Face to face assessment for Attendance Allowance!!!

Another person to relay this to would be the resolution manager for the DWP. She helped me a lot in the end and it meant I could speak to only one person at the top at last after talking to over 50 different people about the same problem

Uumm yes that actually means me having to contact them in the first place which they will no doubt take it as being an application for an MR of the Attendance Allowance decision.- then the ball starts rolling towards another Tribunal hearing?

I presume that the resolution manager would be hearing a complaint and trying to resolve it?

To be honest I am not fit enough both in body or mind to go down either of those roads.

All I will be asking my MP to do is (a) take note of what has happened to me over the past 21 years in my dealings with the DWP and (b) get him to ask the DWP why?

All I will be asking my MP to do is (a) take note of what has happened to me over the past 21 years in my dealings with the DWP and (b) get him to ask the DWP why?

I would love to be a fly on the wall when the DWP are confronted by the MP.  I can just imagine how much squirming there would be. 

I think so too.

For my peace of mind I need to put all of this to bed now. I've had enough, I'm drained.

I just want answers, reasons and explanations then I can file all of my papers away in the loft to gather dust - it's been 21 years of hell and has consumed my life, strength and abilities to the limit.

Maybe one day when we are both gone and our children start to clear out the home ready for sale they will get some idea of what pressures both my wife and I have had to contend with.

They have no idea as they were only 15 when all of this started in 1995.

Well I say the MP yesterday evening. Handed him my file which contained all of the history relating to my claims for IIDB & DLA from 1995, ESA from 2009 and AA just recently.

It identifies all of what has happened.

I even included copies of the IIDB revision which should have resulted in a £20,000+ back payment but as no appeal was lodged in time against the wrong decision back in 2004 the DWP refuse to release the money.

To say the least he was shocked and dismayed that all of this had happened. Obviously we have known each other for many years and have worked together on various projects and through that connection knows what I have told him is the complete truth.

He has promised to obtain the DWP's view on everything and depending on what is disclosed he will seek apologies at the highest level for me.

True to form and as I thought, he suggested that I appeal against the AA decision and to take it to a Tribunal if need be. After explaining how my health is not as it was and that I just do not have the fight in me to do that he became upset and angry at the way things have turned out.

Just waiting now to find out whatever the DWP want to push the blame on me for.

I feel better in a way, but depression has taken hold me at the moment and think that I must see my GP as there is something that I am not happy about healthwise - more than likely getting myself worked up hasn't helped.

Best of luck in getting justice after all these years

Hang on in there Les.  x

It's not justice that I want - I simply want a full, truthful and honest answer as to why my life for the past 21 years has been made a living hell by the DWP. Obviously I think I know what the reason is but I doubt very much that they will be that forthcoming.

If I wanted justice I would be still fighting for the £20,000+ they admit to owing me credited to my bank account and a half decent assessment report that portays the truth following the refusal to grant me Attendance Allowance.Money isn't everything - peace of mind is worth more.

Well the post has been and with it came a letter from my MP and a copy of a letter from the DWP that was sent to him.

?Had to read it three times just to be sure what it said. In a nutshell, the DWP are blaming me in part for everything that has happened and the government for granting them the right to do as they wish.

?As for the ridiculous number of reviews and face to face assessments(DLA, ESA, & IIDB) that I have had to put up with over the past 21 years - they tell me that they are allowed to review any award and as often as they want to ensure that I am receiving the correct level of award. They are not required to explain why as it is a directive from the government.

?As for the way my transition from DLA to PIP was handled, they sympathise with me but cannot be held responsible for what the Post Office do or don't do with the mail it handles. They have however offered to look into their 'procedures' for me if I can prove that the letter was handed to the Post Office and supply a copy of the receipt. They then go on to say that only a very small number of letters/forms etc go astray and in the main the fault lies with the postal delivery system which they have no control over. I can't prove a damn thing I trust the system to deliver what I post. They further pointed out that if I had have used the phone to start the claim off this problem would not have arisen, I have only myself to blame for not doing as originally requested.

The problem over the failure to secure an award for the AA claim is down to me! They stand by their decision but do say that I was entitled to challenge it. The failure to apply for a MR is down to me - if I have further evidence to show that the decision could be wrong. They then point out that I cannot now ask for a MR as the time limit has expired and that there are no appeal rights attached. They suggest that I can put in another claim if I feel that I am entitled to the benefit. 

?As for the 'lost £20,000+' they point out that their records show that I was notified of the decision in June 2004 and that I would have been told that I could have appealed against that decision at the time. They accept now that the decision was in fact wrong and that they revised that decision to award IIDB from Jan 2004 to November 2011 at the 40% rate in November 2011. Unfortunately as no appeal was submitted against the original decision, there are no regulations that would allow them to pay the lost money. They then point out that my reason for the failure to appeal back in 2004 is not accepted. "The department concedes that you were seriously ill and in hospital from February 2004 until September 2004 and that you were not physically or mentally able to deal with your affairs until March 2011. However, the Department is of the opinion that you could have asked a Social Worker attached to the hospital to deal with the matter on your behalf. The Department does not agree that you were

The Department does not agree that you were not aware of the decision notice, notwithstanding that you were in hospital and that your wife does not open your mail. We are of the opinion that had you contacted us whilst in hospital to advise us of your situation we would have taken a different view". 

So much for 'Care in the Community' 

Les I know it’s only crumbs but to actually get the DWP to admit they got something wrong (RE-June 2004) is a bit of an achievement because I have never seen them admit to being wrong about anything before!

The letter reads like an MP's excuse book after being caught with their pants down in a cheap hotel with one of their researchers it is really pathetic.

Honestly I would reapply for AA and keep on applying for it until they eventually give in [cool]

Don't make me laugh!

?When I was discharged from hospital they were supposed to assess my mobility and whether my wife could cope with both my health problems and my treatment plan. I found out much later that Social Services should have got involved to speak to my wife and to provide help for the first 6 weeks.

?We got zilch!

?I had been fed by tube fixed into my neck (central line) I had not eaten anything by mouth in all of those months and had not been out of bed bar moving from deb to chair during the day.

Thay really have no choice. The evidence I sent in covering the period 2004 to 2011 clearly demonstrated that it was wrong in all respects. The retired GP that assessed me in 2004 said that the medication I was on was never prescribed for mental health. Strange really considering that all of my medication for mental health problems was prescribed by my psychiatrist!

?He even went to suggest that I was shot twice over the 7 year period in exactly the same circumstances and in exactly the same places of my body. Once is enough having to be airlifted by helicopter to hospital in London with the police talking to my wife 80 miles away explaining what had happened and my condition was life threatening and then blue lighting her up to London to be with me was once too many.

?In normal circumstances I would do exactly as you suggest, but times are not normal. I just don't have it in me to face all of that again. Another face to face? What the hell do they think I am made of?