Worry

... isnt that a contradiction of what you said earlier? Or not?

Confirmation, not contradiction;they have the power, and the choice of whether to wield it fairly.

But I seriously doubt that the Government (previous or present) and its advisors subscribe to quite the same definition of "fairness" as most of the governed.

You sound like a strong person I am not.

Worry States>

"I cannot help feeling concerned, as to why people feel they have so much to fear. Being honest and truthful regarding a benefit application is surely the most logical approach to take,.. and indeed the only one".

Sorry, to say that being honest does not work and I personally think you are a tad naive. I have a copy of the outcome of my Tribunal.

A) I was told by both the DWP, my GP, my Consultants that the DWP would contact them and I did not require to personally collect all my medical information. Knowing what the DWP are like, I persisted but came up against a brick wall.

I have it in black and white where I am basically called a liar by the Tribunal and that what I had stated was at best fantasy.

The fact is NOBODY contacted my GP nor my consultants and I was castigated because I did not present any medical evidence.

I told them the truth from the A to Z of my medical conditions.
My appeal failed thus I applied again but this time I got myself a lawyer, who in turn gained all the medical evidence that was never obtained by the DWP.
6 month after the Tribunal, I was awarded DLA.
So, this notion that if you tell the truth then you should have nothing to fear sort of goes over my head.
Please don't take this personally it is just that I still have the notes of the Tribunal hearing and they still stick in my throat.
Best of Luck

survivor- my aim was for clarification on timewarps point re power and truth. there was no personal offence intended. apologies if this was the case. An email is unemotional. however,i was trying to lighten things up by adding the 'or not' bit. i agree it may have come across as sarcasm not wit as wished for..
Timewarp is obviously a Philosophical person and i really enjoy reading what he has to say,moreover, he creates a healthy debate on a lot of topics, (although I sometimes dont understand all of it, he has me running for the dictionary!!)

I have not claimed anything which is means or income tested, so I am presuming that therefore my expenditure (of my partners income) is up to me (and them!!) not the DWP! I have just claimed non income related ESA and boy is that proving a battle.