incapacity benefit medical - been messed around

little_angel_2

hi there,

i need a bit of advice, but also a bit of a rant.

i filled in my incapacity renewal form a few months back, as requested i gave them dates for the next 3 months - from july - that i couldn't do.

end of october i got a phone call to make an appointment for a medical in november. that was fine, even though it was past the 3 months i gave them dates for.

i'm all set to go to my medical last week. i had to go stay with my parents for this so my mum could take me as i have no way of getting there otherwise. not long before we were due to leave, my husband had a phone call at home to say my appointment had been cancelled due to illness and i would be sent a letter rescheduling it. i got the letter yesterday with a date i can't do in december - december is a difficult month!

i've just rung up to change my appointment, i'm asked why i can't do that date - fair enough. i'm told they can only change it once more (even though they cancelled the first one!). i'm offered a day and a time i can't do, i'm then told the 10th dec is the last date they can offer me. i made the appointment for that day, even though i've now got to cancel something that i've just told someone i could do. and my mum also has to cancel something - i told them my mum is having to take me. i panicked because i was told they couldn't offer me anymore appointments and now there's nothing i can do!

what's the point in asking for dates you can't do for 3 months if they then ask you for a medical after that time period?!

i'm annoyed, upset and scared that if i try and change it, it's going to effect my benefit.

sorry this is so long.

dazzadub

well basically you have to do as your told by them if you dont, money stops.

just go to medical, thats more important then going out xmas shopping etc

KxMx

Honestly I would say the Medical Exam is the most important appointment there is. I'm sure your clashing appointment can be moved, and the people you and Mum have to let down will understand.

PCA's take a long time and vary from area to area, so the 3 months is probably standard rather than a true reflection of the time frame.

As long as you attend the medical you will not have your money stopped. And at least you got a phone call before you left, i turned up for one once, was told they couldn't see me but had tried to phone which was a complete lie since no missed calls on mobile or new ones to landline!

little_angel_2

dazzadub wrote: »

well basically you have to do as your told by them if you dont, money stops.

just go to medical, thats more important then going out xmas shopping etc

thanks for that helpful advice! i'm aware it's far more important than shopping, which by the way is not what i had arranged to do and nor why december isn't the best month!

i know i've got to go the medical, i have no intention of not - it's too important. i'm just annoyed at having been put in this spot when it's them that cancelled in the first place.

dark_lady

There was a woman in our local paper about five/six years ago who got her Incapacity Benefit stopped because she couldnt go to her DSS medical because it clashed with a chemotherapy appointment. The benefits people wouldnt budge on it and it should be glaringly obvious to anyone with any common sense at all that the chemo is more important.

FTW

dark_lady wrote: »

There was a woman in our local paper about five/six years ago who got her Incapacity Benefit stopped because she couldnt go to her DSS medical because it clashed with a chemotherapy appointment. The benefits people wouldnt budge on it and it should be glaringly obvious to anyone with any common sense at all that the chemo is more important.

If an appointment has to be attended, audio record it - but don't tell them that you're doing it. Doing this is not against any rules or laws.

Then, if they try lying on your report - of which there is every chance - you'll have a much stronger case to argue if it gets to tribunal stage.


The DWP cannot be trusted to tell the truth, and it's best to be prepared for that.

healy

The majority of those that attend medicals have a fair assessment, this type of forum highlights those that have problems.

krisskross

Surely if you aren't working you can't be doing something every day that means you can't manage half a day for a medical.

little_angel_2

krisskross wrote: »

Surely if you aren't working you can't be doing something every day that means you can't manage half a day for a medical.

i see your point, but i was only offered certain days, which it so happened weren't very do-able for me or my mother who has to take me. i am free most of the time, but it just happens that the time frame given to me, that wasn't the case, the week before or the week after would have been much easier, but that option wasn't given to me. it's also more like a day as well, not just half a day, when you add on travel time, to and from the medical.

dmg24

little_angel wrote: »

i see your point, but i was only offered certain days, which it so happened weren't very do-able for me or my mother who has to take me. i am free most of the time, but it just happens that the time frame given to me, that wasn't the case, the week before or the week after would have been much easier, but that option wasn't given to me. it's also more like a day as well, not just half a day, when you add on travel time, to and from the medical.

Think about a medical as the equivalent to a job interview if you were claiming JSA. Do you think a JSA claimant should be allowed to turn down a job interview because it is inconvenient?

krisskross

I would have thought that if you tell them you are only going to be available with plenty of advance notice they must wonder what you are doing on the days you couldn't manage a medical.