Attendance allowance application refused, what can we do?

Dinah93

sleepless_saver wrote: »

It may not just be a time thing. As other posters have said, none of the problems he has out and about are relevant for attendance allowance, and you need to focus on the details of his care needs. There is a knack to describing all this which is why it is a good idea to get help.

If his income is £800 a month he is unlikely to be entitled to other income related benefits. But you can check using turn2us benefit checker.

But if he has been getting the single person discount for council tax he needs to get that stopped (sorry!) as your parents are now living with him so he is no longer entitled.

Out of interest, what sort of housing is he planning to move to when his house is sold?

Thank you for your reply. Can he not still get single person's discount on his house, as he has moved into my parents? He still pays council tax on his house although he does not live there as it is furnished. My parents get no discount at their house. The plan is that he will stay with my parents once his house is sold, as he's not able to live alone.

margaretclare

frosty wrote: »

hi,when I applied for AA for my mother it was refused,we were advised to ask the DWP to send someone to fill the forms in for us,the woman turned up and said its all down to the way you word your answers.......we then got the AA.Its worth asking for help.

Yes, it absolutely is. Is there a DIAL in your area - disability and information advice line - or an Older People's Advocacy Service? Ask at your local town hall. If so, they can fill in the forms in a way that will guarantee success.

It is assumed, for any applicants for this benefit which is designed for 65+, that you won't be mobile at all, won't need to go anywhere, that's why there is no mobility component as there is for DLA. So, focus on the problems he has within doors rather than outdoors. Bed, bath, toilet, feeding, those kind of things. Also, with DLA there is a question about whether you can cook yourself a meal - with AA there isn't. It's assumed that 65+ will be on meals-on-wheels anyway. This depressing information was given to me by a CAB Benefits Advisor, and she looked me straight in the face when she said all this, incredible as it may seem. Bit like the rehab people who thought that stepping into a shower didn't matter because 'a daily strip-wash is all that's necessary'.

Mojisola

frosty wrote: »

hi,when I applied for AA for my mother it was refused,we were advised to ask the DWP to send someone to fill the forms in for us,the woman turned up and said its all down to the way you word your answers.......we then got the AA.Its worth asking for help.

It's not just the way you word your answers - although that is really important - it's also that it's easy to forget just how much help the person is receiving.

The advisor who helped us talked us through a day, asking very pertinent questions about exactly what help was given, when, how often, etc. We were surprised at how much help Mum was getting because it was just stuff we'd got in the habit of doing. If we'd been filling in the forms ourselves, we wouldn't have given an accurate picture of the help she needed.

mum-of-two_2

Hi
I don't post often but browse a lot.

I remembered this thread as we'd applied for AA for my Dad and we had a letter yesterday rejecting his claim.

I'm not going to go into all his issues but DWP did write to us a few weeks after we claimed to say they'd asked his GP for a report.

They say they've rejected the claim based on what we put in the claim plus this GP report plus advice from a health care professional.

We're just about to ring up and request a written statement of the reasons for their decision and we have asked the GP surgery for sight of the letter Dad's GP provided and we may decide to pay for a copy.
We have a suspicion that the GP thinks that some of Dad's symptoms are 'in his head'.

We intend to appeal and, depending on the reasons DWP give and the content of the GP's letter, may then appeal to an independent Tribunal.

I just wondered if the OP (Dinah93) appealed and if so what the result was or if she reapplied for AA using the assistance of a DWP employee or someone from AgeUK etc.

Thanks

mum-of-two_2

Hi again
Just to update this thread:

We got a copy of the GP report and boy! was it rubbish!

He'd missed off some of Dad's medical conditions (including an eyesight one which will only deteriorate), he'd only entered a list of medication but not "response to treatment or prognosis" for any of Dad's illnesses.

He'd entered 'not known' for a number of questions when that clearly wasn't the case.

In the appeal, I said

I am not convinced that Dr XX has completed his report fully, giving full consideration to diagnosis and clinical findings.

I refuted every point that was made in the rejection letter separately, giving evidence/examples of why they were wrong.

The appeal consisted of 5 typed pages.

We've just heard that Dad has been awarded the lower rate of AA. :T

I wondered if the OP (Dinah93) had any luck with her Grandad's appeal or new AA claim.

Dinah93

Hi there, we did, but on the basis he was given a terminal diagnosis and by that point his bedroom had been moved downstairs, a hoist put in, two carers come twice a day, entirely incontinent etc