DLA.......NEVER AGAIN!!!!

[bobbin]

HI all, they refused me dla saying i didnt fit any of the criteria, that i can accept but the way they spoke to me was disgusting, like i was a piece of shit on their shoe. i had a support worker who came with me and she said she has been to loads before and that was by far the worst she had ever seen, said it was a torture chamber and over an hour of basic harrassment, i even asked at one point to leave because it was that bad. So it is something i would never ever do again even though since March i have deteriorated alot i just could not put myself through thats xxxx

[Hidden]

Aw so sorry to hear they treated you like that i too was refused DLA in may but i was a;so told did not meet thr criteria i think you have to be nearlyin your grave to get it by the sounds of it no offence tothose who are well done you and much deserved of it !!!

anyway my gp told me i should apply when i mentioned it to her and so i had her fullm backing but no still refused the man who helped me fill it in from DIAL sai if you are refused withyour gp backing i would suggest not to re apply as many people do and they do it 6/7 times but theyt dont get any where so i would leave it and wait 6/12 month and then see how you are and re apply then

so i do sympathise with you take care love diddle x

[bobbin]

thankyou for your kind words diddle, it is nice when people have an understanding of how you feel

x

[Hidden]

Im sorry.not on.x

[Hidden]

It is so demeaning isn't it. I mean it is hell for us to go to these things and to be treated like that. I would put in a letter of complaint. I know it wont help your case but no one deserves to be treated like that.

When i went for my medical, she made me lie on the bed but there was no support to help me get up and she wouldnt help nor allow my friend to help, so I ended up straining my back and was in tears, then because i was worked up i had a breathing attack but she didnt show any sympathy at all, just told me no hurry i could sit in the waiting room as long as i liked..

I mean as I had such a bad turn it worked in my favour at the time (I was put on ESA) but i would rather have not had to go through that to prove i couldnt manage to get up on my own.

I hope you don't let it stress you too much though. Gentle hugs xx

[cxs957 in reply to Hidden]

OMG! Do they pick up someone in a wheelchair and drop them on the floor then go ha, now get up! This is ridiculous!! Do they go towards blind people with a weapon and see if they move or shout at deaf people. This is horrendous, insulting and prisoners are dealt with in better conditions. What happened to human rights.

[colleenofminster]

Thats aan awful time for you and so wrong that you have been that badly treated. But please do not let them get away with it. Complain complain complain. Its the the same with the ESA. The only way we can bring these matters to the forefront of attention is to make noise and let it be known. I know it is terrible hard and that you probably feel that you cannot battle anymore. Go the CAB write to your MP.You already have a good start to a complaint, as your support worker was there with you and can give witness to all of your complaint. Im actually surprised that your support worker hasnt already helped you to start an appeal and a complaint. If you have already got your GP's support then even more power to your case. Good Luck to you and I hope that you feel stronger soon. xx

[Shortnsweet54 in reply to colleenofminster]

spot on colleen, been there done that myself. These "assessments" are so demeaning and humiliating, every complaint and every appeal MUST tell them something...the shambolic system doesn't work. do they think we'll magically recover or that we're "putting it on" just for them. make me so furious to see time and again people treated with so little regard. We're people, not damn machines.

ooohhhh!!!! rant over,

Take care

Jan xx

[Hidden]

I agree with Coleen you need to complain right away. Sorry you went through all that xx

[Shortnsweet54]

Hi bobbin,

Bless you, there is no justification for the disgusting and disrespectful way you were treated, also been there done that. these assinations...aka assessments, are so demeaning and humiliating. I had to crawl across the floor to try to get up using a chair as my knees , ankles and elbows wouldn't co operate. i was in tears of pain and humiliation when the doc said...oh can't you get up, i should have helped you!!!! on the part.."can get up off the floor unaided"...nil points, was stunned. B***ard i thought.

Get the doctor/nurses name and complain, i did but didn't persue it in the end as i was soo very very poorly, I'm still cross about that and really regret it, but i just lost the will or inclination. Was far better prepared for the last medical though..went in fighting. You can ask them to stop the physical exam if it's too painful, bet they didn't tell you that!!!

