Diary of a benefit claimant.

The benefits system is truly dreadful and I'm already annoyed on your behalf MissAdventure. The sanctioning, for the slightest reason when they themselves can apparently do as they please, is shocking. No wonder people need support groups to help them wade their way through the system!

Any road up, I'm going to be treating next weeks appt as them assisting me to get some help.
I don't want to fo in with an attitude problem.

Will update after that.

Good luck Miss A, unfortunately I expect you will need it. Dreadful farce of a system, especially after their vile attempts to vilify anyone who needs to use it (beat up the person in a wheelchair anyone? Must be a scrounger). Hope you feel better soon too.

Thank you.

Oh MissAdventure I do sympathise with you.
My partner and I had a short period of Incapacity and Pension Credit and it was horrible. The people we spoke to were arrogant and unhelpful and we felt as if they were looking down on us. They made errors and took away benefits we were entitled to (the computer said “no”’ Latterly it is the PIP nightmare which took away my higher rate mobility DLA and associated benefits. Then only on Tuesday when I was checking the end date for my PIP the girl actually lied to me, told me I had not had the letter in my hand, or that there was a ‘typo’ and that my PIP ended on 28 June 2022 - in fact the PIP had been extended indefinitely and would be ongoing without the full re-application because I was over pension age. Assessors create absurd reasons for their decisions, and apparently are entitled to deem that a capability to drive relatively short distances can be extrapolated to the ability to walk more than 20 metres!

The only advice I can offer is to keep the names of people you are speaking to, and ask for everything in writing. If you need to appeal, see if you can get pro bono legal assistance from you local CAB. Good luck

Contact a local Councillor. Surely they would be horrified to learn what is going on re appointments given your circumstances. I think we are all too willing to accept Agencies will have difficulties due to staff shortages. If an appointment is set up, no excuse for them not keeping it. I would be livid. Hope you get a satisfactory result and very quickly.

I had the misfortune many years ago to have a Benefits claim turned down, I appealed, this was turned down so I went to Tribunal, something many people are reluctant to do. I won my case & received 3 months back pay. It is stressful.

A couple of years ago (pre Covid) I was called in to see the Fraud Officer to explain where the money from my house sale had gone. I had already done this a couple of years before & no longer had all the paperwork. The Fraud Officer checked & sure enough my claim had been validated & I should not have been called in again. What a waste of an hour of our time, however we did have a very pleasant chat as I am ex-Civil Service (HMRC)

Miss A best wishes & persevere, keep notes, times of phone calls, dates & names. Create a folder to keep all your correspondence

A few years ago I was suspended from my job in a school when a couple of students lied about me. Despite my innocence I couldn't prove it, so decided to resign rather than fight for a job I no longer wanted. I signed on for job seekers, mainly to get help with a new CV etc. I signed off after less than 2 weeks as I had to jump through so many hoops to get the benefit I decided I'd be better off living off my savings and concentrate on getting a new job I wanted. During the week I was signed on I was sent a list of 400 jobs of which there were only about 3 I thought I could possibly get and none I actually wanted! Had I applied for enough to keep them happy I'd have had no time or energy to apply for jobs I wanted. I eventually got another job after 3 months unemployed, then had to get the lies removed from my DBS for the new job! Had I not had savings I'd have had no choice but to struggle with the system and goodness knows where I'd be.

I'm now retired from that job I got back in 2013 and should never have to claim benefits again. I still work for the school on a casual basis as an exam invigilator which keeps me in contact with old colleagues and supplements my pension.

I feel so sorry you are going through this Miss A. The system is designed to make claiming difficult and however sympathetic the staff are they are bound by stupid rules. I'm so glad my savings from my inheritance enabled me to just walk away!

Good advice Legs55.
It is always worth challenging benefit decisions. The majority are overturned, if not at the Mandatory Reconsideration stage, at Tribunal. The whole system is broken, it wastes time and money and causes huge amounts of stress.

I claimed Attendance Allowance on behalf of my husband last year! The form was 52 pages long……and took me three hours to fill in. I duly sent it off, got one telephone call from somebody saying I’d forgotten one question..,which I duly answered . Seems I could’ve been claiming this allowance for 16 years! Apparently lost about £43,000…… ah well..,c’est la vie! All that for £69 a week!
But I must say …the process was reasonably easy and the lady who asked the supplementary question was very nice. My first experience with any Social Service and I was pleasantly surprised. Mind you …. I have to repeat it all again soon in case my income has increased!!

I am just ashamed of how my country treats people in dire circumstances. It makes me cry.

Miss A. Some authorities will give you an emergency grant (sorry you do have to pay it back) so that you can pay essentials until its sorted.

I'm so sorry MissA. The whole system is shite and anyone who thinks it is easy to get benefits has never had to claim them!

The daft thing is that I claimed on behalf of 2 neighbours, the whole big long forms, sorted through 2 bin bags full of paperwork and collated it into order to provide evidence.

It's a whole different ball game now though. (Plus, I'm more poorly than they are!)

I am so sorry for what you are experiencing. My granddaughter is on benefits too and she has had many problems like not paying her rent etc. She has very serious mental health problems, and can't work. The best thing she did was get a Support Worker I don't know if this is possible in your case. Again I am so sorry for what you are going through.

By the way, I am partially sighted and have a serious back issue - in constant pain.

The trouble is that until something is actually underway, I'm just some woman who has been off work and isn't disabled.
For all anyone knows, I could be trying my luck.

The people who matter know the truth MissA and so do we.?

Thank you all, you're very kind, and it does help.

Regarding Attendance Allowance in particular, but most benefits always appeal if it’s been refused.
Wishing you well as ever MissA, keep calm, keep smiling keep notes and hope this time you are successful, good luck

AA wasn’t directed at you MissA...but meant to say it’s always worth appealing. Decisions are often changed.

It's about 70 percent of appeals that are successful, I think, silver.
Not a very smart way to work, is it?

I agree with silverlining48, whatever you claim, if it is turned down, always appeal!

I'm really hoping it doesn't get to that stage, but...

Just be prepared like a scout.