Well what to say , we had the caseworker round yesterday she rang the DWP about the PIP decision and they said... what decision? We had left it the required 9 working days and they did eventually find it . They pointed out that it would be be a while to examine it and make a decision waffled a bit more sucked there teeth and said it could take 8 weeks to process ..Ho hum
Then we rang the DWP about the year of waiting for ESA to be sorted , this was a tad more interesting , we appeared to get someone a wee bit further up the food chain rather than the usual pondlife reading it off a screen .
Oh you havent filled out form ???? it was sent on the 2nd January
we havent had a form in fact weve had nothing since his medical back in November !! and the pink form that nobody had heard of back at the beginning of December !!
Ah ...well we have 14 weeks to process the claim
It was submitted back in January 2017!!
14 weeks to process the claim from his medical that is , we will send you a copy of the form we require
So under hardship rules , how do you explain leaving a disabled person with no income at all since June 2017 ?
Ermmm, we will backdate the payments till June 2017 ? Once we get the required forms back
AAARRRGGGGHHH
Then I went online to the government website to apply for Carers Allowance , a simple 11 page form that will doubtless generate another paper encyclopedia form , this takes around 12 weeks to process ...lol
You couldnt make it up
HEADLINE NEWS
Just had a phonecall from the DWP , they will pay his PIP money into his bank account , they are not appealing . Mr BHs first thought , can I have some more special shoes as I might be able to go out now ... Me , we can have a whole bag of oranges !!
Also more forms in the post for ESA that we have now filled in 4 times AARRGGHHH
Hope that PIP money gets in quickly and you can get shoes and oranges.
ReplyDeleteAs for an anagram of those letters - USELESS GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS is what I made!
Well, finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Hope you get your oranges! (and Mr BH's shoes). It's really hard to believe (not that I'm doubting you....I'm not at all) that the DWP are just SO totally incompetent - don't they have to answer to anyone? And you're just one case out of 1000s, presumably. Beggars belief. I'm glad for you, Kate, I hope it's a prelude to lots of things getting better for you.
ReplyDeleteFinally something...fingers crossed the rest will happen.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is they can backdate the payment but they can't backdate the peace of mind you should have had by getting what you should have got. As I mentioned DD's partner received ESA backdated to Sept 2016. If she had received it from the beginning they would not have got into rent arrears and been evicted and ended up sleeping in my tiny spare room. Hopeful news for us though, after housing officer visited the other day (only 45 minutes late!) and seemingly with no knowledge of their history. After talking very loud and very fast (not ideal when dealing with people with Asperger's) she conveyed that there was not accommodation suitable for wheelchair so could they stay here a bit longer? How much longer, we asked, 6 weeks, 6 months, 6 years? Then I showed her the room they were sleeping in and she was actually quite genuinely shocked. Lo and behold, phone call yesterday to say they have found a "not perfect" bungalow with walk-in shower. So I have dropped them at council offices this morning and am waiting to hear if it really is going to happen. I hope they take it as even it isn't perfect they will at least have their own place (and I get mine back), and they will then be "in the system" for future help. Fingers crossed for us, and for you too.
ReplyDeleteKate, I am hoping,one day and very soon,some money will be in your account.
ReplyDeleteWe arent holding our breath , its another common trick they get up to , ringing you to say they have made payments , then denying they made the call .
DeleteI was a civil servant in social security for 12 years. We could only follow the rules. I know not all of the staff are helpful and nice but it is not an easy job. Blame the politicians for the rules
ReplyDeleteMoira I am so sorry that your job was not easy .Much harder life ,getting paid and all the benefits paid by public. Blame politicians. Rules are not followed and Kate and her husband are in a extremely difficult situations.
DeleteThe DWP must have the highest staff turnover on the planet , why it is beyond them to give teams a set number of cases and just let them deal with those is beyond me , instead poor training and shambolic procedures have ground it down the point of the useless
DeleteIn the days before computers we cleared and paid our cases within a week. If we could not when the person phoned we explained how to claim supplementary benefit and that it was not charity as we would deduct it when we sorted out their claim. My husband says computers have created more paper and more questions.
DeleteIt should never have taken a year, it's rediculous. I hope you get the money pronto and you splash a little on a treat each. You deserve do much more.
ReplyDeleteAnd breathe! Eldest and partner are now in their temporary, "emergency" accommodation. It's not perfect (still difficulties with wheelchair access to kitchen) but it's clean and warm, and it will be theirs for a while. I actually slept until 9 a.m. this morning. I am going to pick eldest up shortly as they only took overnight bags with them, and they will need some groceries (new property isn't close to shops). They have been told that they can now start bidding on more suitable council places (this place is a private rental organised by council) and because of their circumstances they will get priority. Although I will still worry about them, at least we are not either at each others throats or sitting in silence as we had been these past few weeks.
ReplyDeleteI hope you getting ESA is the start of a turn of fortune for you and yours.
Ahhh....but he applied for ESA back in January 2017 and its still not looking as if its going anywhere , weve just got to the stage where hes been told hes in the work with support group , the Job center staff will love having him back and it means he can go back to college if theres funding left this year, plus he loves the weird courses they send him on , admittedly the heart problems might scare them , but they dont scare him ...Men
DeleteSorry - it was PIP, not ESA, you are getting. I get confused with all these different "awards" but I know Eldest's partner gets both (now). Eldest popped back today to pick up a few bits as they only took bare minimum the other day, and seems very upbeat about the temporary accommodation. We both mentioned how well we have both slept since Friday (when they moved out) as we no longer have the stress of being on top of each other. Partner is finding the change difficult to adjust to (the Asperger's I guess) but they are thinking of getting some of their stuff out of storage so that will probably help. I can't see either of them ever working again, although partner kept talking about it. It might be possible as they are both computer programmers so could theoretically work from home. I just think the organisational skills might be a bit difficult for them but have decided that I have to just let them get on with things and stop taking on their problems.
ReplyDeletethey will bimble along just fine , With a little support now and then . Aspergers is a strange one , like all the Autism spectrum it has such a huge range that theres no judging it from person to person . I think thats the bit that those who dont live with it , find hard to understand . The DWP I think judge everyone on the spectrum as Forest Gump or Rainman
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