DLA ??? dodgy dealings: Well, applied... - Lung Conditions C...

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DLA ??? dodgy dealings

28 Replies

Well, applied for DLA and got turned down , wasn't surprised after reading on the forums that a lot of people have been turned down, so i have appealed.

BUT...... i was turned down based on information from my GP, according to DLA his report states i can do a lot of things. like walk for 100 meters, which i have not been able to do for over 18 months along with personal hygiene issues

being turned down for DLA did not concern me as much as my medical care - if my doctor believed i could do things i can't, was i receiving the correct medical care to help my condition? Having been really ill since December i was very worried.

So i went to see my doctor and asked him about the report - he checked the computer, looked at me puzzled, sat thinking and said he has not received any requests from anyone about my me.

i told him of the issues on the "report" and he said he knows i can not do those things so had he given them a report it would not state i could. He has been my GP for over 25 years and so knows me quite well.

i rang DLA this morning to ask for a copy of the report, which they are happy to send me, and told them my doctor informs me he has not written the report so wondered where it had came from - she told me that another doctor at the surgery may have written it - we only have 2 doctors and one left over 2 months ago so my doctor is the only current doctor until a replacement is found.

Cant wait to receive this report - but am now wondering if this has happened to anyone else and is this one of the tactics used to prevent paying DLA?

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28 Replies

In all honesty you won't know the answer to that one until you get your hands on that report - and i for one can't wait to hear what it throws up! Either way you will have someone by the short and ******* as either the GP has told you porky pies or the DLA have! I await your next instalment with baited breath!! Parvati.

San15 profile image
San15

When i applied, took them ages to ask my doctor for a report on my conditions, i was refused DLA without a report. Before i finally was accepted for DLA, i had sent in about 4 applications and the last one went to the appeal courts, rest didnt make it there, i was just refused flatly.

amagran profile image
amagran

is there an ombudsman you can turn to,?

you are right Pavarati - they have actually put in writing that they have based the decision on the doctors report dated 10-5-12.

my doctor is very good and was really puzzled, i know he has been really busy since the other doctor left but he said if he had done it would have been on the computer but there was no record.

Gran - don't know, but until i get the copy of the report i cant do anything - they reckon it will take about 2 weeks but if i find anything dodgy i will be making a right royal fuss because it makes me wonder how many people have been turned down unfairly.

tyran57 profile image
tyran57

hi, i was turned down when i first applied for dla they used my medical assessment from atos that doctor said i had asthma and would recover within 3 months!!! I went to tribunal absolutely terrified but they were lovely and gave me lowest rate living couldnt give me mobility but told me to apply again i did and got it straight away. Have you had an atos medical recently sandra

Sandra - i am new to claiming benefits so i had no idea what i was doing - i have only seen my own GP and hospital consultant but if they havn't had a letter from my doctor and refused my claim based on it i am expecting to get seen by a harley street doctor so they can cover their a*** - :)

thy will need to sort this out somehow without losing face because others will need to be looked at again.

Pansy - they specifically state it is a GP report.

Stitch - thats what i am thinking too !!

valm profile image
valm

Shocking though isn't it !

tyran57 profile image
tyran57

krazylay1961 you might find this web site useful, benefitsandwork.co.uk you can get free information from them or for £20 a year you can get detailed stuff about filling in benefit applications its a really good site sorry i cant put a direct link to it i dont know how!!!! sandra

Eviex profile image
Eviex in reply to tyran57

Thankyou for this web site! x

tyran57 profile image
tyran57

they also have a facebook page

thanks sandra - will check it out xxxx

ingy profile image
ingy

This is Atos and their dodgy dealings, they hope you will just accept their findings. I learnt the hard way too, but eventually got reports and print outs from Gp and resp nurse, including spirometry, and got welfare rights to put it all together. Hey presto, no argument. Dont let it drop, but dont let it stress you either (not easy). Good luck.

robevanz profile image
robevanz

Keep on pushing the DLA powers that be, I appealed and was granted it by a tribunal, it took ages but I'm glad I didn't give up.

More recently someone else I know appealed successfully. A different health issue. It's a tense time with all the waiting and wondering.

All the best!

robevanz profile image
robevanz

I meant to add, most large towns have an independent Benefits Advisory service which will help with form filling free, our local one gave me invaluable help. The CAB can point you to your nearest one.

i have to admit that because the last benefit i received was family allowance 18 years ago i am benefit virgin and have learnt how difficult it is made - i would have thought claiming help with a disability would be the simplest as you have doctors reports etc but it seems it is made as difficult as possible. i reckon the idea is if they stress you out enough they will make you so ill you won't be able to claim, then when you get better you remember how ill it made you and don't want to go through it all again. - i am amazed by this process - always thought i was a fair, intelligent honest person but i am realizing that to enable me to claim from a system i have put thousands of £s into i will need help!!!!

Eviex profile image
Eviex in reply to

Totally agree to what you've said here, I tried, went to tribunal, they adjourned it so they could look at my esa medical done by atos and when I went back they put me infront of 3 other people to the first part, never took the first part into consideration and didn't look at the medical report..

