Disability Living Allowance

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nan123

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I am new to the forum. My granddaughter has diabetes type 1 this was diagnosed 1 August - she is 5 years old. My daughter lodged a claim with the DLA in September as directed by the diabetes nurse and told her that it would be backdated. My daughter recently telephoned the DLA and was told a letter had been sent out in September awarding her the highest rate allowance (not mobility). My daughter never received any letter and was told that it would not be backdated to when the claim went in because the Adjudicator deemed that my granddaughter did not satisfy the 3 month qualifying period. Therefore she will get a payment in December (Nov - Dec). My granddaughter has had injections from when she was diagnosed etc and is under the childrens hospital. Can anyone tell me is there a reason why my granddaugher could not satisfy the 3 month qualifying period? Any help would be appreciated and thanks in advance.
Nan123
 
Just a welcome from me, someone will definetly have the answer here.....:D
 
If a letter has come out then it will have shown you how much your grandaughter had been awarded and whether there was any backdated amount. This will have gone into your daughters account. If there has been no payment made then this would suggest that the DLA have messed up with payments. From memory I think we got it backdated from the date of diagnosis (but cant say for certain as it was 2 years ago now). If you look on-line it should tell you what the 'qualifying period' actually means. Has your daughter applied for carers allowance.🙂Bev
 
Hello, my daughter was dx last June and yes, that is correct we didn't get the first 3 months - it is same with everyone.
 
Thanks for your reply Bev. Apparently my daughter's letter was never received, but they are sending out a copy which apparently will take a week. She has been told what she will be receiving etc, but my argument is with the qualifying period. Usually the claim is not from date of diagnosis but the date the claim form was put in which in this case was September. I wonder why the Adjudicator can award the highest rate and then in the same breath say that my granddaughter did not satisfy the qualifying 3 month period (I was told this was the symptom period although she was having injections from day 1) so therefore the award could not be backdated. I want to appeal against this decision or am I wasting my time?
Nan123
 
Thanks Ruth - is this a new thing then? Because the CAB told me that it should be backdated to when the claim is put in.
 
I'm claiming DLA and again you don't get it for the first 3 months. Goodness knows why. Presumably then your Granddaughter should get the allowance from November, but that's just a common sense opinion - DWP are a complicated dept!
 
nan123 said:
Thanks for your reply Bev. Apparently my daughter's letter was never received, but they are sending out a copy which apparently will take a week. She has been told what she will be receiving etc, but my argument is with the qualifying period. Usually the claim is not from date of diagnosis but the date the claim form was put in which in this case was September. I wonder why the Adjudicator can award the highest rate and then in the same breath say that my granddaughter did not satisfy the qualifying 3 month period (I was told this was the symptom period although she was having injections from day 1) so therefore the award could not be backdated. I want to appeal against this decision or am I wasting my time?
Nan123
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From what I can find on the internet it seems that the 'qualifying period' is simply to make sure that there is a disability that requires DLA. That isnt to say that your grandaughter didnt have diabetes for the first three months - it just means that they dont pay anything to anyone for the first three months as I understand it. I couldnt remember if I got it backdated for the three months - but after reading Ruth's post I think it is unlikely - so you would probably be wasting your time appealing. It is good that the highest rate has been awarded - not many diabetic children get this to begin with - its a fight to get it.

Anyway, sorry to hear about your grandaughter - how is she coping and how is mum coping with it all.🙂Bev
 
nan123 said:
Thanks Ruth - is this a new thing then? Because the CAB told me that it should be backdated to when the claim is put in.
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They are right - but the claim cant go in until after three months - which is where the confusion is I think.🙂Bev
 
If you had applied for it in November you would have got it backdated as then your grandaughter would have had diabetes for 3 months, but she had only been diagnosed for a month when the claim was made.
 
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