How many of us are scared of the dwp?
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I'm not scared of them, just mightily sick that successive governments change the names & rules of the benefits to fit their next agenda. They have control of my life, if things end up too bad, I have my plan & they will then save a bit of money. I live by 'don't waste a worry', no point worsening the life you have. So, I will plod on & wait until any announcements are made. I don't bother with opinions & what might happen, as the media like to put out, but will await the actual plans & timings.
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There's been no changes here, these laws have always been same. What it means exactly for LCWRA is the same person can't receive both elements at the same time, only the higher element is paid. (same applies to those that receive extra money for the LCW element)
IF you're claiming UC with a partner and you both have LCWRA and at least one of you is claiming a qualifying disability benefit, one person can claim LCWRA element, while the other claims carers element.
For LCW, those that started their claim after April 2017 will not receive any extra money for this element anyway.
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No, I'm not scared of them at all. I have no reason to be because they've never done anything to me for me to be scared about.
I've never had issues claiming either my ESA or PIP. Same applies for my daughters UC and PIP, as her appointee, there's never been issues here either.
I haven't always had plenty of knowledge of benefits either. When I first claimed ESA in 2012 and PIP in 2013, I didn't have a single clue what I was doing. I didn't understand the forms, what I was supposed to write. Didn't have a clue what the descriptors were either. I just filled in the forms and hoped for the best.
I did have assessments up until 2016 for my claims but since then my reviews have been paper based. Yes, my knowledge has increased massively over the years and yes that does help with paper based assessments.
When I first joined scope way back in 2017 I came for benefits advice, which is quite funny now when I think about it. 😉
I totally get that many people have difficulties claiming benefits, going though many Tribunal hearings. Not forgetting those that are not claiming the benefits they are entitled to. Even those that do claim benefits, there are people out there where their entitlements are incorrect.
I know I've seen some really awful things on here over the years that make my eyes pop out of my head. I've advised potentially thousands of people that have been owed many thousands of pounds in unpaid benefits. The most significant one that I'll always remember is someone on here came for advice about their Universal Credit claim. Myself and another member advised them and guided them through the process with what they should have been entitled to. They returned some weeks later to thank us both because they had received every single penny they were owed… £40,000.
Sadly, the person that helped advise them with me is no longer with us. 😔 @calcotti you are very often in my thoughts.
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I am scared of the dwp, having had bad experiences with them in the past, I was refused esa at first and had to go to the tribunal where the dwp didn't send the right papers and it dragged on. So waiting for this esa review is worrying plus the move to uc is terrifying. I had to do a MR with pip as well.
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So that's one of the ways they are making cut backs? I think someone posting earlier was getting more money before they transferred.
Everyone's case is individual isn't it, and on the one hand having it all in one place for the legacy benefits makes sense.
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Poppy, that was a very insightful read, and I'm grateful for the advice you gave me for my 2022 PIP review. Without your guidance, I’m sure I would still be on the standard daily living rate, with no mobility support, and facing assessments at every review. By taking your advice and focusing on how my conditions affect me, rather than just the medical evidence as I had in past reviews, I received enhanced rates for both categories, with a paper-based assessment and the maximum award length.
I don't have personal experience with other benefits, but from reading members posts, it's clear the DWP system is complex and hard to navigate. The digital applications adds another layer of difficulty, especially with an estimated 8.5 million adults in the UK lacking the necessary digital skills to access online services, making an already complicated process even more challenging. While I would not be scared of the DWP, I do feel that understanding the system and knowing how to access the right support is key to overcoming its challenges.
I also fondly remember @calcotti, who, like you Poppy, dedicated much of their time to assisting many members.
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I think that's what I am noticing that every new government comes in and wants to change what the previous one has done, with the added making cuts thrown in.
As I see it they are going to get round to cutting money off everyone sooner or later. If you don't automatically get moved to a new benefit, it could be you. It was me with DLA to PIP, though it looks like with UC they are giving money back under lcwra. On paper, in theory I will be better off, but I dare not put in a claim before the letter arrives incase it messes it all up and then it's my fault I have no money or rent.
