Query re attendance allowance

OP I'm to be given £92 a week .... But I don't need anything like this amount. The lady at Ageuk has put me down as needing help going to the loo during the nights .. when I don't , and help with bodily functions, which I don't.

I'd think you may want to ask for a review determining that you need no help with bodily functions. Perhaps the "form filler" misunderstood what you meant at a certain question.

You certainly wouldn't want to have a form about you, filled in incorrectly. I'd prefer no money handed to me instead of handed out wrongly in my name.

Thank you for the responses! I’ll definitely look into it. I’m surprised the Social Care team putting in place the package for my mum haven’t mentioned it.

SuDonim ask AgeUk or CAB for help filling the form in.

Here they will request the form for you which is a more efficient way of doing i

I am sick to death of the word fraud being branded on here GSM does not know the whole story, none of do, we don’t know what the conversation was between the person filling in the form and the poster. The person helping is someone who knows what she is doing, she has been trained in this area and probably picked up on something that was said for them to fill in the form as they did, Enough has been explained in this thread that personal care does not mean just just washing and bodily functions.

i know of lots of people who have not applied who should, and many who should have applied months/years earlier than they did.
this experience is borne out by advisors etc.
i reckon there are far more in this category than any fraudulent claims.

M0nica

The amount of fraud associated with Attendance Allowance is infinitismal. Very few get it who do not qualify it. In over 10 years, I cannot remember a single case of fraud being discovered or someone getting it who wasn't entitled to it. I speak as someone who did this work for over 10 years and reviewing, mentally, not just my clients but clients at my branch of Age Concern.

Does that make it right? So rare, but I agree with GermanSM. If the form is filled wrongly, then it is fraud. I am afraid I know a lot of cases like this and it is plain wrong.

yes, if she needs carers, she almost cert would get AA, at higher rate probably.
find someone to help with the form.
experienced with the forms.
good luck.

I’ve just come across this thread. Is AA something my 94yo mother should apply for? She’s currently in hospital but will be returning home soon with a four-times-a-day care package. I think it is funded by the council to begin with but will be means tested eventually.

Thank you.

Yes I think you are right Cabbie, I didn’t think I needed it, then one day when I was really at my worse I thought maybe. So I had help with someone filling it in for me as I couldn’t even think straight at the time, I was told it would take some time to get a reply but it can back as accepted after just two weeks. I think they looked at my medical conditions and the fact that I was retired on the grounds of ill health that got it through so quickly.

My mum was very proud of how well she managed. Think positive! was one of her mottos. She would never have come up with the answers needed to show how much help she actually needed, so personally I think it is easier for somebody who can be more objective to fill in the form.

I think it is more complicated when you are filling in the form on behalf of someone else, as I was for my inlaws. Apparently 58% of all AA applications are rejected.

I must say that my eldest daughter suggested to me a few years back that I should apply for AA. The only thing she said to me was when filling it in, think of my bad days, not how I managed.
I downloaded the form, and was totally convinced that I had no right to this Allowance. Went through it, most questions did not apply to me as I was apply purely for physical reasons, so just sat down and scribbled my replies those questions as quickly as possible (did not even bother to photocopy the completed pages), sent it off and forgot about it.

So was astonished (pleasantly so), when a few weeks later i received the letter saying that I was entitled to Higher Level and this was being backdated to when I first applied for form.

Suppose it is easier for those checking the form when the application is totally for physical reasons, - most of the questions do relate to mental type reasons for requiring assistance and probably need more careful checking.

Sadly, due to a fall resulting in a fracture of the spine a few months later, my physical problems have actually worsened since I completed that form. But, all I can say is that I found that form relatively straight forward to complete, just replied honestly to those questions relating to how I did things and my physical conditions. Most questions on this form did NOT relate to these.

This extra money has and is so great - and has helped me turn around my life and given me the ability to purchase so many aids which help to ensure that I am able, living totally by myself can remain independent and live a good life.

That was not aimed at you SandyToes but a point of general information.

I totally understand that AA doesnt just cover personal care ( in a professional capacity I have completed AA / PIP and DLA claims and appeals) , but ExDancer specifically said that certain things that were put on her form re personal care were not actually correct . There may be other things that ExDancer shared with her advisor that enabled the claim to be awarded at higher rate AA and I am not in any way saying her award specifically was incorrect .

Needing help with deciding what to wear and what to eat, being reminded to drink, get dressed and to take medication are all examples of things that would count towards AA not just help with toileting.

Welbeck or they could have an alarm system or a commode, but yes it is expensive being disabled.

Dontknow, it is v expensive being disabled or having extra needs.
the AA may help towards some of those costs. it is never enough.
so for example, a person who is unsteady, needs the loo at night would benefit from someone to assist in getting there safely and in a timely manner. but there is no one.
so to be safe, the person crawls to the loo.
which takes longer. sometimes too long. which means extra laundry, which costs more money. etc.

Sandy toes, the trouble is people think of personal care needs as help with washing and as I stated it’s not, it covers a large area so Ex dancer might well have said something to the person who was filling in the form for her that came in this area. They are usually excellent at filling in the forms and rarely make mistakes

I agree the forms are very complex and are likely to deter claimants or mean that they are not awarded what they deserve . I have helped with appeals for both AA and PIP and have re- written accurate information about the claimant needs in a " different " way which has meant the claim has been approved instead of rejected.

Grantanow

The form to claim AA was not designed to make claiming easy. It took three of us to help our late mother fill it in.

It certainly is not. I'm convinced it was actually designed to put people off claiming. I'm far from stupid and more than used to having to fill in all kinds of forms and official paperwork, but the AA form was an absolute nightmare.

As loads of people have said - do it with AgeUk or CAB

The form to claim AA was not designed to make claiming easy. It took three of us to help our late mother fill it in.

@ Franbern ; I certainly wouldnt want to put people off claiming for AA and I think many people who are entitled dont claim . As I said I think when completing the form it's best to put worst day needs rather than better days needs . If forms are completed accurately and AA is awarded then no claimant should have any concerns and the money doesnt have to be used on care , or indeed anything in particular . It is the DWP that is making the judgement on the basis of the needs of the claimant, not the claimant themselves . ExDancers query was she felt the form had been completed incorrectly , explicitly stating she had care needs which are currently not required .
I also think the provision for people to stay in their own homes needs to be greater and the threshold much lower to claim support .

I'm very grateful for the advice provided in this thread. I have had to apply for AA for my very elderly in-laws, and while we have been told that my MIL will get, my FIL's claim has just been rejected. He is 95 and very frail (she is 91 and even more frail), and having read this thread in full, I can see that, with hindsight, we have erred on the side of caution when it came to completing his form. I think, because he is very independent and insists he can manage with many tasks, we didn't outline just how frail he is - not to mention the fact that, in the few months since we completed the form, he has become even more frail. Thanks to the advice on here, I'm going to ask for the decision to be reconsidered, so thanks to M0nica and others for their very helpful and practical advice. Fingers crossed I can get them to reconsider.

And also people scaring the hell out of others by saying it’s fraud when they don’t know the whole story