Financial Help

Morning Betty8891 I am off work as I will begin treatment for oesophagal cancer soon. I am self employed so not earning at the moment. Have applied for PiPs which is through the government website. If you qualify it pays £80-£100 a week which may help a bit

I also have applied for PIP but was refused. 

The refusal letter stated I was well at the appointment and advisor didn't thought I am low in mood or depressed. 

However it is not true. I was crying twice as it was a bit too much having to mention all I have been through. I am on 2 different types of antidepressants and they chose to ignore the fact I am going steadily to higher and higher doses. 

So PIP is not easy road. 

I have asked for them to reconsider as loads of what he wrote in the letter is not true to what happened.

Sorry, do not have more advice than that. 

Hi IsabelFel sorry to hear PIP didn't work for you sounds like they were very harsh. I have only just applied so will see what happens. I'm self employed so when not working I'm not earning. I have a long road of chemo, then an op followed by more chemo so any help I can get will be good

Keep trying and hope they can help

I met a lady recently who was a benefits advisor for the local council. 

She told me that EVERYBODY gets rejected for PIP the first time that they apply. It's almost part of the process.
Then you have to give it another go and you might squeak through.
You have to be quite creative in your interpretation of the questions.

My neighbour has MS and I helped her with her forms.

None of the questions are as straightforward as they appear.

"Can you do the laundry?" - well yes, she can turn on the washing machine. But she can't carry the laundry basket downstairs, she can't balance to bend and put things into and out of the machine. She can't carry a basket of wet laundry to the garden.

"Can you prepare a meal" - well yes, she could pour boiling water on a Pot Noodle - IF somebody had already filled the kettle. She could chop potatoes but she couldn't safely lift a full pan of potatoes and boiling water and carry it to the sink.

It's complicated stuff. If you want to try again, see if you can get somebody 'in the know' - CAB or a benefits advisor at the council or a local charity - to explain how to answer.

Honestly, this government should be thoroughly ashamed of what they put people through.

Hi Betty8891 

It’s Megan here from Macmillan’s Online Community team. I’m sorry to jump into the conversation, I saw your post and wanted to offer some support. I can see you’ve had some really supportive replies which I hope has also been helpful.

I just saw you had a question about benefits and it sounds like you may find it helpful to speak to the Money and work teams on the Macmillan Support Line. The Money and work teams at Macmillan has a Welfare Rights team who can look into the financial support available and help you fill in any forms. 

They’ll be able to complete a full benefits assessment and refer you to our Energy advice team if needed. They can also tell you about our Macmillan grant if you’d like to know more and help with your application. There are also Financial Guides on hand to help, they can look at your personal finances such as insurance policies, mortgages, and pensions. 

Please do get in touch with them by calling freephone 0808 808 00 00 from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. You can also send an email or use live webchat during the opening hours.

I hope this information is helpful and you are able to access the help you are looking for. Don’t hesitate to contact the Online Community team by emailing community@macmillan.org.uk if there’s anything else we can do to help.

• Hi Barbaral that is very helpful thank you. I'm waiting for the forms to be posted to me.  Don't know why the government make it so difficult for people 

Get help from the  team at Macmillan. My wife had Hodkins Lymphoma and got the full payment and mobility payment too. The advisor helped us express her difficulties in a way that it was clear that she met the criteria! 

If I told you why I think the government do this, I'd probably get banned from the site.
Just try to take a tiny bit of comfort from knowing it's not about YOU - it's about learning how to play the game whose rulebook makes no sense to most people.
Good luck.

Thank you I will get in touch x

Thanks barbaral I find it very unfair that we had to use our savings just to pay bills while I was poorly. I did ask to reconsider their decision but I do not have high hopes. It all looks to me like a scam, when they take money in taxes from us to cover things like PIP but when someone is in genuine need they will not give back. That's not how good government should treat people.