DLA Change of Circumstances questions.

Hi Everyone

Well DLA Change of Circumstances form completed with the help of Benefits and Work Forum, I telephoned them today to ensure they had received it although I had sent it special delivery by Royal Mail and it had been signed for, the lady was very pleasant and advised they had received the form and it was now with a decision maker, but it would take 8 - 12 weeks for a decision as they are very busy.

WISH ME LUCK.

i will keep you posted.

Best wishes to you all

Good luck!

Hi Everyone

Well after 6 days of submitting the change of circumstances form, the brown envelope arrives!! how quick was that, after quoting 8 - 12 weeks.

The result - NO change??

Criteria

To satisfy a night-time test you must need:

help with personal care at least twice a night, or once a night for at least 20 minutes; or
someone to check on you at least twice a night, or once a night for at least 20 minutes, to make sure that you are safe.

To satisfy the tests you have to show that it is reasonable for you to need personal care or for someone to check on you. You do not have to actually receive help with personal care or actually have someone who checks on you.

If no-one is helping you with personal care, you may be accepted as needing help if you have some difficulty coping with your personal care. And if no-one is checking on you, you may still be accepted as needing this if you or another person may be placed in danger without it.

So a little confused as I stated on the form Needs were 2-3 times a night for 15 - 20 minutes?

Also they had not extended the review date (new pack due to arrive April!!!)

So I rang and asked some questions,the first lady was not that helpful but I gave the reasons for a request for a Mandatory Reconsideration, she said it would be put forward but to be honest I was not that confident that she took on board everything I said, so I rang back the next day and the lady was lovely, took everything on board I said and asked questions, I explained also that the pack had been fully completed and could not understand why the review date had also not been extended and that a new pack was due in April, and that hubby had a sustained mental illness for 11 years so the pack would be completed exactly the same, enclosing the same supporting evidence and although the doctors letter quite clearly detailed that "government documentation caused significant distress" did they feel it necessary to send another pack in two months time.

So another wait, she said to ring back in 7 days to get an update.

will keep you posted

Hi Everyone,

Well the results are in after the Mandatory Reconsideration!! No change to the night rate as they maintain the criteria was not met?? However part of the request was also that we had been informed that the renewal would be with us soon, so i asked if they would also take this into consideration as the CoC form had just been FULLY completed and the care needs would not change, they have changed the duration to INDEFINITE which I believe is a bit of a victory, I did ring and ask could they explain what indefinite meant as our area currently is NOT in the PIP postcode yet and the lady really could not answer the question.

So do any of the fab MOD's know please when contact will be made re a PIP claim, will we be left alone for a while, are Indefinite DLA award recipients being left till the whole of the UK is transferred to PIP.

I did read somewhere I think it won't be till after Oct 2015?? any help would be appreciated.

Best Wishes

Currently the plan is to start transferring people with indefinite DLA claims over to PIP sometime in, or after, 2015. I don't know how this plan will be affected, if at all, by the present delay in the PIP schedule.