DLA questionnaire 5 weeks after DLA award

Hi, I was awarded DLA in early March and 5 weeks later received a questionnaire asking whether there were changes in my circumstances.

I replied there was no improvement.

Now they want my mum to ring them to support my claim.

I believe the 5 weeks was way to soon after my award of the DLA.

I also have never given them permission to speak to my mum and she does not want to anyway.

I am thinking of ringing them and asking 2 questions.

1. Why the change of circumstance form so soon after initial award?

2. Who gave them permission to speak to my mum (they have not yet spoken to her)?

My mum is not a professional and I believe this is an attempt to stop my DLA by the DWP by using aggressive tactics on non-professionals.

mark1963 wrote:

Hi, I was awarded DLA in early March and 5 weeks later received a questionnaire asking whether there were changes in my circumstances.

I replied there was no improvement.

Now they want my mum to ring them to support my claim.

I believe the 5 weeks was way to soon after my award of the DLA.

I also have never given them permission to speak to my mum and she does not want to anyway.

I am thinking of ringing them and asking 2 questions.

1. Why the change of circumstance form so soon after initial award?

2. Who gave them permission to speak to my mum (they have not yet spoken to her)?

My mum is not a professional and I believe this is an attempt to stop my DLA by the DWP by using aggressive tactics on non-professionals.

This is not the first time this has happened, as I recall from at least two members posting in the forum, that they had received awards of DLA only to be told shortly after that there may be some doubt as to the correctness of the actual awards.

In my view, this is a perverse state of affairs in that the DLA Unit are casting doubt as to your (correct) entitlement. The golden rule is, or used to be, that all the required evidence was to hand before an award could be made. As it is only five weeks since the date of the decision, I can only surmise that it has been selected in a random audit of cases, and the audit team are asking for more information to justify the award?

There is no obligation for your mum to ring the DLA Unit, presumably at her own expense, to face questioning to justify the award. You are quite entitled to ask them yourself, as you have already indicated, why they are questioning your DLA award so soon after it was made? Based upon their response to which you are entitled, you will then have a better idea of their intentions.

I doubt very much whether you have become a victim of the Right Payment Programme, because if the DLA Unit are following the correct procedures, you shouldn't be considered for the RPP until after twelve months following the date of your award.

Hi CD,

I agree with you completely. And as you say this cannot be a Right Payment Programme matter for the reasons you've clearly given.

Kind regards.

Jim