It is telling people to wait for the letter, it isn't telling people without the premiums to apply as you will be better off. In fact I could have applied five years ago, I guess there has always been the lcwra. But mentally I wasn't ready to add it to the esa or add anything online.
I still do not like the idea that there is a rent element. How has that been allowed to be taken off the council?
I don't do change and it takes me a while to start to get into the flow.
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Mself and I am sure I can speak for others when I say, we are very grateful for all the advice you give to everyone.
Thinking on what you said, I haven't actually had issues with the dwp. It's simply the stress that I might when I hear from them.
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I hope your OK
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My brother whose not working sees an advisor monthly who helps him with paperwork and helps him gets things. This is in France, not like the advisor here
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oops I read this wrong and I thought it asked how many of us are scared of dogs lol
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@whistles, the DLA to PIP was a biggie, so many folk went from awarded for life to being reviewed whenever. Absurd when for life means you are not going to get any better & in a lot of cases, worse as time goes on.
Thanks, @Catherine21, yes, I'm okay.
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Yes it was and it wasn't until 2018 that they started to include MH in the planning a journey and no face to face assessments.
That was never part of DLA I don't think.
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Yes, I know that, but my point was that it SHOULD have been a transfer over for people with permanent, unchanging and lifelong conditions. They had all the information available to them already.
What they actually did was ignore all my evidence, then rejected me for not having support for a disability/condition that I never claimed I had, while ignoring all the statements from the specialist mentor I did have, and those I made on my form and in my assessment, about how my disability affected me.I think that could have been avoided. Not just for me but for thousands of us and the tax payer's purse.
On the just use the phone and call the DWP comment, that's great if you can use the phone. Using the phone is one of my difficulties so my family have to deal with it for me. It took so long to get them to talk to my mother not me because they insisted on making me confirm every time despite the fact we followed instructions and wrote them a letter naming my mother as my phone advocate for reasons of disability.0 -
It is important to remember that there are millions of people who interact with the DWP with zero issues. I think the reason the fear is so high is a mix of how the DWP has treated some people and the very direct effect that has on your life.
Some of the ways it works does sometimes seem like it's just something done to be more difficult to access. Like the PIP section of the DWP only really having a telephone number to contact, while other parts of the DWP you can also email or message on your journal.
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But it wasn't because it was a totally new benefit. That's why they did it so we didn't just tranfer over. The idea was to make it harder to get PIP and save money.
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Again, I know that. I'm saying what they should have done, morally and common sensibly, for the benefit of both claimants and the tax-payer, not what they actually did or why :) I went through the whole process. I 100% understand what its purpose was and did when they first announced it, long before I was called up to apply for it.
I think it's clear they haven't saved money, and are wasting more because of forcing people to tribunals unnecessarily. I often wonder what could have been saved by leaving everyone on DLA.
I have seen comments online, including here, about perfectly normal interactions with the DWP. I have never met anyone in real life who has had a positive experience. When I was at university, my mentor said she had several other students who were too frightened to appeal. I'm autistic, though, and I think that this area is particularly hard to get positive outcomes the first time around. I know it's not impossible but it does depend in some ways on what the DWP perceives disability to be, and how well the assessors and decision makers are trained in specific disabilities.
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oh I haven’t been on here in ages, did Calcotti pass ? Was this recent ? I remember reading some of their posts and they were so helpful. :(
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Calcotti had some serious health conditions and their diagnosis was end of life treatment due to terminal cancer, sadly. He hasn't posted on here for more than a year. The last time I had contact with him things were not good. It's incredibly sad, he was such a lovely person.
Lovely to see you posting too!
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oh that’s really sad :( .
Thank you Poppy, I had to take a break coz MH got really bad .
I’m glad you’re still giving all your amazing advice and knowledge, you’re a god send for us. X
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