Keep copies of everything

It's been years since I dealt with a DLA application or review, I used to do them occasionally and I know that more recently the advice would probably have been "don't bother" unless someone was in pretty poor health because the likelihood of any kind of award in most cases was pretty slim.

But I was reading up the very useful guide available to people subscribing to Benefits and Work and discover that the DWP routinely shred application forms, letters, records of phone calls, sometimes within months.

I've just rooted around and found my original 1995 DLA application, at least I have a copy of it even if DWP don't. And strangely a lot of the things on the form that applied then, still apply today.

The important thing is that you should keep copies of everything - some people have been paid thousands in backdated benefit as a result of keeping it all.