dla

i have completed a claim for dla on 15th nov on grounds of mentalhealth issues, also i have had 2 hip replacements and dibetes. 1 of my mental issues is acccepting phone calls answering the door etc and i am virtually a recluse in the house because i cannot deal with communication. i take a lot of meds expecially at night to aid sleep and at 10 2 9 this morning the fne rang which gives me anxiety, panic and nausea. it turned out to be a worker frm dla asking me questions which i had answered on form, the name of doctor at hospital i had seen 3 wks ago, what did he say, do i use walkikng aids can i manage my own affairs etc, all this when i was still in bed and coming round from a deep sleep aided by meds. i asked him would they please contact me by letter in future and not the fne as i find this makes my condition worse he said it is quicker for them in order to make a decision but i stipulated i wanted to be contacted by letter, Are they allowed to do this and respect my wishes?

greeneyes wrote:

i have completed a claim for dla on 15th nov on grounds of mentalhealth issues, also i have had 2 hip replacements and dibetes. 1 of my mental issues is acccepting phone calls answering the door etc and i am virtually a recluse in the house because i cannot deal with communication. i take a lot of meds expecially at night to aid sleep and at 10 2 9 this morning the fne rang which gives me anxiety, panic and nausea. it turned out to be a worker frm dla asking me questions which i had answered on form, the name of doctor at hospital i had seen 3 wks ago, what did he say, do i use walkikng aids can i manage my own affairs etc, all this when i was still in bed and coming round from a deep sleep aided by meds. i asked him would they please contact me by letter in future and not the fne as i find this makes my condition worse he said it is quicker for them in order to make a decision but i stipulated i wanted to be contacted by letter, Are they allowed to do this and respect my wishes?

get the phone removed or fit a silent answer phone so that they can leave a message and you listen when you feel able to listen. most answer phones can be set up to make no noise

Hi Greeneyes

Please read 'Get better treatment from DWP' here .

You may be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, but as Gordon suggested, I think it's reasonable for anybody, disability or not, to insist on dealing with benefit issues in writing.

Good luck

Derek

greeneyes wrote:

i have completed a claim for dla on 15th nov on grounds of mentalhealth issues, also i have had 2 hip replacements and dibetes. 1 of my mental issues is acccepting phone calls answering the door etc and i am virtually a recluse in the house because i cannot deal with communication. i take a lot of meds expecially at night to aid sleep and at 10 2 9 this morning the fne rang which gives me anxiety, panic and nausea. it turned out to be a worker frm dla asking me questions which i had answered on form, the name of doctor at hospital i had seen 3 wks ago, what did he say, do i use walkikng aids can i manage my own affairs etc, all this when i was still in bed and coming round from a deep sleep aided by meds. i asked him would they please contact me by letter in future and not the fne as i find this makes my condition worse he said it is quicker for them in order to make a decision but i stipulated i wanted to be contacted by letter, Are they allowed to do this and respect my wishes?

As I have said on many occasions in other threads, I wouldn't deal with any enquiries by government departments or claims to benefit over the telephone for the simple reason that unless the telephone conversation is recorded and the recording made available to both parties involved in the 'phone conversation, there is no record of what has been said. Furthermore, as there is an obvious element of surprise a claimant may inadvertently provide inaccurate or incomplete information which could make a difference between being awarded or disallowed a benefit. This in itself would make it particularly difficult if a claimant has to appeal an adverse decision, and the DWP have relied upon what was said during the 'phone conversation as evidence to support the disallowance.

As Gordon has said you are perfectly within your rights to decline any telephone discussion about benefits, and as Derek has indicated request that any benefit enquiries are conducted only in writing.

Get a Tru Call System (they were on Dragons Den). You can set it up so that ALL calls are recorded or just press a button if you want to record certain calls. It answers the phone, asks the name of the caller and then tells you who is calling, you press 1 to accept the call or hash to zap the call. The caller doesn't know that you have zapped them it just says that you are not available, can the caller leave a message.

We don't get any more calls we don't want. Additionally we can block numbers if we wish (e.g. sales calls).

It would be worth it for your peace of mind.