DLA Care Claim - 5 months and counting

Is this normal?

now been waiting 5 months for a decision on DLA care claim.

When I telephone I am told that Medical Services have been consulted on something regarding your medical condition but no decision has been made.

All this time and my Carer has still not received any Carers Allowance as they refuse to pay it until the DLA make a decision on my Care claim.

Is there anything I can do? Is it time to involve my MP again?

Lisa

Five months is an unacceptable amount of time to have been kept waiting for a decision on your DLA claim for whatever reason, and by far and away exceeds the time frame for a decision to be made on a claim.

To fail to make a decision on a valid claim is tantamount to maladministration and you may now wish to pursue a complaint on these grounds? If so, guidance can be obtained from the publication entitled Financial Redress for Injustice Resulting from Maladministration.

If you decide to make a claim for maladministration, you can also enlist the help of your constituency MP as this will not in any way prejudice either the eventual outcome of your DLA claim or indeed the claim for maladministration. You can also refer your case to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE), but only after you have exhausted the DWP internal complaints procedure first.

thank you Crazydiamond.

I phoned them again and mentioned procedures and involving my MP and suddenly they took an interest and got someone to call me back.

Their reply? It will be at least another 3-4 weeks !!

I give up !

Lisa

That is simply not good enough!

Don't give up as you have every justification in proceeding as explained in my last post, because your treatment by the DWP has been contemptuous to say the least as can be deduced from their latest response.

Official complaint now made in writing and the MP is only too pleased to look into things for me

It is such a travesty that we have to go through this instead of the Civil servants doing their jobs.

Lisa

Guess what?

yes, you got it - still waiting for a decision !

All I know is that my file is with the department that deals with MP's, so his letter has obviously got there.

I have made an official complaint and been fobbed off with a story that the GP's report from March did not mention one of my conditions so they wrote to the GP again but it took them until the middle of June to actually write and send the letter !

Disgraceful is a mild way of putting it !

Lisa