Disabled people claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP) were today waking up to no payments.
Celeb FC Founder Karin, herself, registered disabled after being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia & other illnesses 5 years ago, has been contacted by a number of people Celeb FC have supported via various channels over the years, all in panic mode as they are left with no news on why the payments haven’t been made to them.
Starting as early as 6.00am (many people surviving on minimal benefits are up early on payment days to check banks to make sure bills are paid) the messages were coming thick & fast on Twitter, adding to reports that across the country there was most definitely an ongoing issue with PIP payments.
Indeed, it seemed after a few hours, that these were not just payments due on Monday December 5th, many had been waiting for PIP payments over the weekend.
Trying to reach the department of work and pensions has been a difficulty for many, as the automated system was not even updated to recognise an issue until way after 10am. This left thousands hanging on phones only to be cut off after an agonising wait.
When the DWP did finally update their system, the notice was “wait until 11am” then there was another update to “wait until 2pm”, and finally an automated – “You should receive your payment today, if not, tomorrow.. If you don’t get it, just give us a call”.
Its almost as if they have no idea how life in the real world works.
Bills, Hunger, Rent, Smart Meters etc – Simply wont wait!
Our founder has spoken to a number of people today who are genuinely concerned about costs for bounced direct debits and the fact that they cannot now buy food.
This is just NOT acceptable.
BUT even more concerning it clearly shows the nefarious nature of allowing a single entity to have complete control over another persons ability to eat / pay bills etc by keeping their money digital/online…
This is something many disabled people are absolutely concerned about!
Here is some help for our amazing friends out there who are struggling with this occurrence – we hope they may be of some support…
Call the CAB national phone line
You can contact an adviser through the free Help to Claim phone service. Advisers are available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday:
England: 0800 144 8 444
Scotland: 0800 023 2581
Wales: 08000 241 220
ANXIETY UK
Helpline: 03444 775 774
Text support: 07537 416 905
The Samaritans
Call:- 116123
AGE UK
Call the free, confidential advice line on 0800 678 1602.
Open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year
