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When they were in power the tories pushed lots of people on to IB instead of unemployment benefit so the umemployment figures didn't look so bad.
How many ppl claim IB?
- Thread starter neocon
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Soldato
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Ok what really annoys me is people just assuming its always chavs or people who dwell in council homes. I have personally seen people who claim IB, then are out working really well paid jobs, able to afford and drive a beamer or other expensive car, having really nice expensive holidays and then going around slagging off people on JSA and saying they would like to take a wire brush to the homeless a scrub them clean.
I had a girfriend whos parents were less than laudible and they had everything, money, power all of it. And Many years later I found out they were scamming everything possible.
I dont care what anyone says, all levels of society are scamming IB
I had a girfriend whos parents were less than laudible and they had everything, money, power all of it. And Many years later I found out they were scamming everything possible.
I dont care what anyone says, all levels of society are scamming IB
Soldato
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Associate
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I work for the DWP and actually process the IB claims, i feel very sorry for the people who are genuine and get treated unfairly by the department, when all the people who arent genuine manage to scam their way through medicals and so on and continue to receive things for years.
Nothing we in the department can do about it though, except i have to listen to chavs scream at me down the phone sometimes because we arent paying them enough or what they deserve
Nothing we in the department can do about it though, except i have to listen to chavs scream at me down the phone sometimes because we arent paying them enough or what they deserve
"excuse me sir, you've been yelling at me for 8 minutes non-stop now, this is in conflict with your reported low lung capacity which is causing you to be in recipt of IB ..."
It's a blast, especially as the symptoms aren't consistent and there are no physical tests for it (iirc at the moment the diagnosis involves ruling almost everything else out).
Makes it fun trying to claim for it, as apparently the government (and especially the parts that are involved in benefits) have only recently actually admitted it's a real illness.
The last news I heard on it was that one of the big veteran's hospitals in the states had found it appears to be related to some odd proteins in the spinal fluid (they were investigating it because Golf War vets were showing a remarkably similar symptoms).
Failing that it's yuppie flu, all in the mind, and it's sufferers are purely malingerers and should be put in the workhouses (you can ignore the fact that a lot of the people with it had bright futures before getting ill - a lot of people did and still do
).
This is the trouble with the system. So many people that really need the help slip through the net, and are turned away, while fakers manage to scam their way to receiving benefits they don't deserve and manage to claim for years.
I suffer from CFS/ME, and despite meeting all the criteria required, not being able to cook a meal, unable to walk far and take care of personal needs, etc etc, ( i am barely able to get up and dressed most days) they say i am not eligible as i might get better... One person i spoke to at the DWP even told me that i would be better in a months time, to which i replied, "oh fantastic, can i have that in writing!" Unfortunately, i wasn't better in a months time, and i am still supposedly not eligible to claim.
That's ridiculous
. It's awful that people who are genuinely ill have so much stress trying to get a little bit of help. I think having someone who understands the condition when making your application can make a huge difference, since you have to make a statement about what you can't do and they need to make it really clear that some illnesses aren't consistent.That's ridiculous
The other joke is that ME has only recently been accepted by the government as a REAL illness, and although their most recent documentation recognises it as such, they havn't adapted the regulations for claiming benefits, so the DWP don't accept it as a real illness, which makes claiming impossible...
As for the illness being inconsistent, as much as this is the case, even on good days i am unable to complete the tasks they want me to, so there is no reason at all i should be turned down!!
It is indeed very frustrating. i am lucky that i have savings that i can live off, otherwise i would be in a lot of trouble...
Edit: reading this back, it sounds quite angry! it wasn't meant like that, just seems ironic the way people get away with scamming!
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Soldato
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I tried to claim it but the last 3 years of my NI contributions were not complete so I could not.
Its not quite as cut and dry as its being made out to be here.
Soldato
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Costs or simply a known amount accounted for as a circulation of monies?
Its not like all IB goes into saving accounts never to be seen again.
The other joke is that ME has only recently been accepted by the government as a REAL illness, and although their most recent documentation recognises it as such, they havn't adapted the regulations for claiming benefits, so the DWP don't accept it as a real illness, which makes claiming impossible... /QUOTE]
Sorry to hear you're suffering from it Becca
Re the DWP from what i've heard they do accept it, but usually after a fight, Iknow someone who has had major problems with them because it wasn't officially recognised, but managed to get IB/DLA mobility etc after several long fights (right up to tribunals which is the last thing anyone with ME/CFS or any other real illness really needs).
My mum is on IB as she suffers from SLE. She's learnt how to do a lot of things that don't require her to leave the house (she's an excellent florist, cake maker and can do fake nails) so people can stop by and ask for what they need. Might not be much, but it's usually for relatives anyway so most of the time she does it free of charge. She hates not being able to work :/
I can well understand that. I've gone around the bend in just a month of inactivity.
How the hell do people manage to just sit at home all day (obviously part of their time is in the pub, but you get the idea), how BORED can you get?
Becca if you were told you might get better in a month, that's not a reason for them to disallow it.
If you've been ill for 6months, you can claim it iirc, but you have to tell them if your condition improves, the problem is they do tend to turn everyone down at first, and not read the documention properly.
My mum got turned down because they didn't read any of the doctors/consultants/visiting doctors notes properly - they took the V.Doc's comment "unable to walk with a normal gait" as "able to walk", which wasn't spotted until the tribunal documentation arrived, after it had been "looked at again" - the tribunal chairman apologised for it needing to get that far.
On the positive side, if you fight for it (remember DLA goes something like declined, reconsider, look again, tribunal) and you've got a supportive doctor it's likely to accepted - although with ME/CFS the problem is (was?) often that a number of GP's didn't believe in it.
If you've been ill for 6months, you can claim it iirc, but you have to tell them if your condition improves, the problem is they do tend to turn everyone down at first, and not read the documention properly.
My mum got turned down because they didn't read any of the doctors/consultants/visiting doctors notes properly - they took the V.Doc's comment "unable to walk with a normal gait" as "able to walk", which wasn't spotted until the tribunal documentation arrived, after it had been "looked at again" - the tribunal chairman apologised for it needing to get that far.
On the positive side, if you fight for it (remember DLA goes something like declined, reconsider, look again, tribunal) and you've got a supportive doctor it's likely to accepted - although with ME/CFS the problem is (was?) often that a number of GP's didn't believe in it.
I know how you feel i am fighting with them at moment over IB for my depression and seem to be going through countless hoops to move the claim along. Doing everything they say which with depression isn't easy and they are still dragging their heels after 3 months now.
Keep fighting them and you have my thoughts while you are as i know how bad they can be for doing anything.
SCM