ATOS

[mumthecarer63]

Venting my fury on here and wondering if anyone can tell us how to get ATOS to assess my daughter. Over a year ago her disability was taken from her, and the reason give was that she had apparently moved. She'd been in her property for four years and hadn't moved! So the process of assessment was introduced and it has now been over a year and she still hasn't been seen. Three times her appointments have been cancelled and it seems there is nothing she can do about this. Any advice would be gratefully received.

[Hidden]

Contact CAB if no joy there your local MP

The backlog for Atos is massive I've been waiting more than a year for a medical assessment have a look at benefits and work website

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Progrock - we've written to our MP this evening and will keep on writing until we get a response. I hope you get your assessment soon.

[Bananas5]

Couple of things - when you say disability do you mean ESA or DLA?PIP?

When you say hey claimed she had moved -had they written with no reply or what?

Hope you don't mind me askunf.

Pat x

[mumthecarer63]

Sorry I should have been more specific - she had DLA for over a year when this happened. My daughter tried to question them but they said they couldn't tell her anything other than they had been informed she had moved. If they had written to her address they would have got there, so I guess they never did.

I feel so much for my daughter as she has no money whatsoever of her own and her husband, although gets a pretty good salary struggles to manage the money. I gave up my job to help her four years ago and I don't have any money now either. Vicious circle!

[Bananas5]

This stinks and doesn't make sense. Does she, or you, have anything in writing from DWP? When she was awarded DLA in the first place did it say how long the award was for?

They don't just stop paying if you move. (Which she han't anyway.) If it is paid into her bank account then it continues until the date on that original letter or your circumstances change. ( Something you have to tell them.)

Can you check that original letter and let me know please?

This is all very odd.

Pat x

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

Pat, I will go and see my daughter today and see if she can tell me anything else. I know she never received any notification at all about her DLA being stopped. When she phoned she was brushed off and at that time we just couldn't understand why they thought she had moved, unless someone had given them some false information. My daughter is so unwell with chronic pain and depression she finds it hard to deal with any spanners in the works (of which there are many). She has fought for diagnosis and won't ever get one now as there is nothing more they can do really. All this started five years ago after a C-section and has caused her and all of her family so much heartache and stress. I'll let you know later if I can find out any more information. Thank you so much Pat.

[Bananas5 in reply to mumthecarer63]

Last thing I want to do is cause any more worry to her or you. DWP cause more than enough..

Yes there is that probability some nasty sod has created trouble for her but even then DWP wouldn't just stop her allowance without some imquiry.

If she still has the original letter from when she was first awarded DLA that will tell us. IF she can't find it then a call to DWP asking how long the award was for will enlighten us.

Has she ever reapplied for it again after it was stopped? Sound like she should be getting something. Will not be beaten down by DWP,

Hugs

Pat x

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

My memory is not so good but I have some vague recollection that they said she was coming up for review but as she had moved she hadn't replied to letters. I'll check with her in a bit. I know she was told she couldn't have DLA and would have to reapply for PIP.

[Bananas5 in reply to mumthecarer63]

Aha! This could well be the key. Award for say 12 months - review time - she moves and it sort of slipped.

Make a good detectives! Or been fighting to long.

All new apllicants do have to apply for PIP now. Stinker.

You mentioned Carers UK? Is she a carer or is someone in her house a carer?

x

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

Yes, I bet this is the case. I am going to write and ask why they thought she had moved (they wouldn't divulge anything over the phone). When she first started suffering I was spending hours and hours at her house looking after her newborn and toddler. We got help from Carers UK in filling in forms and in particular the DLA which my daughter did get. I think we can only really ask why she is not being seen by ATOS and is having her appointments cancelled and see how we get on. Her husband and I are her carers but we don't claim. Also she does have an assistant (through Social Services) for a few hours per week who is there to assist her with the 'mothering' of her two little children.

[Bananas5 in reply to mumthecarer63]

Yup I'd go along with that. Ask DWP why no assessment or why the are cancelling.

SShall I guve you their answer now? !!

There is a huge backlog for claiming aall benefits - sme dire others impossible.

For wither you or her husband to claim Carers Alowance you daughter must be in receipt of higher rate care DLA or enhanced PIP.

Oh there are other rules but that's the baic one.

Does she claim ESA or shall we ignore that question!

OK

x

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

No ESA. Yeah I pretty much know the answer really but like so many others am so frustrated! Makes me feel better to write a scathing letter tho.

x

[Bananas5 in reply to mumthecarer63]

You go give 'em a damned scathing but don't break your pencil!!

xx

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

I won't and will post again if I ever get a reply! Thank you for listening and helping.

x

[Bananas5 in reply to mumthecarer63]

You can post anytime! Always looking for sommeone to talk to!!

x

[Hidden in reply to mumthecarer63]

Could be an admin error on their part - wrong address used. Write and Ask for copies of the letters she hasn't recieved. They will answer your letter with a letter which dates the time you recieved them and will have the correct address to send them back to. The original date and address used will be on the letters.

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Zanna. I will do that although she was told they wouldn't divulge the address they had on their records. So weird especially as she hadn't moved and received letters from them a year previous! However, my daughter has now found all correspondence and I will be writing a letter today.

[Hidden in reply to mumthecarer63]

Good luck!

[Hidden in reply to mumthecarer63]

Ask under the data protection act ico.org.uk/for-the-public/p...

There were also plans to make government contractors subject to the FOI Act but don't know if that has happened yet

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you very much Kevscar - I will do that for sure.

[Poppy_Ann]

Hi she should have put in an appeal as soon as she was told that they had stopped it, they had no right to stop it even if she had moved location all they should have done if she had moved was pass the case over to the new location office, moving is not a valid reason to stop paying the benefit.

