A WOMAN confined to a wheelchair and who depends on her partner to care for her has suffered weeks without cash after her disability benefits were stopped.

Vicki Dennis, 34, has spent weeks attempting to arrange an appointment with government-contracted assessors ATOS after they assessed her reasons for missing an appointment 'were not satisfactory' and payments were later cancelled outright.

ATOS make recommendations to the Department of Work & Pensions, who then decide whether a person is fit for work.

The confusion occurred amid the transfer from the Direct Living Allowance to the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and while her issue may soon be resolved, Ms Dennis says both her and her partner have been stressed by the process and left worried about how to pay bills and how to prepare for Christmas.

She is also soon to lose access to her car, provided by charity Motobility, which she uses to get to hospital appointments in Oxford and London and is one of the only ways she can get out of the house.

Vicki, who suffers from congenital muscular dystrophy, scoliosis, Klippel-Feil syndrome and arthritis, said: "It's just ridiculous. It's really stressful and there's nothing I can do about it until I can organise another assessment but it could take months to sort itself out.

"I have to give up my car which is my lifeline. It's stressing out my partner too, he just feels helpless. I understand they need to find the people who don't need the payments, but it's affecting people who do need it. It just doesn't seem right."

Her payments, including tax credits and housing benefit, were stopped after her documents were considered not enough proof of her disability and she missed an appointment letter for an ATOS assessment.

After explaining she was away when the letter arrived, she hoped to rearrange, but the next letter to arrive simply informed her that the payments had been stopped.

The Department for Work and Pensions claim the matter is now 'resolved', but Vicki says she has yet to hear from them. 

They have said all payments would be reinstated and backdated if Vicki is awarded PIP following the assessment.

But Vicki and her partner have been left without any money in the weeks running up to Christmas until she can arrange an assessment.

"If I could work I'd be out the door right away. I've got an active brain but my body doesn't work for me. I don't want to be disabled, and my payments were stopped all because I was away when an appointment letter arrived. It doesn't seem right."

A spokesperson from the Department for Work and Pensions said ATOS would contact Vicki to set up a PIP assessment and said: "This issue has now been resolved and we are working with the claimant to arrange an assessment. We have tried to make the transition from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as simple as possible and we encourage anyone having difficulties to contact their case manager.”