All very odd..

I'll be editing this post and going into more detail later when I've done a few more checks.... At which point this line will disappear. :)

I've had the strangest (number withheld) phone call from a pleasant young lady calling from "The Disability Allowance Office", informing me their calling everyone who has recently claimed DA that they're required to go for an interview, with a view to "helping those who wish to work off the benefit and into work". Among other things.

She gave me a date and time for the 'interview' and politely warned me that if I didn't attend I "could lose the benefit"

Well, that's utter rubbish. As anyone who receives 'Disability Allowance' will tell you, it isn't 'Disability Allowance'. It's Disability Living Allowance. There is no Disability Allowance office.

Secondly, the phrase "helping those who wish to work off the benefit and into work" is cobblers.
It isn't means tested.

Those that receive DLA can work as much they want, as long as it's within the constraints of their disability. Another way of looking at it, is that DLA is paid to enable those who have limitations as a result of disability to have help with their care and travel to enable them to live as normal as possible. Whatever 'normal' is.

At a certain level of DLA, you can even get Jobseekers Allowance. Which I don't need to claim, and never have, and couldn't if I wanted to.

It's totally different from Incapacity Benefit, (for new claimants, called Employment and Support Allowance, or ESA) which I don't get.

For more information, check out The Department of Work and Pensions. In short, I could be a multi-millionaire working 100 hour weeks, and I would still get DLA.

I wouldn't expect to get a phone call from The Department of Work and Pensions - the real name of the department that deals with DLA. I'd expect to be told by letter, who's letters have a few nuances I'll not get into here.

More interesting, I don't claim DLA. I receive it, yes. But I don't have to claim it, and haven't had to for quite some time.

So what's bothering me? The phone call was a fake. DWP have confirmed they haven't contacted me, and they don't expect to.



The young lady didn't ask my name, address, or any other personal or bank details, for instance. All I said was "well, ok, thanks" at the end of the her spiel. As far as I can see, all the information she had was my ex-directory telephone number, and that I was on a disability benefit, and she couldn't get that right.

All the info she's gained is that the person she's telephoned didn't contradict her. The info I've provided here is no more than you can get from any web search engine.

So where's the gain for her? Is there a gain? Could someone could please enlighten me? I'm flummoxed.