DLA if I appeal? Plus CA

andrew71

Yesterday i recieved my DLA notification. The good news was that it was approved, bad news is that it as been cut from middle rate for personal care to lower rate meaning we lose about £115 per month.

If we appealed about it could they turn around and say we've looked into it and we have decided to take the full amount off you now so you will not recieve any DLA.
Or because we have been awarded it then does it not matter if we lose the appeal we would still be entitled to what they awarded us originally?

Also my wife recieve Carers Allowance on behalf of myself. With the DLA going down to lower rate we would also lose that money coming in so in total we will lose over £300 per month. We also recieve DLA for our daughter who is autistic. She is on the middle rate for personal care. Could my wife transfer the CA she recieves on behalf of our daughter if we contacted them or would she need to fill in forms again to claim for CA for our daughter?

MrsManda

If you appeal the DLA decision there is always the chance that once they've looked at all the information again the award can go up, stay the same or go down.

In terms of Carer's Allowance I suspect your wife will have to do a new claim as she'll need to provide evidence of your daughter's DLA. But the best thing to do is for your wife to call the DWP as soon as possible and explain that she is no longer eligible to receive Carer's Allowance for you but she also cares for your daughter who is on middle rate DLA and ask what she needs to do to claim CA for your daughter instead of you. The earlier she does this the better so that she doesn't risk getting overpayments.

TOBRUK

Hi andrew71, my DLA rate was reduced on my renewal award this time last year. You have one month from the date on the award letter to disagree with their decision, however, if you do go ahead you do stand a chance of losing your DLA - not only for care but also mobility if you also receive it as they will look at the whole claim again and not just one part.

Personally I wrote a letter asking if they would look at my claim again stating why I disagreed with their decision - it was a long letter with detailed explanation and examples of all the difficulties etc. I felt that writing to ask them to reconsider was the right thing for me to do and if I were to fail then I would go down the appeal route.

As a result just 3 weeks from time I posted I received their decision which they increased the rate and so I was successful.

It is really up to you what you decide but you must remember that if you proceed you could lose the whole claim! It was difficult for me to decide what to do and even though I felt they were wrong with their original decision, it was a worrying time waiting for the outcome.

andrew71

Thanks for the replies. I am in two minds I get the higher rate of Mobility DLA so if we appealed there could be the likelyhood of losing that which we use for a mobility car.
When the letter came for the renewal with all the news of people having beneifts stopped I didn't hold much hope. So in a way we may be losing £115 per month DLA but at least we haven't lost it all and the car too.
I think my wife will be better claiming CA for our daughter as her condition is something she will live with the rest of her life. I on the other hand could recover (hopefully)

andrew71

I was speaking to somebody today regarding this and they mentioned about asking them (DWP) to look into our claim.
They mention that if you appeal like previously mentioned they would look at the full application again but if we ask them to look into the current claim then they could either keep it the same of increase it.
Is there a difference between an appeal and a looking into the current claim or does it make no difference?

MCGONIS

Hi. Sometimes the government officials get it wrong. If you are disabled and need the Disability Living Allowance, then I really would not worry about losing benfit. You are the the one that qualified for the benfit in the first place. By appealing, it can only do you good? No?

You have nothing to lose!

TOBRUK

andrew71 wrote: »

I was speaking to somebody today regarding this and they mentioned about asking them (DWP) to look into our claim.
They mention that if you appeal like previously mentioned they would look at the full application again but if we ask them to look into the current claim then they could either keep it the same of increase it.
Is there a difference between an appeal and a looking into the current claim or does it make no difference?

Hi andrew71, I was on HRM and MCR when I re-applied for DLA as the award was ending. Their decision was HRM and LRM, the difference was going from Mid care rate to Low care rate - the High mobility rate staying as previous. Writing to them to ask them to reconsider I was risking losing BOTH mobility and care rate altogether although it was just the care rate that I was disagreeing with.

