DLA online renewal

Troutwrestler

Hi
My award ends in 12 weeks so I called up as no renewal pack had been sent. I was told I could apply online, so I did that as it was quicker than waiting on the post.
Called up today to enquire about length of wait on renewals. Only to be told I have filled out a form for a new claim you can't renew online!
There's only one form online (adult dla claim form) it does ask if your already in receipt of dla,
I'm thinking I have mad a huge mistake now! But I only applied online after being told too?!

Anyone know what I should do?

Thanks

benefitbaby

Call the DLA helpline and ask if the claim you completed online (which is practically identical to a renewal form) can be treated as a renewal of your current claim. If the answer is yes ask them to confirm receipt of the online form and that it will be accepted as a renewal in writing. If the answer is no then ask them to post out a renewal form (you should try to ensure it is sent back at least 8 weeks before the end of your current award).

zzzLazyDaisy

In my view, it is really not worth the risk of being given incorrect information and risking losing your DLA.

I would call the help-line, explain that you have not received the renewal pack, and that your current award expires in 12 weeks, and ask for a renewal pack to be sent out as a matter of urgency. Ask them to confirm that they have made a note on their records of this telephone conversation, and ask when you can expect to receive the renewal pack. Make a detailed note of the conversation.

When the renewal pack arrives, you need to complete it and return it within the time scale given in the covering letter. If you fail to get the form back in time your DLA will stop when your award ends, and you have to then make a fresh claim.

The best possible advice is to return the form at least 2 weeks before, but in one case where I was involved the form was sent back right at the last minute and arrived on the day before the deadline. Because of the deadline, we sent it by Special Delivery (this is not the same as recorded delivery, and costs about £4 extra, but you are guaranteed to get a signature and the name of the person who signed, which you can download from the internet). In the case I am talking about the Mum phoned DLA after two weeks to check it had been received and was told they had no record of it and she would have to make a new claim. She phoned back with the name of the person who had signed for it, and the date (proving it had in fact arrived on time) and two weeks later she received confirmation that her daughter had been awarded DLA for another two years.

Hope this helps

Dx

benefitbaby

If the OP waits until the last minute the current DLA award could run about before a decision is made on the renewal claim, whilst it may mean backdating if DLA is reawarded it could also mean several weeks without DLA or linked entitlements e.g. premiums or CA.

sunnyone

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

In my view, it is really not worth the risk of being given incorrect information and risking losing your DLA.

I would call the help-line, explain that you have not received the renewal pack, and that your current award expires in 12 weeks, and ask for a renewal pack to be sent out as a matter of urgency. Ask them to confirm that they have made a note on their records of this telephone conversation, and ask when you can expect to receive the renewal pack. Make a detailed note of the conversation.

When the renewal pack arrives, you need to complete it and return it within the time scale given in the covering letter. If you fail to get the form back in time your DLA will stop when your award ends, and you have to then make a fresh claim.

The best possible advice is to return the form at least 2 weeks before, but in one case where I was involved the form was sent back right at the last minute and arrived on the day before the deadline. Because of the deadline, we sent it by Special Delivery (this is not the same as recorded delivery, and costs about £4 extra, but you are guaranteed to get a signature and the name of the person who signed, which you can download from the internet). In the case I am talking about the Mum phoned DLA after two weeks to check it had been received and was told they had no record of it and she would have to make a new claim. She phoned back with the name of the person who had signed for it, and the date (proving it had in fact arrived on time) and two weeks later she received confirmation that her daughter had been awarded DLA for another two years.

Hope this helps

Dx

I helped with one last October and the forms went in two weeks before the deadline and the new award was out within the week!

If you leave it to the last minute its even more important to make sure that you enclose as much up to date medical evidence to back up your claim as possible, thats what we did with the claim mentioned above because if you dont and they want a HCP to see you or write to your GP your old award will almost certainly run out before a decison is made on your new claim (there is no such thing as a renewal, all forms are looked at as a new claim.)

Remember if your old award runs out it could have serious consiquences on any other benefits you claim and all income based benefits will be adversely affected.

zzzLazyDaisy

benefitbaby wrote: »

If the OP waits until the last minute the current DLA award could run about before a decision is made on the renewal claim, whilst it may mean backdating if DLA is reawarded it could also mean several weeks without DLA or linked entitlements e.g. premiums or CA.

Just to be clear, I am most certainly not suggesting that OP waits until the last minute.

What I am saying is that time is running out and s/he still does not have the renewal pack. Therefore if the late arrival of the pack means that s/he does not have enough time to return it at least two weeks before the deadline, it is still very important to get it back to DWP before the deadline, even if that is right at the last minute, rather than missing the deadline and having to make a fresh claim.

zzzLazyDaisy

sunnyone wrote: »

(there is no such thing as a renewal, all forms are looked at as a new claim.)



Remember if your old award runs out it could have serious consiquences on any other benefits you claim and all income based benefits will be adversely affected.

The above advice is incorrect

The DLA makes a clear distinction between new claims and renewals. All the official correspondence and advice clearly refers to 'renewals'. Further, as OP has discovered, while a new claim can be made on-line, a renewal can only be dome by completing and returning the renewal pack sent out by DWP.

Further, DLA is not an income based benefit, but a needs based benefit and is payable to people in work. While an award of DLA may result in a disability premium on some income based benefits, it is not a passport benefit, and it is certainly not true to say that 'all income based benefits would be adversely affected'.

I wonder if you are getting confused with (IR) ESA?

sunnyone

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

The above advice is incorrect

The DLA makes a clear distinction between new claims and renewals. All the official correspondence and advice clearly refers to 'renewals'. Further, as OP has discovered, while a new claim can be made on-line, a renewal can only be dome by completing and returning the renewal pack sent out by DWP.

Further, DLA is not an income based benefit, but a needs based benefit and is payable to people in work. While an award of DLA may result in a disability premium on some income based benefits, it is not a passport benefit, and it is certainly not true to say that 'all income based benefits would be adversely affected'.

I wonder if you are getting confused with (IR) ESA?

"Remember if your old award runs out it could have serious consiquences on any other benefits you claim and all income based benefits will be adversely affected."

The above is very clear, if you are on income related benefits and if the old DLA claim runs out it could have adverse affects on any other income related benefits claimed (such as ESA, JSA etc. as you get premiums for being in reciept of DLA so your benefits can be reduced while the new claim is assessed)

I have helped many people with DLA/ESA claims and a couple of years ago we submitted forms almost identicle to those used for an initial DLA award, the new award was diffrent from the first so we questioned how that could happen, the DWP replied to our query saying that each form submitted is treated like a new claim.

They dont treat a "renewal" any diffrent than they do a "new claim" they certainly dont give "renewals" priority over any other forms which are submitted nor do DM's take any previous awards into account when deciding new awards.

Troutwrestler

Thought I'd bump this with an answer in case anyone else is ever as daft as me. I called dwp about mixing up forms and they told me it was fine, they would accept the online form as renewal.
They lied and sent a copy of it to me along with the actual renewal form. They received my renewal on 10 th may and turned down my application on may 15 th.....I called today to ask for a reconsideration was called back by a decision maker and a few hours later called me back to tell me my claim has been successful. Lrm, Mrc until 2018?
I'm a bit miffed at the speed of everything, but I'm not complaining