The Benefits System

[ian@huth]

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 £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 £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 £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.

[paulyoung666]

this does not fill me with confidence , i have just filled in the forms for dla

[Bifta]

It strikes me that a lot of the time those that are undeserving of DLA tend to try and claim for everything humanly possible and normally end up with a lot more income from it than people who genuinely are entitled to it. Paul, if you get any old sh*te from them, have a word with your local CAB.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by Bifta

It strikes me that a lot of the time those that are undeserving of DLA tend to try and claim for everything humanly possible and normally end up with a lot more income from it than people who genuinely are entitled to it. Paul, if you get any old sh*te from them, have a word with your local CAB.

cheers , i will bear that in mind , the stupid thing on my part is i have already claimed once but i claimed too early so i have had to wade through the sodding forms again , i am also going for industrial injuries benefit so i have got that to look forward to as well , they sure as hell dont make it easy to claim , your bit about genuine people also gets to me as well , i am sure people run classes in how to cheat the system

[Nugget]

My girlfriend works for an Advice Service, and she's always seems to be seeing people who are claiming for DLA on top of every other benefit that exists. Stupidly though, I thought that DLA wasn't means tested - I guess I'm wrong?

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

cheers , i will bear that in mind , the stupid thing on my part is i have already claimed once but i claimed too early so i have had to wade through the sodding forms again , i am also going for industrial injuries benefit so i have got that to look forward to as well , they sure as hell dont make it easy to claim , your bit about genuine people also gets to me as well , i am sure people run classes in how to cheat the system

Well, over here for sure, DLA fraud is the biggest source of income for a lot of the population, there are even certain political parties "advice centre's" that'll advise you how best to screw the system. The thing that sickens me is watching them for example over Christmas spending literally thousands of pounds they've conned out of the government (and ultimately our income tax payments) on presents while we've all had to work our sacks off for the year to pay for ours.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by Bifta

Well, over here for sure, DLA fraud is the biggest source of income for a lot of the population, there are even certain political parties "advice centre's" that'll advise you how best to screw the system. The thing that sickens me is watching them for example over Christmas spending literally thousands of pounds they've conned out of the government (and ultimately our income tax payments) on presents while we've all had to work our sacks off for the year to pay for ours.

much the same over here , you see the local rogues who do not work driving around in flash cars with the latest mobiles that sort of thing , rightly ****es me off

[TigaSefi]

I am disabled but I don't even claim DLA, I am just too proud to. I am proud that despite being disabled, I only signed on for 2 weeks in a period of 12 years since I left school.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by TigaSefi

I am disabled but I don't even claim DLA, I am just too proud to. I am proud that despite being disabled, I only signed on for 2 weeks in a period of 12 years since I left school.

well excuse me but you are mad , if you are entitled to it then why not claim it

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by TigaSefi

I am disabled but I don't even claim DLA, I am just too proud to. I am proud that despite being disabled, I only signed on for 2 weeks in a period of 12 years since I left school.

I'm sorry, but pride doesn't come into it - if it's a benefit that you are entitled to, why not take advantage of it?

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

this does not fill me with confidence , i have just filled in the forms for dla

Hi Paul

I would make sure that you keep copies of everything the DWP send to you and everything that you send to them.

It is worth doing a Google search on DLA and looking at some of the very helpful sites. One such site is http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/ but that is down today. That site is for workers in the advice field and is a real eye openerregarding problems in dealing with the DWP.

No doubt you will receive a visit from a DWP doctor who will assess you. He will fill in the first part of a form with answers you give to various questions and ask you to sign that it is correct having first let you read it or having read it back to you. I would recommend that you insist on reading it for yourself as if he reads it back to you he may not read back exactly what he has put and an odd word added or taken away can really alter its meaning. The second part is filled in by him after he has examined you and you do not get to read it. I would write to the DWP after the visit and request a copy of the completed form which they are obliged to give you and can be a real eye opener.

On one of thse forms the doctor had wrote that I had a normal gait but with an occasional limp in the left leg. I always thought that a normal gait would mean that I didn't have a limp! He came to this conclusion after observing me walk once across my kitchen (maximum seven feet), that being all the walking he had seen me do. He also stated that I could walk two hundred metres in three to four minutes before stopping suffering extreme discomfort but the figures he entered had been altered several times and possibly could originally have been 100 metres in 5 minutes. Reading through his report would have been a real laugh if it wasn't so important.

The DWP always give you strict time limits regarding sending forms, etc back but don't ever seem to stick to any timetable in replying to you. You will probably get letters saying things like "if you do not hear anything from us within eleven weeks then feel free to contact us". They have a set of guidelines that they work to which you can find on the DWP website and the person who looks at your claim, not being medically trained, relies heavily on a publication called "The Disability Handbook". This handbook covers major disabilities in a couple of paragraphs and in no way covers how your disability affects you. The whole process is a laugh.

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by Nugget

My girlfriend works for an Advice Service, and she's always seems to be seeing people who are claiming for DLA on top of every other benefit that exists. Stupidly though, I thought that DLA wasn't means tested - I guess I'm wrong?

DLA isn't means tested but most recipients will be entitled to other benefits that are.

[paulyoung666]

thanks for that , i will just have to see how i get on with it , but i will be back to ask questions if you dont mind

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by ianathuth

DLA isn't means tested but most recipients will be entitled to other benefits that are.

I stand corrected

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

thanks for that , i will just have to see how i get on with it , but i will be back to ask questions if you dont mind

No problem, ask whatever you like. It is better to ask before the event than after if you have any doubts or problems. If you are like me and many others, you may tend at first to understate what effect your disabilities have on you and the people around you. Your close family and friends can suffer greatly as a result of your disability.