Quite where to begin , a few weeks ago Mr Bah Humbug had a PIP reassessment , both myself and his caseworker were present and he sobbed through most of it due to the embarrassing nature of the questions . He had a further year to run but they decided to visit him early .
Last week we received a letter to say he scored nil points , he has been cured by the DWP , he has no visable signs of disability and because he can drive a manual vehicle no mobility needs, we were expecting the rate for mobility to drop because they have removed the mental health descriptors from the questions because to many people were getting it !!
But to lose all of it is bizarre , he has a degenerative condition , its not getting better , he can drive a few miles at most and thats because most of his disability is in his right hand side . when he arrives he has to sit for at least 30 minutes and wait for the feeling to come back to his legs before hes able to walk !!
Then the next day he gets another letter saying he has been awarded full ESA but because he hasnt paid contributions for 2 years they wont be paying him a penny . He didnt apply for this, he applied for the work with support component this allows him to continue with his 4 hours a week at college.
So our caseworker has started an appeal for both benefits , it is disheartening to find that this can take up to 2 years .
So thats it we have only my unreliable minute income to live on , this is going to effect our Housing Benefit so we may well end up homeless or having to move because this is a disabled adapted property and officially Mr Bah Humbug is no longer disabled . Caseworker says she will start that argument next week once the appeals are lodged .
To say Mr Bah Humbug is down is an understatement , hes doing his best to be vile to all of us in the hope we go off to a "better" life , not happening im afraid , but its true he would be financially better off without us , even though hes cured they would have to provide care workers each morning to get him up washed and dressed , do all his cooking , washing etc etc .
The main stumbling block is the fact that we are a universal credit area , so i cant apply for tax credits , I cant apply for anything because im self employed , i cant do a damn thing about any of this , just hope they actually pay me this month !!
I have a young niece just about to go through the same thing Kate. She has renal failure, has had three heart attacks and a stroke which has left her with non epileptic siezures. The only time she leaves the house is to go to her three times a week dialysys sessions and spends much of her time bedridden.
ReplyDeleteIf they tell her she is not disabled and can work I swear to God I will have to go and hit somebody.
I don't know how you stay sane.
Hugs-x-
Oh my god, what next, I'm crying for you.
ReplyDeleteHorrible, just horrible.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness. That is unbelievable! Is there no way to fast-track the appeals process? You certainly can't wait 2 years! Thinking of you from Nanny Anny in Canada.
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand the UK system - it sounds SO confusing and designed to trip you up. How is it that so many others seem to get money left, right and centre when they are perfectly capable of working and yet there are stories all the time of those with genuine illness & disabilities who get treated like you and your family. I don't know how you manage. Good luck with the appeal.
ReplyDeleteYou and your family are treated horribly.What would happened if you tell them (Government office) that you are no longer married?Just temporarily to survive.
ReplyDeleteTom was told he was fit for some kind of work, what work they didn't say but they did tell him that when he went for an interview not to say that he had a bad back. The point was that if he took a job and was then off with his back the employer wanted to know why he didn't mention it.
ReplyDeleteIt was a no win situation and we had it for years, nobody knows unless they have been through it.
I feel for you and hope that things improve. We are now retired and out of it thank goodness but we had years of torment because of these people as well as putting up with family and neighbours calling Tom a malingerer.
Briony
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Do you have a paypal account or something similar that will accept donations?
ReplyDeleteI hate these soulless arbiters of austerity and their deatheater minions who carry out their unending depraved assaults.
Katie ,
ReplyDeleteCould you and Mr Bahumbug do online surveys?. Sure they take ages and are a bit frustrating/ repetative, but treated like a game can be fun. You could each earn £10 to £15 a week. Not a huge amount but would cover some food shopping.
Valued opinions is quick to pay out, every time you reach £10 you can ask them to send a voucher, loads of shops in the scheme.
I can't believe what I am reading ! You see people getting thousands for nothing on telly. Some one mentioned a paypal or similar account and I for one would like to contribute a little. If you like you can pay it forward when you reach your first million. I have read your blog for a while now and cannot believe the crap you are dealt it makes me ashamed to moan at my lot. Please don't take offense and if I have I apologise but I am not very good with words, Su
ReplyDeleteI am so mad on your behalf. There is a young couple next door to me who are both fit and well, who got evicted from their last flat, who are on a PIP. They get taxi's to do their food shopping, and go off on the bus 'shopping' most days. I have 2 jobs and I cant afford to do that. They either have massive credit card debt, or are absolutely scamming the system.
ReplyDeleteJeremy Vine had a program about it a few weeks back. I'm so sorry this is happening I feel common sense is often removed from the equation. As you say it would cost the state far more if you walked away. You would be entitled to more in your own right to. It's crazy. Fingers crossed your appeal is successful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other comments here. You are being treated horribly but it seems as if the Tory government are determined to pay down some unrealistic debt level via getting us disabled people off the meager benefits we can claim. I am in pain all the time on a huge amount of pain killers and walk with a stick, yet the DWP are reassessing me too early. Person I know has been told they are safe for life...he has 3 damaged vertabra supposedly yet takes only co codamol and lifts heavy doors etc unless watched in tesco when the scooter or stick suddenly appear! I wish you luck on your appeal.
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