Oh Lordy do! Medical on 9th February

jellytot

Hi there i wasn't sure if anyone would reply, I am on income support and i get a incapacity premium or something i think its about £22 a week on top of my income support.it might be called disability premium. When I first claimed sickness i didn't have enough stamps so i got income support and then after a year i attended a medical and then i started receiving this extra premium. I have tried to claim dla twice but keep getting turned down. I have post traumatic stress disorder and also a few other major things and i am receiving hopsital treatment for 3 other illnesses and i am having a minor operation at the end of March. I have been to these medicals twice but this time i am not sure whats going on they guy phoned me up on sunday and says i have to come in in around a weeks time and i haven't heard anything since.

cifpower

Could you not be able to claim IB now? When you claim IS your NI contributions get credited. Would this not allow you to claim IB?

jellytot

Well i don't really know how it works, i was told when i first claimed that i didn't have enough stamps and i received income support instead of IB , i first claimed in 1995 and then i was doing permitted work in 1997-98 but i never earned enough to pay national insurance and i still recieved a small amount of IS, then i had to give up my job and i went back onto full income support and then i attended another medical and i received this disability premium. But my case is confusing in 2001-2003 i also was my parents full time carer and i keep getting letters saying that i haven't enough stamps for my pension which i don't really know this means, in this time i was recieving carers allowance and IS. But i don't have knowledge about these things.

cifpower

I would put in a claim for IB regardless and maybe make an appointment with your local Citizen's Advice Bureau or Welfare Rights to make sure you are on the right benefits. They may even be able to help you with a DLA claim.

jellytot

Thanks for your advice, I will do that next week after i have been to my medical,my sister is coming with me to the medical so we can go to citizens advice after i come out, i get confused and lost with all these things shes great at remembering.

healy

cifpower wrote:

Could you not be able to claim IB now? When you claim IS your NI contributions get credited. Would this not allow you to claim IB?

In this case in order to claim IB you need to have worked and paid National Insurance contributions as well as receive credits so there would be no point in applying for IB if no National Insurance has been paid.

saintjanet

healy is spot on about the contributions aspect.I just wanted to say that more medicals are now arranged by phone these days,it seems they have less people not turning up than if they were just sent a letter like they used to be.

You could always ring them if your letter does not arrive soon,because you should be sent one as confirmation.

More people seem to have a medical if they have mental issues than other types of illness and looking at the ib50 you can see why, as there are no direct questions.If your illness has changed in any way this may be why you are having one this time but not at your last review.

rio

I would definately ring them on Monday to check what they want you to do. I'm sure that if they had decided that a medical wasn't necessary, they would have informed you by letter. When I have been called in, they have rung first to check when I was avaliable and then confirmation has come in the post. It sounds to me like this confirmation has gone astray.

computerwoman

also if you claim IS you get full housing benefit and full council tax benefit and free prescriptions if you only get IB like me, you have to pay top-up rent, top-up council tax, and get a HC2 form for your prescriptions, as you dont get free meds, be warned IB isnt all its cracked up to be.
cw

jellytot

rio wrote:

I would definately ring them on Monday to check what they want you to do. I'm sure that if they had decided that a medical wasn't necessary, they would have informed you by letter. When I have been called in, they have rung first to check when I was avaliable and then confirmation has come in the post. It sounds to me like this confirmation has gone astray.

Yes thats what i was thinking my post has came today and no confirmation about this, yes sounds like they have done the same to me as you, first the phone call to arrange when i can come in but no letter confirming this. I will phone them on monday if it doesn't come in my post. I don't know wether to just turn up on tuesday as i know exactly where to go as i have been twice before .