Robert Powell couldn’t believe it when his benefits were suddenly stopped
by Iain Duncan Smith’s DWP pen-pushers.
Rob, 46, who is blind, has worked most of his life. But in September 2011 he was made redundant by a charity and applied for disability benefits.
“I wrote on the form that I am totally blind and have been since birth,” he says. “I told the Department for Work and Pensions I’ve got no sight at all.”
Despite this, instead of sending him letters in Braille, the DWP communicated with him by an ordinary letter on numerous occasions.
When he didn’t reply, his housing benefit and Employment Support Allowance were repeatedly delayed.
“I had no money to eat,” says Rob, a small business adviser from Dagenham, Essex. He was forced to turn to payday loans to survive.
Read more...
Rob, 46, who is blind, has worked most of his life. But in September 2011 he was made redundant by a charity and applied for disability benefits.
“I wrote on the form that I am totally blind and have been since birth,” he says. “I told the Department for Work and Pensions I’ve got no sight at all.”
Despite this, instead of sending him letters in Braille, the DWP communicated with him by an ordinary letter on numerous occasions.
When he didn’t reply, his housing benefit and Employment Support Allowance were repeatedly delayed.
“I had no money to eat,” says Rob, a small business adviser from Dagenham, Essex. He was forced to turn to payday loans to survive.
Read more...
