From Record- question over benefits advice company
Posted on Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 2:15pm
2 responses
This is a question that I asked during Business questions a few weeks ago in the Senedd. I hope to chase it up, as it is quite worrying if a company has been set up to take advantage of vulnerable people.
Bethan Jenkins: My…concern relates to benefit entitlements. Cymorth Cymru has sent an e-mail to its stakeholders about a certain company that seems to have been set up without a proper address. It has a website called benefitanswers.co.uk. It has been seeking to represent people who are filling out their disability living allowance forms, and, in doing so, it claims as much as £1,500 from those stakeholders or clients that we acknowledge as being among the poorest in society. I seek a statement from the Government on regulation for companies that provide support for those who receive benefits, because this company appears to be quite questionable, as it only has a website and no address to which it can be tracked down.
Jane Hutt:… I am concerned about any kind of misleading and fraudulent information and advice with regard to benefit entitlement. I will bring this matter to the attention not only of our Minister for social justice, but UK Government Ministers.
This is quite worrying Bethan, having sick and disabled people being conned and I for one thank you for raising it.
As if it is not bad enough what sick and disabled people are having to go through with their illnesses. With the help of their friends in the media the Government are pursuing the most vulnerable in the country through their benefit reforms. They are being forced to go through a system of change from sickness benefits to the new ESA.
It, according to the Government will be a fairer system, believe me it is nothing of the sort. The DWP is cynically and deliberately, with the help of a private company forcing sick and disabled people onto ‘being able to work’ lists.
62% of claimants are failing the work capability tests which just goes on a tick box response. Even the appeals are failing at a very high rate.
It is heart wrenching reading the forum entries, with what sick and disabled people are being made to go through and they are being called benefit scroungers.
It would be worth yourself and anyone who reads this to look at forums for disabled people and see what they are having to go through with the DWP.
May I be allowed to put this website on here for you to see what it all entails http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news.
I don’t know if you will have to register to log on to their forum site but if you can take the time it will be worth it just to see what they have to go through, please do.
Some with severe mental health problems are even contemplating suicide because of the tests and they also being failed. The system hasn’t even properly started and it is on the verge of meltdown.
Thanks for raising this, Bethan, it’s disgusting that people like this are preying on the vulnerable when there is free advice available. Many Local Authorities have Welfare Rights teams, or the CAB may be able to help and there are some independant advice centres like Riverside in Cardiff, or some charities can help.
For those with disabled children Contact a Family have a worker in Gwynedd & Conwy. For children with neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders I am available at Cerebra on 0800 32 81 159 – see wwww.cerebra.org.uk for details – all services are free!