I have a great deal of fear and anxiety.I just need to know what they will do the waiting is killing me.