A Scots teen battling a rare brain syndrome has been left without benefits after a DWP blunder.
Abbie Phillips who suffers from Chiari Malformation had hoped to grab a 'chance at independence' by moving out of her parents ' home in November.
But the 19-year-old from Glasgow was left penniless and without help for four months after moving to Parkhead into a home which accommodates her disabilities.
Abbie was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation brain syndrome when she was just 15 leaving her with chronic fatigue which triggered a weight gain of around ten stone.
Her condition means the lower part of her brain pushes down into the spinal canal leaving her with painful headaches, dizziness, and depression.
She is often extremely weak and struggles to do daily tasks as she relies on visual aids to help with her memory problems.
After moving out of her parents' house Abbie was receiving a small amount of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which was not enough to live on and applied for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) back in November.
But she wasn't paid the ESA until March.
Now she is due to be left cash strapped once again due to a mix-up over universal credit and will have to pay back the ESA she has already received.
Abbie claimed for universal credit in January to help her survive because the ESA claim was taking so long and the DWP say they paid her a universal credit payment in February.
But Abbie was then told that voids her ESA claim and tried to cancel her universal credit. She now fears being left without either benefit.
Her mum Margaret-Ann Phillips, known as Maggie, has been 'left in tears' over the blunder and feels Abbie should not have been left so long without money.
She feels the whole situation could have been avoided with better communication between DWP departments.
Maggie said: “It’s a nightmare honestly she has been left with nothing to live on.
“This was her chance for an independent life and she has just been left struggling.
“We don’t want government handouts, I have never needed a benefit in my life, but Abbie's disability means she can’t work and we rely on help.
“It is a breakdown of communication between the departments and Abbie is suffering because of it, I told them exactly what was going on.
“Now my daughter has been left without benefits.”
Abbie may also be unable to make a fresh claim for ESA after a rule change in January.
The rule means she no longer qualifies for it - but she did qualify for it when she made her original claim in November.
This has added more stress to the situation for Abbie and her family, and Maggie is unsure what to do to get it straightened out.
Maggie added: “I have been left in tears trying to deal with all this.
“She is trying to survive on her PIP which just isn’t enough, that is just for her care package. It isn’t enough to actually live on.
“They changed the law in January that you had to have worked previously to qualify for Employment Living Allowance, but the DWP told me that because we had applied in November she could still qualify.
“That’s why she got it paid into her account before the universal credit payment messed it up.
“I have tried to explain it but the DWP said she no longer qualifies.
“I really worry about disabled people with no families to fight for them on their behalf, this has been a complicated mess.”
The DWP have apologised to Abbie and say they are reviewing her claim.
A DWP spokesperson said: "We have apologised to Miss Philips for the issues with her claim and are urgently reviewing it to ensure her payments are correct.
"In the meantime, her Universal Credit payments continue to be paid.”
