Nearly lunch time that means the postman should be here soon, oh good there’s the rattle of the letterbox I wonder what exciting things or junk mail I’ve got today.
Oh how that excitement suddenly disappeared when I saw a brown envelope face down with the words if undelivered please return to Department of Work and Pensions.
Suddenly I don’t want any lunch. I feel a bit sick is this going to be the envelope that we’ve all been hearing about and dreading the day it comes through our doors those new benefit forms that are going to replace incapacity benefit. Right sort out all the other post first then deep breath here goes…
Breathe a sigh of relief that wasn’t as bad as I thought a general letter telling me the benefit I receive is changing what it is changing to and what I have to do next. Apparently they will ring me within 14 days of receiving this letter to check I have received this letter and answer any questions I have. If I don’t hear from them I have to phone them.
I wonder what happens if I hadn’t received this letter and they hadn’t rung how would I know to phone them? What would happen then. No calm down you’ve got the letter read the rest of it, right ok after I’ve had the phone call I will then receive the Employment Support Allowance forms that I will have to fill in and send back.
So not too scary yet just have to wait for a phone call and in the meantime start writing my list of questions if there’s anything I want to ask about the changes and the information included with this letter. Also make enquires with local council etc to find out if there is anyone that can help me fill out the forms when I get them. Luckily just found out my council do offer a free welfare rights service so quickly registered with them so I can scream help when the forms arrive!
One week after receiving Department of Work and Pensions letter the phone rings, my partner answers it person on the other end asks to speak to me. Partner asks “Who is calling?” reply back is “It is private and confidential”, he then asks “Where are they calling from?” reply back is “It’s private and confidential”, so he tries asking for a name, reply is “It’s private and confid... oh it’s Joe Bloggs”! Partner follows that answer up with “And you are calling from where?” Answer “It’s private and confidential”
Turns out this mystery person on the phone asking for me is someone from the Department of Work and Pensions. Wanting to make sure I received the letter they had sent me telling me my benefit was changing. They wanted to check I understood and would then answer any questions about the contents of the letter, if I had any. What a stupid statement of course I had questions!!
This person then went on to read the pages of the letter that they’d already sent me which I had to listen to them read then when they’d finished answer the question “Do you understand what I’ve just read to you” I said yes, was tempted to say no and see what they did then but they were already getting on my nerves!!
When it came to me asking questions that I had I don’t know why they bothered having that part of the phone call as I didn’t get a straight answer to any of my questions so was none the wiser.
So here we go now just have to wait for the next Department of Work and Pensions envelope to come through the letterbox.
A few weeks later going through post this envelope looks interesting a WHITE envelope with the words Important information this is not a circular printed in bold as well as private and confidential typed on it. I turn it over go to open it and freeze when I see the please return address if undelivered says Atos.
So they fooled me there I was feeling nice and calm as there was no Department of Work and Pensions brown envelopes and the dreaded forms arrive in a white envelope!! Do they think we wouldn’t open it if it was in an obvious Department of Work and Pensions envelope I wonder.
Looking through form am glad I’ve arranged to have help filling it in there doesn’t seem to be much space for writing in, most of the form looks like it is tick boxes with a small box to give more details if needed. Oh and a note at the end of each page saying if more space needed use the box on page 18. Where’s page 18. 16,17, ah 18 here we go that size box as extra space for the whole form!!! They must be joking can see there being a lot of A4 pages being added to this.
Two weeks after getting form today I’m filling the form in with the support of someone from Welfare Rights. Here goes I’ve got my list of things I feel need to be included in the form somewhere, I’ve got my cup of tea, time to start.
Some rather strange questions to answer and have ended up with lots of no or it varies boxes being ticked which have required extra information being written in each box. Am so glad welfare rights worker said she would fill form in so I could concentrate more on my answers.
About an hour or so after starting we are finished. Scope cp and ageing factsheet is printed to include with the form. Now I just have to do my doctors appointment later in the week to ask him to write something supporting what we’ve said, copy the form so I have a copy of the form just in case then it can go into the post. I will of made the deadline date they’ve given me to send it back by and then it’s wait for the next step I guess. Will just be keeping my fingers crossed until I know what next!
Look out for next instalment coming soon or in however long it takes the people that are processing these forms to read through and process my form, as very kindly they don’t tell you how long that part takes. So the waiting game starts……
Helen Searle
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