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ian@huth · 19-01-2004, 10:11

Reading the thread about the 64 year old and rascism has prompted me to start this thread about the Benefits System. Does your colour affect what benefits you can get and how easy you can get them? My experience suggests that it does.

It has taken me four years to get an award of Disability Living Allowance and then it was not at the rate that I thought was warranted but I was so fed up and disillusioned that I decided to call it quits with the process and accept what I had got.

During this time I saw an article in the Daily Mail regarding a coloured person who had just been convicted of Benefits fraud. This person was found to have over a million pounds in various accounts and was in receipt of DLA at the higher rate for both components and other benefits under eight different names and addresses. Whilst the system had eventually caught him, it made me wonder how he had managed to make so many successful claims when it was proving nearly impossible for me to make one. Further research showed that it was mainly coloured people who were caught making multiple claims so is it their colour that made it easier for them to make successful claims?

One of the things that was typical of the bureaucracy involved in making a claim was an initial document consisting of thirty odd pages. Within the document I had to state all my income and savings. The form stated that I had to provide proof of these items if I had savings of over ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2,500. As I had less than this I did not send in any proof. After a few weeks I received a letter stating that they could not process my claim as I had not provided proof of my savings. I rang them up about this and was told that they had decided that I might have more than ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2,500 so I must provide proof of what I had. I sent them this proof, but was unable to send them the premium bonds that I owned as I had bought them over thirty years ago and hadn't seen the bonds for years. They replied that they couldn't process the claim until I produced the bonds and that I had to find them or get replacements for them. It did not matter to them that the value of the premium bonds was only ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£7 and in no way did that take me anywhere near the figure needed to affect any benefit. I did find the bonds after a couple of weeks of searching and sent them on and subsequently received the benefit that I was claiming.

The claim for DLA was an absolute nightmare, going to a tribunal, Commissioner and back to a tribunal before being granted in part. I could write a book about the problems encountered with this claim, but it would be a very big book. How anyone could make multiple successful claims is beyond me. The only reason I can think of is colour.

19-01-2004, 10:11	#1
ian@huth Inactive Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire Services: VM 10Mb, TU, 1xSky HD, 2xSky+ (HD,all packs, sports & movies) 2xDVD PVR's, Freesat Freeview & other Posts: 4,536	The Benefits System Reading the thread about the 64 year old and rascism has prompted me to start this thread about the Benefits System. Does your colour affect what benefits you can get and how easy you can get them? My experience suggests that it does. It has taken me four years to get an award of Disability Living Allowance and then it was not at the rate that I thought was warranted but I was so fed up and disillusioned that I decided to call it quits with the process and accept what I had got. During this time I saw an article in the Daily Mail regarding a coloured person who had just been convicted of Benefits fraud. This person was found to have over a million pounds in various accounts and was in receipt of DLA at the higher rate for both components and other benefits under eight different names and addresses. Whilst the system had eventually caught him, it made me wonder how he had managed to make so many successful claims when it was proving nearly impossible for me to make one. Further research showed that it was mainly coloured people who were caught making multiple claims so is it their colour that made it easier for them to make successful claims? One of the things that was typical of the bureaucracy involved in making a claim was an initial document consisting of thirty odd pages. Within the document I had to state all my income and savings. The form stated that I had to provide proof of these items if I had savings of over ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2,500. As I had less than this I did not send in any proof. After a few weeks I received a letter stating that they could not process my claim as I had not provided proof of my savings. I rang them up about this and was told that they had decided that I might have more than ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£2,500 so I must provide proof of what I had. I sent them this proof, but was unable to send them the premium bonds that I owned as I had bought them over thirty years ago and hadn't seen the bonds for years. They replied that they couldn't process the claim until I produced the bonds and that I had to find them or get replacements for them. It did not matter to them that the value of the premium bonds was only ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£7 and in no way did that take me anywhere near the figure needed to affect any benefit. I did find the bonds after a couple of weeks of searching and sent them on and subsequently received the benefit that I was claiming. The claim for DLA was an absolute nightmare, going to a tribunal, Commissioner and back to a tribunal before being granted in part. I could write a book about the problems encountered with this claim, but it would be a very big book. How anyone could make multiple successful claims is beyond me. The only reason I can think of is colour.