Hi, my name is richardperou! Help with Attendance Allowance

richardperou

I am 85, diabetic, hard of hearing, arthritic and not sorry for myself.  I have joined Scope to get assistance with obtaining a response from government departments  to my claims for benefits

poppy123456

Which benefits have you claimed exactly?

richardperou

Atteñdance Allowance.

poppy123456

What problems are you having? Are you waiting for a decision? It's impossible to help you if you don't give some more information. If it's a decision you're waiting for then there are backlogs for AA and you could be waiting up to about 16 weeks.

richardperou

I live in France and due to the total lack of communication from the DWP , the lack of email ( I am hard of hearing and use hearing aids.) and an eight months delay in dealing with another matter I was beginning to believe that living abroad was cause for excessive delays.  Your note that it takes sixteen weeks to open a file reassures me that I am not being picked on but this sort of delay compares very unfavourably with the French administration which makes extensive use of electronic communication and even provides local advice services run by the state.

Hannah_Alumni

@richardperou Welcome to the community!  

Unfortunately, there have still been delays in across the benefits system. When was the last time you contacted them or they you? 

richardperou

I find contacting the DWP very difficult.  Every barrier to communication is used.
I had a very difficult telephone conversation two days ago.  Difficult because I am deaf.

Hannah_Alumni

@richardperou Have you tried using a service like Relay or an equivalent in France, if you have a textphone? 

richardperou

Never heard of them.

Hannah_Alumni

Their website says;

Relay UK brings relay services for deaf, hard-of-hearing, and speech-impaired people right up to date with the latest app technology.  You don't need any special kit – just download the app from the App Store, Google Play or the Microsoft Store onto your smartphone, tablet, or computer.

May be worth trying to see if it helps?  

richardperou

All's well,  DWP contacted me by phone today.  Their representative spoke clearly and was easily understood.  It still begs the question why it takes sixteen weeks to react to an application.
It is an interesting question 'How many die while waiting?'.

L_Volunteer

It is a really difficult and lengthy process @richardperou. I can really hear your concerns  how are you feeling now the DWP have contacted you by phone?

richardperou

Baffled why the DWP is so bad at communication.  

2oldcodgers

richardperou said:

All's well,  DWP contacted me by phone today.  Their representative spoke clearly and was easily understood.  It still begs the question why it takes sixteen weeks to react to an application.
It is an interesting question 'How many die while waiting?'.

Quite a few in my opinion. But on the brighter side that when it is awarded it will be backdated and if the claimant dies in the meantime the DWP will stay pay the outstanding money to their estate for their beneficiaries