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DLA some movement


Llwyncelyn
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Thanks Tony, I will try that, 'if' I get any reply I will post it here in this thread.

Blackpool seem to be such hard work to get a reply from, and with the current world financial problems, this issue has become not such an iminent problem for us, but one we must have an answer to before we do make the move.[:D]

 

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Yesterday I complained to the DLA Office that I haven't reveived a reply to my email of 4 February.  So they sent me a reply this morning which is exactly the same as the email they sent me on 14 January, which is what I complained about in my email between those two.

With the exception of the addition of a sentence:

"I have now received confirmation that Ms Winterton has written to Mr Roger Gale, to clarify her answer."

We know that and we know that her revised answer actually reinforces the claimants position.

But they seem wholly unable or unwilling to actually answer any specific questions, as in my email of 4 February.

This is getting beyond a joke because they seem to be totally in disarray - but I do have another name, Miss L Abbass. 

 

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Dear Tony,

I am in contact with Tina & John Hamilton, and several other DWP claimants.  I have written a draft article listing all the details, facts, etc. etc. concerning this campaign, and hope very much that the DAILY TELEGRAPH, Expat Finance page are now going to publish it.   In th article I quoted 3 examples, including that of Tina & John Hamilton, Tina suggeted that you might be willing to send details fo your claims and history.

I am not a claimant, but I write a monthly expat newsletter, the VAR VILLAGE VOICE, see website www.varvillagevoice.com on which at the moment is attached a first piece about this campaign.   This is about to get updated.  And I shall be sending information round to all the expat websites for which I have contacts.

If you wish to post this letter in this Forum, by all means do so.

AnitaReporter

 

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[quote user="PaysansG"]

After 10 emails we have received the following reply from the DWP Customer Services in response to our complaint about the Exportability Team's ineptitude:

"Dear Sir,

Thank you for your email relating to the Disability Living Allowance,

It has been forwarded to the area that will deal with this complaint,

and they will contact you at the earliest opportunity.

With Regards,

Hilary Taylor,

Central Admin Team

B303

Blackpool"

[/quote]

Hey, I got one of those today also !

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[quote user="PaysansG"]

Anita's piece is now on the Spanish Sun website : http://www.spanishsunnewspaper.com/home.php?page_id=1&show_news_item=314

As an ex-Kent resident, I have also sent the story to BBC Southeast and ITV Meridian Southeast as they are always quite keen to hear about these issues. Fingers crossed.

regards

Tina

[/quote]

The only problem with trying to raise awareness through the UK media is that the typical public response is along the lines of 'these middle class expats have deserted the UK to loaf around sipping their G&Ts in the sun so why should they continue to receive UK benefits'.

Check out the healthcare section for details of previous attempts to gain UK public support.....[:(]

 

 

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You must have spent at least 26 out of the last 52 weeks in the UK

at the date on which your entitlement to benefit can be established,

unless you are:

  • a posted or frontier worker
  • a family member of a worker in the UK, including posted or frontier workers
  • claiming Disability Living Allowance (care component) or Attendance Allowance under the special rules for terminally ill people

So this section lifted from the link PaysanG has given seems to shaft anyone who has spent approximately the last two years living permanently in the EU or Switzerland.

Yours Benjamin BANK  (I just worked out how to get something off this Government   [:D])

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[quote user="Benjamin"]

You must have spent at least 26 out of the last 52 weeks in the UK at the date on which your entitlement to benefit can be established, unless you are:

[/quote]

Benjamin, I'm not sure that it does mean you're shafted if you were an old claimant and then stopped.  I think that the criteria specifically apply to new claimants, not old claimants asking for re-instatement, the date my entitlement to benefit was established was back in 2002 - I've got the paperwork which says so.

Unless of course, the UK government was a string of cases against them at the EU courts again, the Spanish Group are, I understand, pressing this quite hard.

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Hi all,

Please could somebody clarify exactly what this means?

You must have spent at least 26 out of the last 52 weeks in the UK at the date on which your entitlement to benefit can be established

 

Does it mean

(a) from when you first started to receive DLA, in my case 1999 or

(b) from when you re-apply after leaving the UK , or

(c) another piece of  government  Gobbledygook to confuse us yet again and not know where we stand?

Or am I just stupid today?,  I wasn't yesterday! [+o(]

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This post is being written to provide some information for anyone who receives the new form (mentioned in previous posts) from the DWP for completion. I hope it doesn't add to the confusion.[:)]

One of the questions on the form reads ' Are you going to be living in the same household with a member of your family (a spouse, civil partner, parent on whom you are dependent)? If the answer is no, do not answer any more questions.'

I wondered what type of dependency they were referring to. I assumed it would be either financial or for care and as my answer would be different depending on which it was, I emailed the exportability team with a query.

This was the response:

Dear ........... (name removed)

Thank yu for your e mail.The "dependency " section only relates to the
"parent" category, and will normally mean financial dependence(usually
in the case of a minor, which would be the normal situation) or less
often in the case of an adult dependent on their parents, who would
usually not have worked

DLA/AA Exportability Team

How one was supposed to know that this related to parent/child dependency I don't know but after receiving this response I just answered 'no' to the question.

Edit: sorry about the changing fonts etc - not intentional.

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OK, so the form  DBD990 arrived today, which I've looked through and then gone out into the garden to calm down after reading it.

Tina, do you know what Q.16 is about - is the 52 week rule going to be applied to people who the DLA know left the UK, in my case in 2005, at which time I surrendered my DLA payments?

That sort of seems like a double jeopardy thing - which would mean that people who move to the EU in the last year and have spent 26 weeks in the last 52 in the UK can get it but people like me will be excluded.

I'm emailing the ExpoTeam about it straight away.


Sounds bizarre but who knows with this Government!

 

Edit:  Right, sorted it out now and it's back to this date of entitlement thing.  So, I've sent an email to the ExpoTeam asking them to confirm that my date of entitlement was 1999 when they first awarded me the benefit, now it's wait and see.

 

If they say it's not, see above :)
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The new form which I completed only had 13 questions and didn't have a number so this is either different or they have 'enhanced' the version which I had. The date thing is very confusing[8-)]. I moved in June 2007 and have not spent more than 2 weeks in the UK since.
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As Mrs Benjamin, a new claimant from the EU, expects to be turned down on the 26/52 weeks rule we are thinking that we may have a "project" which may require us to return to live in the UK for a period of time.

If you can't beat 'em then be as devious and unscrupulous as they are.

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Not having received a form, I can only speculate, but could the wording

"You must have spent at least 26 weeks out of the last 52 weeks in the UK at the date on which your entitlement to benefit can be established..."

refer to the date you werte last entitled to DLA,  i.e.  your last day of residency in the UK? 

Incidentally I first wrote to the Exportability Team claiming reinstatement (on behalf of my wife) on the 5 November 2007, just a couple of weeks after the ruling.  So if claimants are being dealt with in order according to Jonathan Shaw.....

People who have written to us since the judgement will have their cases considered in the order of the date they contacted us. The exportability team within the Pensions, Disability and Carers Service will be working to clear these cases as soon as possible.

I assume we will receive the form very soon.

 

 

 

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