It is a bonus that you had someone with you to bear witness to your disgraceful treatment, would they write a supporting letter for your complaint..and complain you must, don't let them get away with this. xx

Prepare to appeal also if you get a " you have been awarded nil points" letter. I went to Citizens Advice who were really helpful, they filled the form in for me and gave me some very good advice.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this, it makes me furious to see time and time again on here people treated with so little care and respect.

Take care

thoughts and hugs

Jan xx

[colleenofminster]

Absolutely Jan, the reason they are attacking people with debilitating, and or chronic fatigue conditions plus people with mental health problems is very simple I believe. Lets cast out the biggest net we possible can and catch everything we can in it. Most of them wont have the strength or resources to fight back, so even if those people are not fit and able to cope with work (and most of us are definitely not) we will give them no choice. That way the government have a win win situation as JCA or no benefit at all is a lot less money to pay out then ESA and or DLA. Well that is provided no one turns around and fights back. Bobbin Honey please go on to all the links on here and places like CAB and Disability Legal Advise. Truly it will lift your spirits to see written down how many of us are fighting back and winning our cases! The Government can only beat us if when they kick us down to the floor we lie down and stay there. I am writing to a whole list of MP's, complaining directly to ATOS firstly about the assessor and then about the whole process, I have contacted CAB who will be helping me with the appeal. Honey I am absolutely terrified I can promise you and sometimes I sit here and I am just overwhelmed with fear and panic. I know I could not go to their "Work Related Activities" or attended interviews (only to be rejected because of my health anyway". I am scared but tell you what I am BLOODY FURIOUS!!! as well. I have had it with being treated like a scrounger, waste of space, malingerer (too many labels that we all know too well to list here). Guess what ATOS and the Government, we have a debilitating, painful, horrible condition that nobody in their right minds would have wished on their worse enemies (well actually now that might be one or two people, sure you can guess who,that I might wish it in) There is hordes of medical evidence out there now that proves that we are not just a bunch of hypocondriacs thinking we dont feel well. And I for one am damned determined that I am going to bring this to the attention of as many people as I possible can. I have had the same treatment for years because I have long term clinical depression as well. I was accussed of putting it on, I was bullied so badly at work that I attempted to take my own life and ended up in hospital. I was bullied because my peers had decided that I was putting it all on to get out of doing certain tasks at work!. Again, just like Fibromyalgia which does not really show any outward physical signs for most of us, as it about pain, No we dont have missing limbs, or are hunched over, Some of us look reasonable well. Its the same with my mind. Sometimes my mind isnt very well, I cant put on a bandage or a splint to prove to the world that I am suffering but I am. Fight Back Girls (and Boys) because this dreadful cruel utter farce of ATOS must be stopped.

Thats it rant over and done, just getting off my soapbox now, albeit very slowly cos my knees hurt lol

xxx

[bluecelestite]

Well all I can say for many people they will be carrying a lot of karmic debts as every cause has an effect and every thought is heard and every action has a reaction ....as for those who say I'm just doing my job what I'm told to do well they choose to do that job whilst doing their job their own true thoughts are heard and they will have to learn their own lesson ..... years ago I met a man who I dated for a few months he suffered a lot of pain i never understood as I was hardly ever ill he moaned and complained tried using it to get his own way I got fed up and finished it to be honest I felt sorry for him for a while then after time I could not really be bothered with hearing it no more again i never understood never suffered pain to gain understanding ..... I have fibromyalgia and have done about 7 years now I understand and have become somewhat different in my own view of chronic pain .... not many people know i have fibro why because like I was nobody really cares do they untill you meet like minded people who are in the undersdtanding to what is is all about,,,,, is it really worth fighting this system and making ourselves more ill then we already are through stress I am told go for DLA I was turned down and would not even bother no more I'd rather have less and live on that then be treated so badly it goes around and around my head for months the system plays you so when you can play it back if an employer takes you on and you keep dropping stuff, and your as slow as you can be and your yawning your head off at the customers etc I doubt their keep you in a job for long after all its all performance related these days and fibro suffferes just wont cut it will we ... so when im on jobseekers again from being found fit for work i'll send my cv with my age 47 thats always a downer for a start lol then walk in un infusiastic and carry on from there ......if our benefits get stopped then were have to set up some camps outside like they have in america live on the land after all people can be cut off but they dont roll over and die the next day do they they have to go somewhere ...try getting on with everyday let go of fear as thats what they want the public to be in all the time fear other loss rear of money stability if people can lose everything and recover so will we ....I am sick of the hold over me a free world we live in I believe not your NI number from birth shows that your registered to the government form birth same as everything else you think you own is registerd isnt it ......kaz

