DLA turned down , forms filled in wrong

black_paw

i had letter from DLA saying turned down so ,today i got a copy of the DLA forms that the local disability centre,they filled in for me....the lady did mention that she did'nt fill in that many ! ( key word)

...i told her about my day , and she filled in form that ..not really going though the actual questions stated ....i was there nearly 3 hours , in great deal of pain and very stressed , as being deaf ,i had to ask her several times ect ....and found very hard to focus and understand towards the end.....i did say at end is she sure got all questions ,i think some missing

....when reading the forms today ...some have been missed out ..like step/stairs which i can't do ..this has been left blank ! and some worded wrong ....what do i do now ????? the DLA letter is dated 3 feb..so need to act soon ...

Indie_Kid

You need to appeal. Ask for a statement of reasons - this gives you 2 extra weeks (so, 6 weeks) to appeal.

parsons

black_paw wrote: »

i had letter from DLA saying turned down so ,today i got a copy of the DLA forms that the local disability centre,they filled in for me....the lady did mention that she did'nt fill in that many ! ( key word)

...i told her about my day , and she filled in form that ..not really going though the actual questions stated ....i was there nearly 3 hours , in great deal of pain and very stressed , as being deaf ,i had to ask her several times ect ....and found very hard to focus and understand towards the end.....i did say at end is she sure got all questions ,i think some missing

....when reading the forms today ...some have been missed out ..like step/stairs which i can't do ..this has been left blank ! and some worded wrong ....what do i do now ????? the DLA letter is dated 3 feb..so need to act soon ...

You must have seen the same advisor as saw my wife!!

When she had the forms returned for the appeal for her Attendance Allowance, I noticed that only one half of her problems were detailed.
I enquired at the Tribunal Office and they said that they could only be asked to look at things as they were and as they were reported at the time.

So she opted for a 'paper hearing' and I sent in details about what had been missed.

In the report from the Tribunal after they refused the appeal they did not consider those additional matters and dismissed the claim in it's entirity.

As an example:

"Mrs ***** was found to have ******* conditions. She reasonably required help in and out of the bath, but the Tribunal saw no reason why she could not mobilise with the help of a walking aid when undressing and dressing. She used the toilet frequently but could reasonably be expected to use a commode downstairs as going up and down stairs was difficult."

Following that debacle she has given up ever hoping that she would be entitled to any form of welfare benefit. I honestly don't blame her.

As for your particular case, I wouldn't hold out much hope of changing, improving or adding to an already lost case as far as the DWP are concerned.

However there is nothing stopping you putting in a new claim, but I'm not sure if they don't refer to the previous claim for comparison purposes (just in case a new condition and needs miraculously arrives on their doorstep)!

Good luck anyhow.

black_paw

Parsons , thanks for your reply ,must be the same lady LOL .....perhaps you should have asked for oral appeal , or if still time go for it ! ..im sorry your wife has been turned down and the whole thing is so stressful and very easy to give up ...i been advised to goo for a oral hearing where you can put your point across ...my brother will come with me....

concerned43

Did the advisor not ask you to read the form before you signed it?
The disability people can only go on the information that's on the form so you may have to apply again.

parsons

black_paw wrote: »

Parsons , thanks for your reply ,must be the same lady LOL .....perhaps you should have asked for oral appeal , or if still time go for it ! ..im sorry your wife has been turned down and the whole thing is so stressful and very easy to give up ...i been advised to goo for a oral hearing where you can put your point across ...my brother will come with me....

No unfortunately that is not possible. The appeal hearing, what bit there was of it, took place last October.

Yes I was aware of the option of an oral hearing, but I left that decision to my wife. It was her that was going to have to stand up and present her case and then suffer the onslaught of an in depth examination by strangers.

She felt that she could not cope with that idea. On the other hand she believed, right or wrong, that as long as the evidence was there, what difference could it make.

parsons

concerned43 wrote: »

Did the advisor not ask you to read the form before you signed it?
The disability people can only go on the information that's on the form so you may have to apply again.

From my wife's case, yes she did sign and date the form, but that was before anything was written on it. The Welfare Rights advisor said that that was normal practice as it would be less time consuming than having to sit and wait for her to put the details on the form and then read it over.

Bluntly, my wife trusted the individual. Who wouldn't?

Cranny44

They should have also gone with info from your GP or specialist not just whats on the form. I have come accross some who have DLA and wrote virtually nothing on the form but the GP when completing their bit was supportive an others who write reams and reams and still dont get it. On appealing you should always ask for the statement of reasons as mentioned previously and always attend tribunal if you can as these appeals have a much much higher rate of success, it not bad and they only ask you things you already know about how you struggle in a day to day situation. Or they havent bothered to ask your GP/specialist who knows you best, and when appelaing they suddenly start asking!!

Prior to tribunal you should always receive a copy of all the information they have based their decision on - and very rare to not see additional info from GPs etc, but this is often where the problem lies as the gPs write very little and often state they dont know how you manage on a day to day basis. The DWP are inclined to accept whatever info is in favour of a negative decision, and i must admit nearly all appeals i have done is not because of lack of info on the form but because the GP/specialist dont write enough. The forms are mostly tick boxes anyway and i dont always write anything in them but it doesnt affect any decision IMHO by just ticking boxes.

Hope this helps but dont ever take no for answer unless tribunal say it.... and even then you can ask for a commissioners decision - not sure how long that will take though.

black_paw

parsons wrote: »

From my wife's case, yes she did sign and date the form, but that was before anything was written on it. The Welfare Rights advisor said that that was normal practice as it would be less time consuming than having to sit and wait for her to put the details on the form and then read it over.

Bluntly, my wife trusted the individual. Who wouldn't?

i did the same , as was so stressed that day

nannytone_2

why on earth would anyone daye and sign a blank form?

would you go into a shop and sign and date a cheque or enter a pin number and trust a total stranger not to fleece you?

parsons

nannytone wrote: »

why on earth would anyone daye and sign a blank form?

would you go into a shop and sign and date a cheque or enter a pin number and trust a total stranger not to fleece you?

That is a rather sad way at looking at life.

When you see a Welfare Rights person there is no reason to think that they won't do their best for you. Using your argument, do you go round mistrusting and disbelieving everyone that you come across?

When somebody is in an already stressed condition and then has to recount to a total stranger every personal problem they have with personal needs, the last thing they want to do is after going through that is to then read through every sentence that has been written down.

Trust is always there unless someone or something causes you to mistrust them.

Do you trust your GP, consultant or bank manager? Maybe you don't. But the vast majority of us do!