Benefit Cheat, part deux

[BaronC]

After last year's 'victory' over the government vultures, the second attack has duly arrived.

Following a year in receipt of the new wonder benefit I have just been informed that as of, well, two weeks ago it reduced by 25%

A quarter of my total benefits ceased, stopped, ended, full stop. A few pence over £1000 a year. And so to the appeal process, again. contact MP, four million pages of forms answering the same things I've spent eighteen years answering.

Still, top wage earners pay a little extra tax, so all is good in the world

[bikerlifestyle]

i am lucky enough to be physically disabled in a wheelchair (not sure lucky is the right word but in this context it is)

so a lot of my disability is visible so i have been lucky enough to not have had too many problems with benefits (a couple of appeals but that's it) i never even used to mention my head injury on the forms

I do now since the new forms for esa came out as some of the questions do seem to be better thought out than before

i must admit i don't know if i could cope with the stress of fighting for benefits for my head injury alone

[ncmurphy1951]

baron it is very importan to understand to comply with the system which is annul checks to renew the questions lthough tedious are essential to weed out the fraudsters we ligitimate claiments get tarred with the same brush as the cheats caught out in the press if you are not cheating which i am fully sure yoiu are not complete all the forms truthfully obain a decision if you disagree appeal unemployed are able to get legal aid if like me you havent the patience or a short temper get a legal aid lawyer as i have done to lodge the appeal for you neil

[BaronC in reply to ncmurphy1951]

Ta for that. I fully understand the 'system', I've had enough practise being open, honest and genuine with my claims.

As I said in part one, I totally understand the need to weed out the liars, however in my case, the tar you speak of appears to have stuck. Eighteen years of towing the line appears to count for nothing. I'm bloody sick of it, tired and quite frankly at the end of my tether

[Danslatete in reply to ncmurphy1951]

They have stopped legal aid for benefit appeals as part of the cost cutting etc. There are a miniscule ammount of fraudsters and always has been, but they like to spread them all over the news when they find them. I think its about 0.5% of claims are thru fraud and that is the governments own figures.

It is soul destroying and very difficult for some people to keep going over the same things year after year, it can serve as a reminder as to how much a persons life has changed and make them feel worse.

I am kind of glad i am not going thru it all now. I had my 365 days and i didnt fill in the form again when they sent it because i cant get it anyway.

[ncmurphy1951]

thank you i was advised get a lawyer or face an assault charge for clumping one of the job centre staff with their pre programmed catch you out questions after 16months in hospital i took the sadvice and got a lawyer i had this for only 5 years unlike your 18

[BaronC in reply to ncmurphy1951]

Gotcha, I could take a few swings myself. I'll see what the MP says and then act on that...

[ricozoe]

hope you can gt it sorted i hate the goverment.

[ricozoe]

my son has aspergers,so we were gtting dla n careres allowance,since ive been ill,which according to the dla people im not ill enough to get help from them but had a visit last week as thy were trying to stop my carers allowance by proving im too ill to look after my son.its nt a lot and ive had to stop myself from saying have it bk if it u wnt it ,i wish my son nor i needed any help from them.but thy made 1 big mistakeby saying i cnt see to my son, as i will now fight them all the way.unless i win the lottery tonite,then thy cn stick there so called help.

[kjg001]

OMG!!

I was thinking of trying for benefits, I had an SAH Haemorrhage only 8 weeks ago, to start with progress was good, but now i have hit a wall.

Lost about £13,000 a year and we can not survive much longer, sold everything we can, but now our only option is benefits, I think Low rate Care and Low rate mobility and possibly Carers for my partner, but will we get it stress free.

It does not sound like it and I must keep stress levels low, mind you, will be even more stressful if we loose the house right!

Oh what to do for the best, will they argue that I might improve, oh the process scares the 5h1t out of me.

And advice welcome.

[BaronC in reply to kjg001]

The only advice I can give right now is to use a tenth of the fight you use in everyday living ro get through your health battles to fight the 'System' all the way. You can NOT afford to let them win. They can't win. Appeal, badger your MP, telephone the DWP every day, write letters, contact your local newspaper, keep fighting. pM me to compare notes if you wish, I'd be more than happy to share

[Flumptious]

Gosh, I feel bad. I get Disability Living Allowance, but I also work (I just went back to my old job, after I needed 18 months off on sick-leave. They stopped paying me sick pay, quite quickly, but they said I could go back, 'if' I recovered enough. Thankfully, I did!). I don't feel I *need* the money, but as the government seems happy to give it to me, I don't argue. Every time I need to get a taxi anywhere (as there is no way I can drive), I think, well, this is what my DLA is for.

They have given it to me, and renewed it each year, without me really asking for it. I assumed it would be similar for other people in similar situations. But I guess not.