DWP Funeral Fund Appeal Question

Darreng_2

Hello,

My Mother passed away in December last year, very unexpectedly, I was her full-time carer and received income support and carers allowance, mum was receiving disability allowance and another benefit which escapes me now.

As she was in a council flat and had no savings or assets, I applied for a funeral fund from the DWP a few days after speaking to the funeral home (obviously grateful for any assistance, but the process of claiming from them has been a nightmare) finally received word last week that they'd be issuing payment of £1350 to the funeral home, but the funeral costs came to £2400.

I have appealed against the decision, as I have no money as I was her carer for years and just lived off benefits. I desperately want to get my mums ashes,but at the moment I can't even get them, which I understand as the funeral home want full payment.

I also owe my dad £400 as the funeral home needed a deposit (my parents were separated 20yrs ago) and he's helped as much as he could, but that was all the savings he had.

Has anyone ever heard of an appeal being successful in a case like this? I have no idea where i'm going to get this extra thousand pound from and it's causing me a lot of panic attacks, stress and sleepless nights.

Sorry for rambling.

pmlindyloo

Darreng wrote: »

Hello,

My Mother passed away in December last year, very unexpectedly, I was her full-time carer and received income support and carers allowance, mum was receiving disability allowance and another benefit which escapes me now.

As she was in a council flat and had no savings or assets, I applied for a funeral fund from the DWP a few days after speaking to the funeral home (obviously grateful for any assistance, but the process of claiming from them has been a nightmare) finally received word last week that they'd be issuing payment of £1350 to the funeral home, but the funeral costs came to £2400.

I have appealed against the decision, as I have no money as I was her carer for years and just lived off benefits. I desperately want to get my mums ashes,but at the moment I can't even get them, which I understand as the funeral home want full payment.

I also owe my dad £400 as the funeral home needed a deposit (my parents were separated 20yrs ago) and he's helped as much as he could, but that was all the savings he had.

Has anyone ever heard of an appeal being successful in a case like this? I have no idea where i'm going to get this extra thousand pound from and it's causing me a lot of panic attacks, stress and sleepless nights.

Sorry for rambling.

My condolences. Such a stressful time.

Funeral payments do not usually cover the costs of a funeral.

Are you questioning the amount of money they awarded to you?

Did you get a breakdown of how they assessed the amount?

If you think you were entitled to more than I should take the paperwork to CAB so that they can check and, if appropriate, appeal the decision.

Another possible option if to see if your dad is entitled to a Bereavement Payment (£2000) which then could be used to cover the outstanding debt.

Although they were separated he may still be entitled:

See here for details:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/benefits_e/benefits_bereavement_ew/benefits_and_bereavement.htm

If he isn't eligible then you could ask the funeral directors to set up a payment plan for you and then perhaps you and your dad could share the costs. Are you now able to work?

Hope you are able to get this sorted soon.

Darreng_2

Thank you for replying. I meant to say my parents were divorced 20yrs ago and had little to no contact since, my father is also disabled and unable to work.

At the moment i'm signed off because I suffer with Chronic Depression anyway, but due to the violent nature of my mothers passing i'm having Post traumatic stress, which I won't bore anyone with the details of, but unfortunately work is not an option at the moment.

I got a breakdown on the costs, and obviously i'm grateful for the help, unfortunately I was led to believe by others that they'd pay the full amount. My mothers funeral was extremely basic, no limos, nothing, the only 'extra' expense was the notice in the payment.

On the letter from DWP confirming the payment it did state that I could appeal the decision as well, I was told I could appeal when I was told of the payment amount over the phone last weeK, so I wrote to them then.

I just so badly want my Mothers ashes, so I can put her to rest. I think CAB will be my best route now if the appeal fails, as I said, I just wondered if anyone had heard of anyone having success with an appeal for a payment, as you say it may be the full amount they can award anyway.

Thanks again