Attendance Allowance

retiredandskint

rockingbilly wrote: »

The difference between you and me is:
1. on the advice of The Alzheimer's Society we contacted Age Concern to help fill in the forms
I did not take any advice (as stated in my post)
I did not seek any help with filling out the AA1 form (as stated in my post)

2. Our initial claim was turned down and we appealed, again with the help of Age Concern.
I decided not to do a MR OR appeal (as stated in my previous post)
I did not seek advice if this was the correct/logical thing to do.

3. We won the appeal and monies were backdated to the initial claim
I did not appeal due to the fact that I had no support in doing so (unlike the Age Concern & Alzheimer's Society that you had working for you)

so why explain your story when it has absolutely nothing in common with mine - it's not relevant - it's just another AA claim situation.
Your situation/support had nothing in common with mine.

Let me finish off now, getting ANY support/help/advice nowadays is nigh on impossible. Been there with the PIP claim. Had an appointment to see a Welfare Rights organisation to help me but they could not see me until some 12 days after which the PIP2 form had to be returned. I telephoned the DWP for an extension - they gave me 7 days, still 5 days short of when the form had to be returned. As a last resort I had someone at the local jobcentre fill the form out and he made a complete mess of it.

I never said it was the same as yours just what happened in our case. Neither my DH or I had claimed benefits before and we took what help was available. Tbh my DH would have been incapable of understanding let alone fill out the form without help anyway. The point of my post was to give another view/outcome.

Muttleythefrog

rockingbilly wrote: »

That's not how I read the letter

It said within 30 days of the date of the assessment - I think? now you have me thinking.

Anyhow it doesn't matter and as I have already said I had no support to take the claim to appeal or even MR so didn't want to go that route. A new claim seemed more appropriate and getting some help to fill it in this time around.

Thinking.... but not going to look to see what is actually on the letter..lol.... oh sorry.. next post.. you threw it out by accident. Seriously.. you can't kid a kidder.

rockingbilly

Muttleythefrog wrote: »

Thinking.... but not going to look to see what is actually on the letter..lol.... oh sorry.. next post.. you threw it out by accident. Seriously.. you can't kid a kidder.

What a strange reply?

I went through the files of scanned documents last night (I always scan everything that I receive) and found the decision notice.
I hold my hands up, I got it wrong/misread it.
So yes I still have a few days left if I want to put in for a MR.

But you actually have missed what I have also said - I can't cope with the appeal system. It's been hard enough trying to fill the application forms in, never mind getting a case together to put before a Tribunal. There is no help available locally to take on this role on my behalf. I would not know where to start never mind the 12 months of stress waiting for the court hearing.
So, my logic is that a new claim is submitted which is far easier to cope with.
retiredandskint was most fortunate in getting the help without having to look for it.

bigbulldog

rockingbilly wrote: »

It's been hard enough trying to fill the application forms in, never mind getting a case together to put before a Tribunal. There is no help available locally to take on this role on my behalf. I would not know where to start never mind the 12 months of stress waiting for the court hearing

You don't half come out with a load of cods wallop as do don't seem to have any trouble filling these pages with all the bull you type.:beer:

Alice_Holt

bigbulldog wrote: »

You don't half come out with a load of cods wallop....

Indeed.

The timescale from lodging an appeal with the Tribunal Service to the tribunal hearing is around 3 months or so (not 1 year per RB). This gives sufficient time to review the DWP documents, put a case together, get any additional evidence, and seek advice from the local CAB / advice agency.

For anyone reading this thread in need of help with AA, these are useful resources:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/attendance-allowance/before-you-claim-attendance-allowance/what-is-attendance-allowance/
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/claiming-benefits/attendance-allowance/

You can call Age UK Advice: on 0800 169 2081 or http://www.ageuk.org.uk/about-us/local-partners/

CAB: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/how-we-provide-advice/advice/

poppy12345

rockingbilly wrote: »

So, my logic is that a new claim is submitted which is far easier to cope with.

Wow, You've put in another new claim already? :eek:

rockingbilly

poppy12345 wrote: »

Wow, You've put in another new claim already? :eek:

No! I wanted advice to see if the DWP would decide a new claim based on the F2F evidence which was carried out for the first failed claim.

It seems that they will from the information that people have put on this thread.

So there is NO point in putting in a new claim if that is likely to happen is there? I'm not wasting my time filling out another form if the decision will still be a 'FAIL'.

NeilCr

rockingbilly wrote: »

Are you actually suggesting that from the time and date you lodge an appeal to the date and time of the actual hearing is approx. 13 weeks? You do make me laugh with that!
I would agree that if you are right 3 months will give enough time to do all of the preparation work for the hearing. My problems, and I have said it before, are (a) the stress that comes with waiting for the hearing and (b) more importantly, how do you suggest that someone is able to do all of that preparation work if they have no idea on how to carry it out? Or maybe you are suggesting that I am one of only a few in this country that is unable to present and argue a case at a Tribunal on my own?

Right so you are suggesting that people contact these organisations? Will they represent me at court? Will they do all of the preparatory work for me? In other words there are this enormous number of qualified welfare rights officers ready and waiting for me to drop my case on their laps?

You live In a dream world honey. The majority of claimants who don't know or understand the 'system' live in the real world. My experiences of these organisations has left me sometimes wondering what are they getting paid for. Representation has never happened in all of the years when I needed it, long delays in even getting to speak to someone is common, and as for AgeUK, the last time I went to their local office a few years back they actually admitted that my case was too complex and too time consuming to take on and suggesting that I engage a solicitor who deals with Welfare law!
As for the CAB, when I eventually did get to speak with someone after two visits, the first of which had me drenched to the skin waiting outside for half an hour for the doors to open (only the first 8 in the queue were allowed - the rest were told to try again the following morning) I was made to feel that I had caused my problems in not getting help from them in the first place to fill out the claim forms and as such they could/would not be able to take something on that they had not advised on initially.

It's OK reading web pages - most of us need our hands to be held.

Just fixing this

I think Alice is more than capable of looking after herself so all I'd say is that she quotes sources for much of her advice/information. And RB doesn't. Her experience in this area is much much greater too.

And calling her "honey". Bless. That goes down very well when you are a town councillor I am sure...

teddysmum

RB's latest is concerning his car which his wife who gets AA chauffeurs him in. He said, when discussing speed humps that their Jaguar has to be driven very carefully as it is low set, yet he now says he had to climb out of a low car, on all fours.


At last his wife's condition has improved from the Andy days, as then she was housebound.

rockingbilly

NeilCr wrote: »

Just fixing this

I think Alice is more than capable of looking after herself so all I'd say is that she quotes sources for much of her advice/information. And RB doesn't. Her experience in this area is much much greater too.

And calling her "honey". Bless. That goes down very well when you are a town councillor I am sure...

I have great admiration for Alice, she comes over as the sort of person that should be working at a CAB office.
No doubt she is capable, but hey, I have never said that she isn't.

Her comments about the 13 week wait may well be correct where she hails from. But from people that I know 9 months is a minimum round these parts.

The purpose of my reply to her was to 'suggest' that in an ideal world everyone should have the capabilities that she quotes. Unfortunately the real world is different for the reasons that I mentioned.
I then reiterated what I have experienced in the past with both the CAB and AgeUK..
Maybe where I live support is seriously lacking - but that is how it is. There must be good areas and bad areas of the country where quality advice and help could be obtained