My understanding is that if you ask for either reconsideration or appeal they look at the whole claim not just one part. As it happened they increased my care rate not only to the mid care which I previously was awarded, but they increased it to High care rate on reconsideration!

MCGONIS, I understand your thinking that if you are disabled and have care needs then you have nothing to worry about, however, many people who are deserving of DLA have to fight hard for it and are not always successful. Therefore by appealing you do have something to lose, if you are awarded HMR and LCR and disagree with the care rate not only you could find yourself losing the care rate altogether you could also have mobility rate lowered or lose that also! Someone having HRM taken away could mean the difference between getting out of the house and being unable to go anywhere.

MCGONIS

TOBRUK wrote: »

MCGONIS, I understand your thinking that if you are disabled and have care needs then you have nothing to worry about, however, many people who are deserving of DLA have to fight hard for it and are not always successful. Therefore by appealing you do have something to lose, if you are awarded HMR and LCR and disagree with the care rate not only you could find yourself losing the care rate altogether you could also have mobility rate lowered or lose that also! Someone having HRM taken away could mean the difference between getting out of the house and being unable to go anywhere.

Hi there. Thanks very much for replying. I was only adding my experience. I work in a Social Security Office. I don't deal with DLA. I know people who make decisions on that benefit.

Now my mum gets the high rate on both compnents. If she did not, her and my dad would loose their house as the dla only JUST covers mortgage payments. They dont have much left to live on when you take off gas/electric/insurance/loans/tvlicence etc etc.

Now I know for a fact, if an officer decided to downgrade my mum to a different level I would be right in there with her and appeal.

There is no way they can decide that without spending a bit of time with the claimant.

That is why I made my earlier comment. If you have been awarded a lower component, I would be appealing. If you are disabled, there is no way you would lose your whole award by making an appeal.

The good thing that will happen is you get to speak to an officer face to face and they will see what is wrong with you. Rather than someone sitting at a desk reading a claim review form with a target to meet.

The target is so many cases dealt with....... buck the outcome.

I am horified what goes on in benefit offices. Nothing adverse against the claimant though. More just stats and numbers. Everything has to be rushed to make a target.

And thats is why I would appeal. They have to rush everthing. As do I where I work as I have to get them off the phone in 17 minutes. If the phone call lasts longer I get into trouble at my meeting with manager.

That is why I despise the government. Nothing is done thoroughly. Because they want lots done. Except it's the claimants like you -and my mum that lose out - because of the pressure put upon people that decide on your benefit.

Hope that makes you a bit more likely to appeal. Good luck and bye for now.

TOBRUK

Hi MCGONIS, thanks for sharing your experience and I know how difficult it is with a claim. I have experienced two tribunals regarding DLA in the past when my claim was turned down. The reason I decided to go to tribunal was that I felt very strongly that I was eligible for DLA, and I was successful.

However, it is possible that some that are worthy of DLA are declined, as you do hear stories. You just have to weigh it all up. Last year I did write to disagree with their decision, and although I felt very nervous about it I was glad that I did.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

write a detailed letter of explanation as to why you disagree with the decision for them to reconsidder provide extra evidence of care needs if you can to support you claim, they can retract previous award but how silly will it look at a tribunal. they would have to explain themselfs, and if you fall into catagories they award then retract it on a considderation it hampers their success in a tribunal situation as the panel will want to know why they retracted the award on reconsidderation the reason behind it and if it is within good reason to do so. the horror stories outway the success stories because people primarily look for advice on failure of application, and dont post back on their appeal outcome's or rather somedont.

if you get denied DLA at reconsideration stage, you wont lose your motability car straight away you will be allowed to keep it during appeal, but bare in mind that if you lose HRM you'll have to fit the bill for the cars use during that period of appeal then hand it back, CAB, and other organisations can help you with your reconsideration appeal then help go onto tribunal appeal if need be.

good luck and take care!