[Bevvy]

Like others this makes no sense to me. DLA does not stop just because you move. ? I moved and was sure that they would use this as a reason to ask me to apply for PIP. Wasn't even mentioned. Just got sent details with new address.

[mumthecarer63]

Thank you ladies..... I am on the case again now but it is hard as I always get no-where. We thought it so very wrong at the time but my daughter just took what they said on the phone as gospel. We did get a lady from Carers UK come and help her fill in her application for PIP afterwards. My daughter is 40 and so it is difficult for her to have to have her mother fight her corner! Her husband is too bogged down with caring for their two little boys and coping with his job, so has no energy left to help her either. I'm going to contact DWP today and ask for the top person to write to and then will try once again. Mo

[mumthecarer63]

Just as an afterthought when she challenged ATOS last time about her cancelled appointments they told her to write a letter of complaint!

[Hidden in reply to mumthecarer63]

Sounds odd. But complaint systems are a way a company or business re-assesses how it works. They get a specific problem and they work through it to make things better for everyone. The theory is - if there are no complaints then there are no problems. Quite logical really. They can only change things if things have been brought to light. If you write intelligently and keep to the facts you will get just as good a response than if you are abusive and emotionally charged. It reflects better on you too.

So if you don't complain about the cancelled appts, then it's not seen as a problem and the policy won't change. Again be intelligent about it, stick to the facts, keep personal opinion and emotion out of it. You can say things like the situation angers you, that it takes time and organisation to get your daughter ready for an appt. The disappointment when it has been cancelled etc.

So in the case of your daughter, they may have a policy that says 3 letters and if no response stop benefits. Which is unfair to you because you didn't get them in the first place. But with millions of applications and re-applications it's one way to weed out people. Unfortunately for your daughter, there has been a problem along the way and letters have gone missing.

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Hidden]

Yes, that is absolutely the way I will approach the letter writing. My daughter tries to deal with all this herself but can only face telephoning which of course is not the best way and always ends up with a brush-off. In my experience the only way is a letter, which will be winging its way to the top; not to customer services!

Thanks for your advice, it is really much appreciated.

[katieoxo60]

Well mumthecarer63, can only add a little to all the info on here, I would suggest that you write a complaint letter about the handling of your daughters claim, ask for copies of all letters sent to her home address during say the last twelve months. You can ask for the help of a solicitor who deals with benefit claims but you only get an initial free talk. The local council often has benefit advice but many of these processes do take time. You are well advised to follow your instinct and go straight to the top, on the grounds of bad administration would be my advice.

[mumthecarer63 in reply to katieoxo60]

Thank you, I am going to do just that and have quite a few points I would like to make on flawed administration! I've already written to our local MP but don't hold up much hope there but might be pleasantly surprised. So grateful to you all for responding..... sometimes I go round and round in circles but all the advice has helped.

[katieoxo60 in reply to mumthecarer63]

Good Luck

[mumthecarer63 in reply to katieoxo60]

Thank you Katie, sending the letter today! Not expecting much to be honest but will keep going now! Finding the address of the top man is impossible (well of course they don't want you to find him, do they). Lol x

[katieoxo60 in reply to mumthecarer63]

Of course they don't want you to go to the man at the top, think his address can be found on the governments website, if you need it again, at any time. I took a case like this once and actually got compensation to my surprise. Be patient though they should acknowledge your letter quickly, but think they are allowed three months to investigate what happened, if all else fails you can go to the ombudsman, after all why shouldn't your daughter get compensation for their error. Hopefully you will have an acknowledgement letter in the next few weeks. Keep us up dated love to know how you get on. xx

[Bananas5 in reply to katieoxo60]

He is one of the few you can't actually contact directly. Now why would that be I wonder? All goes to DWP depratment and some sniffy clerk selects right person to handle it.

Compensation eh Katie? Out of his own pocket i hope?? If he coughed up himself for al those he has wronged he'd be down the Job Cenrtre by Monday!

x

[katieoxo60 in reply to Bananas5]

Made me laugh Paton, imagine the man at the top in any organisation paying personal compensation. In fact it was just a refund of my own money from the powers that be , because in reality we pay their wages and for their mistakes sadly. Think you have the process sussed as they say. But we do have to put pressure on don't we? x

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

DLA started on the 25th August 2011 and was stopped on the 9th November 2013. The letter is written and will be send recorded delivery marked private and confidential! Asked for copies of the letters we were told went to another address!

[Bananas5 in reply to mumthecarer63]

Oh wow that is bizarre. Does the original letter say it will be stopped on that date? Or will be for x moths or some indication?

The thick plottens. We are all getting involved now.

x

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

I haven't seen the letter myself yet but I don't think she was given a date for when it would be reviewed! If she had she would have kept an eye on it I'm sure.

[Bananas5]

Still here!

Did you find any paper work from when DLA was first awarded? Dates for reassessment?

Pat x

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

Hi Pat, my daughter has found all the paperwork she received when she was awarded DLA and I am going to collect it all tomorrow, so should be able to piece it all together and armed with all the advice given on here will be drafting my letter. Will be requesting copies of the letters she should have received.

[Bananas5 in reply to mumthecarer63]

Well done - you're going to be busy! Just satisfy my curiosity when you look through it as to what date the award runs to. Message me if you like. I shan't sleep til I now!!

And I would never remind you to keep cp[ies and ssend recoded - their sig needed!

x

[mumthecarer63 in reply to Bananas5]

Oh yes Pat, don't worry I send all these sort of letters recorded delivery and marked private and confidential - to be opened by the recipient only"! Lol. I will let you know what transpires, I promise. x