Hi, I was diagnosed with ms in March after having 2 relapses at the end of 2013. One relapse involving weakness in my legs and another with the eyes. Seen as though I had 2 relapses within 6 months they diagnosed me with remitting relapsing ms which involves going to hospital for treatment. The relapses have had no lasting effect on me and I’m able to work full time but I lose out on money due to having time off work for the treatment. Last time I went for my treatment, I told another ms sufferer my situation and they told me to seek advice to see if I’m entitled to DLA or PIP. Is there any point in even applying for this as I’m still able to work full time? Thanks.
Hi Kyle
As the previous person said, you should definitely apply, and whether or not you work has got nothing to do with it. The general advice for us with a variable condition like MS is to answer the questions as if you were on a bad day. Fully expect to have to appeal though.
And once you get it, you should be able to get the disabled component of working tax credits too, as long as you work over 16 hours a week.
Good luck
Dan
Hi,
I’m afraid I do not agree with the “bad day” advice, which is outdated, and could be construed as fraudulent.
It all depends how often you are having these “bad days”. The rule of thumb is a problem only counts towards benefit eligibility if it is there at least half the time. If it’s less than that, then by all means still mention it, but you must be clear how often it happens. If it’s only once a week or once a month, you must be honest about that, and not give the impression it’s present all the time, or most of the time.
DLA has gone now, for new applicants, so it would certainly be PIP. There are lots of self-assessments online that give you an indication whether your claim would be likely to be successful. It may be worth doing one of those to get an idea, before going to the hassle of applying for real.
There is one at Benefits and Work: PIP claim help, plus ESA, DLA & Universal Credit
This is a subscription site, but I believe you can use the tool for free. If not, there will be others similar, if you just Google.
Unfortunately, when looking at these self-assessments, it is clear to me that I would score “nul points” for the whole damn lot, so not worth the stress of making the application, only to be turned down. IF it was looking borderline that I might get it, I’d go ahead and give it a try, but I see no point when it’s obvious I’ll be ruled “fit as a fiddle”, and get nothing.
I know I should be grateful I’m not disabled enough to get anything…yet. But sometimes I feel very bitter that still being able to walk, feed yourself, dress yourself etc. counts as “nothing wrong” - at least as far as benefits are concerned. My dad, when terminally ill, could still walk three miles and swim 40 lengths for some time after diagnosis. I suppose, if he were applying today, he’d score “nul points” too - although I think special arrangements apply to people expected to live less than a year.
Tina
Thanks everyone. Just done the self assessment and got nil pois.