DLA form filler missed out info

carroty

Hi Everyone,

I could do with some advice.

I suffer with mental health difficulties and some mobility issues and for the last 4 years have been on middle rate care and low rate mobility. I find DLA forms send my anxiety levels through the roof and make me really quite ill, so I need help to fill them out.

When time came to fill out the form again this March, my support worker found someone working in the same organisation as her (though a different branch) who's job it is to help people with these forms, and this lady came to my flat. She asked me the questions and wrote down what I said, and then read it back to me to see if it was ok. This worked quite well, although it was still very stressfull, and we finished much more quickly than previous times. At the end she gave me the form , just to sign, which I did.

Last Saturday I got the decision letter. They're putting me on lower rate care and taken the mobility away altogether. I was utterly distraught and my support worker came round to have a look at what the letter to see what they'd said and the reasons they'd given. It didn't seem right at all, so we looked at the copy of the application form that had been sent-- and discovered there were loads of boxes missed out. I didn't see any of the boxes to do with duration and frequency of difficulties filled in, which to my understanding is key to deciding the level of care award you receive, and there was a whole page about falls and stumbles completely blank.

I thought it was odd at the time when she didn't ask those pesky duration and frequency questions, because they're so hard to answer for mental health problems as they tend to fluctuate. I asked her about it, thinking that the form had changed. I think she said they don't do that anymore, or something like that but my memory is very bad, especially when I'm stressed, and I can't be sure what she said. I remember asking though.

A swift meeting was had with the lady in question, my support worker and her team leader. I wasn't invited to attend. They've told me now that as the DWP have already made a decision based on the form, my chance to give them more information myself has gone and I have to rely on supporting letters from the support team and hopefully my doctor, and ask the DWP to reconsider the claim. They are collating this evidence for me and writing the reconsideration request.

My question is, are they right? Do I really have no other option open to me? It doesn't seem right at all that I have to go through more weeks of stress and can't say anything further myself to the DWP, because of a person who's job it was to help me not doing her job properly. Surely I could still have the opportunity to answer questions I haven't been asked?

I told my support worker that I wanted the DWP to know what had happened, and why all the extra information wasn't on the origional form, thinking that it may go against me if they're not made aware. Her reply was that it wouldn't do me any good to get myself stressed over it, and to blame this lady wouldn't get anyone anywhere. Besides which, she might have to work with this lady again and she didn't want to have her relationship with her threatened.

I'm utterly fuming. And I think I might be smelling rats.

I'm very worried too. This lady is still in charge of my case and I'm not sure she knows what she's doing.

Does anyone have any ideas/ knowledge about any of this?

What can I do?

Thank you for reading,

Carroty

rogerblack

The complaints you have against the support worker are (unless they are an employee of the DWP) fairly irrelevant to your actual case for DLA.

What you can do at this stage is to ask for reconsideration.
You can supply further documentation, and letters detailing your condition, as well as notes from GP/...

Your best bet may be to submit another form - You can usually fill this in online, as you're basically saying the other one was 'spoiled' - as it's incorrectly filled in.

I'd phone the DLA line, explain that your form was incorrectly filled in by a support worker, and ask for a new form. (or explain you're going to fill it in online)
The clock is ticking, and you do need to get this in within 4 weeks from the date of the decision.
If you have not yet asked for a statement of reasons (this is not the decision letter), then ask for one now, as that will extend the deadline by 2 weeks.

As I understand it, there is nothing preventing the DWP reconsidering a resubmitted form, if it's within the time limit.

Good luck.

carroty

Thanks very much for your reply roger. There's some very useful advice there.

I wonder why the option of a new form hasn't been suggested to me by my support team, or the request for the statement of reasons.


Thanks again

Carroty