Up until recently Lee and I have lived somewhat comfortably, we are by no means wealthy but we both worked full time, Lee fortunately has a decent job that pays reasonably well but, as I mentioned before, my wage was pitiful in relation to the hours I worked, nevertheless, we were able to eat out or have takeaways as often as we wanted to, never missed a night out, brought designer clothes, shoes and bags and nice cars etc. Remember I said we don't have children so we owe a lot of our disposable income to that.
That all changed when I got to 6 months post stroke; I received a letter from the council that employs me stating they wouldn't be paying Sick Pay after a certain date, which I knew was coming, I understood that was the protocol. This letter stated that I needed to present the attached form to DWP to 'claim benefits'.
Shortly after this, money from work stopped coming altogether. And I went from being a completely self sufficient, incredibly independent young lady to being completely dependant on Lee and his income. My circumstances had changed massively -but the bills that needed paying were still the same!
That's were the trouble started. Firstly, if you have never claimed benefits in this country it is an absolute minefield. I genuinely do not understand how some people manage to apply let alone jump through the hoops required to be paid something that you are eligible for.
The first thing I looked into was PIP (Personal Independence Payments). I was clueless when it came to the application process but I'm a natural paperwork queen I can fill a form out with the best of them. But, bare in mind, I was 5 months post stroke and still massively in denial, I was determined I was going to get better and do as much as I could without help. And unknowingly I conveyed this to the really lovely lady at the end of the phone that was conducting my assessment. I was honest, perhaps too honest, if that's even possible and shot myself in the foot, because I used my 'good days' to base my answers on.
I was awarded the lowest level of PIP possible, and I was eternally grateful for the £300 a month that I needed to cover bills that equated to a lot more than that.
Next was Universal Credit. I started the application process for myself online, and it asked if I lived alone or with a partner, obviously lee and I live together so I declared this. The next thing I know they are asking for Lee's details, his employer, his income and everything related to it. In fact, he had a telephone interview right at the start, I still haven't had so much as a phone call from them, even though it was me that started the claim.
Anyway, we applied, Lee had a phone interview, to be told that we are entitled to X amount, but Lee's earnings get deducted from that amount which was leaving us with the grand total of £0.00.
The DWP actually expect a spouse to 'keep' their partner as opposed to treating people as individuals and allowing them to keep their independence.
I truly believe there needs to be more information out there for people who aren't familiar with the benefits system in this country.
The lack of support, information and knowledge of what is available isn't even the biggest issue that people like myself and thousands of others face every day, it is the fact that you are immediately assumed to be lying and trying to fiddle the system and it is then up to you as the applicant to prove otherwise.
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