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!