[electricjaws]

hi bobbin, sorry to hear you went through that,HOWEVER,APPEAL APPEAL APPEAL!! because for every one person that doesn't ,they win, i am off to my appeal for esa on a certain date in aug,if they start talking to me like s**t ,i shall ask them nicely if they would please stop speaking to me in that manner as i don't deserve it as i haven't done anything wrong, gradually i shall probanly get re assessed for dla which i have been on since 2005 ,i am unable to walk much at all ,as i also have pelvic pain and spondylosis as well as fibro,if i get a negative off them then,i will appeal,i know it is daunting but it is your right to appeal,so i urge you to do so..if you then win you can stick two fingers up to the system that doesn't work.....

[bobbin]

Well thankyou all for your comments and advise, i think to be honest i am still so upset by yesterday that it has taken it all out of me. I am sure given a day or two a will get my fight back....

again thankyou all so much, i know where to come when i need a chat

take care all of you and hugs to you all

Bobbin xxx

[mongmot]

to bobbin, I am so sorry that you have been treated that way, they dont seem to realise the amount of pain that even attending their "assessments" gives. Well maybe they do but they dont care. I was diagnoised with FB about 15 years ago and it just keeps getting worse,BUT,never give up, keep as well as you can, and know that there are many fellow sufferers who wish you the best. love and warm hugs. Mongmotxx

[Hidden]

The way you, and we in general are treated is disgusting. A couple of years ago, I was put on JSA and I just couldn't cope. I stopped claiming benefits for over a year and exhausted what savings I had. I regret that, but at the time I just didn't have the strength. A couple of suicide attempts later, I finally began to get the support I need and now get ESA until November when I will be reviewed again.

What I'm saying I suppose is that I totally understand you not wanting to go through it again, but as others have said, get some support and fight them. They rely on us not doing that but up to 60% of appeals are upheld.

[Jeannie]

God bless you Hun. No one deserves to be demeaned especially when they're ill. Xxx gentle hugs

Wonder if citizen advice could help!!??

[sharonissexy]

FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!!! Please don't let them win

xx

[fibrohelp]

Hi, I had this problem, when I first applied for it, recommended to do by the job centre. the doctor kept butting in and not letting me finish what i was saying, questiioning everything i told him about my medical history, more or less saying i was talking a load of rubish and so were the doctors who said i have fribro, cos of everything i've had over the years! they stopped it a year or so ago, and i've now had an ESA meeting to go onto that, though for the life of me i have no idea how they are gonna find me job i can do and keep up, and a few hours a week! the lady i seen for ESA was really nice though, and she said i should apply for DLA but i said , after my latest experience i dont wanna go through that again, i felt like i was being interigated! and yes, spoken to like poo! then when the doctor examined me, he had the cheak to say, my, you are a nervous little thing arent you?!

[julieevh]

bobbin - get your composure back then complain about your treatment; complain to your MP as well and see if they can back you and ruffle a few feathers

Julie xx

[Jay2000]

bobbin, I am so sorry. I know how frustrating it was for me to fill in the DLA forms, I might have been lucky when I filled it in, but I have other conditions so perhaps it was that, or the area I live in. Who knows how they work?

I have still been put into the "return to work" category for the ESA and I can't begin to imagine who would want to employ me. I am 53 now and falling to bits, but I believe the government want people back onto JSA to make the sickness benefits reduced. With us, they are targeting the wrong group though and the sooner they realise it the better.

I have another 20 page "Limited Capability for work questionnaire" so my benefit may end once this has been completed. It's almost like a lottery.

I sometimes wish we could manage without it rather than to deal with these forms, but, why should we (or anyone else) we have paid our taxes for years after all.

Lots of love to you bobbin x

[bobbin]

again ty all so much, am going to get a new head on next week a send a letter to my mp

wish me luck

;D