I never wanted to claim again, it made me more ill than I needed to be and especially when I was fighting doctors to treat me.. (I believe my doc thinks its all for the esa claim, which its not)

Now I have dial involved and they are appointed by DLA, they assess you to see if its worth making a claim then they fill in the forms and with Dial being appointed by DLA they take their findings into consideration.. Fingers crossed and Thankful someone is finally listening..

Maximonkey profile image
Maximonkey

Hi Crazy Lady, have you tried asking for help at the One Stop Shop in your area. They should have a Welfare dept with people trained to help you complete all the forms and how to get the medical evidence to backup your claim. I was knocked back twice and then Welfare dept told me what to get. I wrote to my GP saw him in surgery and he furnished me with all the necessary copy letters from the consultants I had been seeing. I got the DLA withing one wk of posting. I have now applied for them to look at my claim again as I have been diagnosed with Bronchiectasis, I have just picked up the GP's letter and all the copy consultant letters for the past 18 months, wish me luck and good luck to you. Maximonkey

junegirl profile image
junegirl

i had same trouble and could tell by the letter sent to me that the atos so called dr had lied all the way through, saying i cld walk over 200m lol i wish have disabled badge due to breatlessness and pain prevents that, and that was just start i cld go on but the rest was made up on his part, i was in bits after reading such rubbish, my care advisor has asked for reconsideration, the full medical reports and exrtension as going bk to have yet more lung func tests as consultant has lost them twice now, gd luck x

tyran57 profile image
tyran57

hi junegirl, my atos doctor also said i could walk over 200 metres-- i struggle walking 3 metres!! I have a blue badge and get high rate mobility and if i could walk 200 metres i wouldnt have either !! They also twist things to make them sound different. I was asked how many times ive needed oral steroids and antibiotics in the last 2 years i said once just before last xmas the doctor wrote it as if it was a bad thing i think its a good thing what she didnt say was i`d only had one bad bout because during the winter i dont go out because i cant breathe if you dont go out you cant catch colds etc!! Something ought to be done about them but the government like them so they stay !! sandra

junegirl profile image
junegirl in reply to tyran57

youre right something def needs to be done, its hard enough coping with a terminal illness and learning you cant do things u use to without feeling totally degraded and put down by these so called drs, if they were serious in there prof working life they wouldnt be doing that job in my opinion, surely our healthcare profs should be there to help not hinder and put down people suffering!! debs

mrWheezy profile image
mrWheezy

Hi all, well after 14 weeks of deliberation the DLA powers that be have finally awarded me the higher rate for mobility which will enable me to get a new car and not worry about getting public transport for all my appointments as my hire-purchase car had to go back since i could not afford it since having to give up work due to my IPF. They did however award me nothing for the care component even though my wife practically does everything for me now and has had to take a break from work herself to look after me. I will be appealing this decision as since applying my condition has progressed to the stage where i now need oxygen to walk a few yards(something I didnt need 14 weeks ago). To all the people on here that have been refused, please dont give in we deserve this help and are genuine cases and the more of us that fight for it the more this disease and other lung fibrosis related diseases will be recognised by the DLA making the whole process easier and not something else to add to our stress levels. Stay safe and breathe easy xx

tyran57 profile image
tyran57 in reply to mrWheezy

hi mrwheezy, i get the lower rate dla for care an im not on oxygen (yet) ii have to go to a tribunal to get it but i was told that because i cant stand to cook a meal from scratch i got it on that i also need help to shower an dress they dont include housework or shopping because they are classed as domestic chores your family are expected to do !!! If y ou go on the work and benefits website you can have a look at samples of how to fill the forms in and what to put good luck sandra

dinnyrayner profile image
dinnyrayner

Hi,I too applied for DLA some years ago and was refused,i was a benefits virgin and took the refusal on the chin.I moved to Ireland and some years later applied to copy my notes ,i found that the doctor from DLA had said that i was a depressed asthmatic,where as i actually have bronchiectasis , emphasema and asthma , i wish i had known then what i know now !!!!!

thanks everyone - everything wtitten on here is very encouraging and i will fight on to try and get it -

Hi , I have been turned down just for ESA but it was because the DWP wrote to my GP explaining to them not to write me out any more sick notes.. I was not told this I actually read it off of the Doctors screen which he quickly turned away from my view. They are all in it together, the Doctors probably get a bonus for not signing anyone off sick.

I have Emphysema but they act like I've got a mere cold and shouldn't be bothering them.

I actually stopped claiming for 6 months because I couldn't handle the depression that came with it. I don't know if I could do what you are doing now as I want to claim DLA but it just fills me with dread. Good Luck Sweetie

FarmerD profile image
FarmerD in reply to

You should contact Citizens Advice,I had a chap help me fill in the forms they do it all the time.I even saw him at my doctors surgery so it was close by.I just have to wait 6 months now or for a change of government before I have to appeal,which is what I,m expecting to happen.The last time I claimed anything was over thirty years ago and that was only dole money.Good luck.D.

youngwidow profile image
youngwidow

I got the same answer when I applied for dal, my des had no knowledge of any report, after a year on appeal I was awarded the higher rate of dal, still waiting to see the records though, 2 years on! Appeal their decision, it may take a good few months but dot give in to them. Take care.

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