New PIp experience

Finance and benefits
1

Hi all

Thought I’d relay my latest PIP experience. The first pip saga was nearly 3 years ago, was awful, took months, the assessment was full of inaccuracies and down right judgemental. The outcome of which was I took the DWP to tribunal and won but whole thing lasted over a year! So you can imagine my dread when this one come round. Well what a different experience. Form filled in and sent off, 10 days later a letter from Atos saying they had assessments free in my area the following week. Assessment lady was inviting, understanding and honest, so much so I thought this must be a trick! Then 5 days later text from DWP stating they had all the information to make a decision. Then 9 days later a letter stating I had been awarded high rate for both daily care and mobility and would not be reviewed until 2026. 7 days later back pay in account. What chalk and cheese the two experiences were. Yes, I sent loads of evidence with the form but no different from last time. It goes to show you, if you have good employees doing their job to the best of their ability and have compassion, PIP can be what it was designed to be! Btw Primary Progresive MS diagnosed 3 years ago.

Regards

Mr Wobbly

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Mr Wobby, that’s great news!!! Hope I get same when my forms arrive (still on DLA). Well done you!!! It is such a stressful experience & I’m so glad it went smoothly for you.

Anon, It’s always lovely to hear from someone in DWP. We do so appreciate it when we get assessed by good people who understand and do their best. So thank you.

Pat xx

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Wow! Yeh, what a difference. Maybe they know you are someone who wont just accept a refusal without a fight, which you won!

I`m so pleased for you and am quite amazed at the 10 years award!!!

Like Pat, hope I am as fortunate when my turn comes.

pollx

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Good news is always welcome on here.

Best wishes, Steve

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I was reassessed at the beginning of this year and it was very similar for me. The tribunal didn’t actually happen as DWP reviewed it again with the additional comment I’d supplied with the tribunal request.

The chap from ATOS was so much better, tho I’m going to say that cos the man caught me! He asked me to squat which mentally is something that even now, I think I can do…but that’s just at the right moment, with the right balance, the right concentration, the right moment in my cycle of meds and just the right amount of luck Oh, and with the bedstead to balance me. Luckily he saw I was going before I’d even realised.

I was a fitness instructor tho, so even 3.5 years after diagnosis, I’m still learning my limitations and I guess that’s why I can usually see at least one bruise even when I’m fully dressed. The ataxia and nystagmus can catch me out at any time

It’s a huge relief tho and I’m pleased that some of us do get there in the end.

Sonia x

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I got my envelope on Thursday, i have until 22 october to ring and say i either want to go forward with PIP or not.

Mulls and thinks, can i be that bothered… still if i do go ahead i will still get my DLA until decision so i might i am just thinking about it right now.

My main issue is assessment, no way can i face going anywhere for an assessment. When i had my DLA assessment the doctor came to me, i was undiagnosed at the time, and wow that was back in 2007 i think. Now i am diagnosed and with my other issue TEA i really dont think i can take the stress.

I rarely go anywhere.

I am thinking on pro and con i might go AA instead. Anyone else my age 65 having to redo PIP?

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hi

AA does not give the mobility component so.you may not get so same level of award and other benefits that are linked. Dependant on your postcode you may get a home visit as standard or you can request one. A GP letter of support will help. The decision is yours but please think carefully.

egards

Paul

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Hi. I had my letter to claim PIP instead of DLA two weeks ago. After hearing all about it I felt sickened when I opened the envelope, however after reading Mr Wobbly’s post it has made me feel a little less apprehensive. I also think it is important to say when you receive a good service. All I can say is that when I called them to ask a few questions the gentleman I spoke to was really nice, took his time at explaining a few things and was very reassuring.

I hope that I will be able to report back with good news, although I believe it’s a long process.

Take Care All

Buffy

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Hi buffy we can report back together. I will apply but not rushing i have until 22nd so am getting all my paperwork sorted out now. If i get it, i get it, i am not stressing over it, just wondered if i should just do AA instead.

Its the form filling i hate lol. I am going to do what i did with DLA form. Will type my answers then cut them out and stick them in the appropriate boxes, as there is no way i can write lots of things.

So good luck let the games begin lol. xx

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[quote=“Crazy Chick”] I am going to do what i did with DLA form. Will type my answers then cut them out and stick them in the appropriate boxes, as there is no way i can write lots of things.

So good luck let the games begin lol. xx

[/quote] DON’T DO THAT!!! The forms need to be scanned and passed through to different people (more than for DLA) and making your form difficult to scan will increase the risk of bits being missed off. It also adds to the time YOU will take to fill the form in (unless you fancy treating the excercise as an arts and crafts project!) Finally, it means you will have less room to fill in with what you need to say. (I am sure that the spaces on the form are kept delibarately small!)

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Easiest and best thing to do is to type up your answers on continuation sheets; numbered and with your name and reference number on each one. Your answers can be as full as they need to be and all you need to write on the actual form is “see continuation sheet XX.” Even better, as a lot of information in one answer is relevant to another BUT YOU CAN’T EXPECT THEM TO APPLY WHAT YOU SAY IN ONE ANSWER TO ANOTHER you can cut and paste to your heart’s content. The DWP wants evidence and informTion. Overwhel them with it!

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Indeed, let the games begin. I was told by the chap on the phone from the PIP that they start the time thing once they have actually sent out your form. He was very nice about it all too.

Last time I had to apply I answered all the questions (hubby filled it in…bad vision) but I also took time to write them two A4 sheets explaining just how it is. MS is so very different for everyone, they need all the info they can get I expect. I was awarded some DLA.

Not sure but I think the Citizens Advice help people to fill these forms in. A friend told me that his sister had some help with hers.

Off to see my MS Nurse tomorrow, she is really lovely person and it’s like popping in to see a friend

Take Care

Buffy x

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OK I hear you lol. But when i did my DLA form it was totally acceptable so i just assumed it would be now. I am sure i read on everyday living someone did this and was awarded her PIP. Oh well, i will type and use continuation sheet no probs. Actually typing gives me more room but thanks, I will ask what is best when i ring them up. Thanks.

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Hi buffy been waiting since february to see an MS nurse still no joy but they are so busy in our area, perhaps being a city i dont know. Yeh let the games begin lol. xx

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Boblatina wrote:

Easiest and best thing to do is to type up your answers on continuation sheets; numbered and with your name and reference number on each one. Your answers can be as full as they need to be and all you need to write on the actual form is “see continuation sheet XX.” Even better, as a lot of information in one answer is relevant to another BUT YOU CAN’T EXPECT THEM TO APPLY WHAT YOU SAY IN ONE ANSWER TO ANOTHER you can cut and paste to your heart’s content. The DWP wants evidence and informTion. Overwhel them with it!

I agree very much Boblatina. Type the answers up exactly as Boblatina has described. Also put national insurance number on top of each page. I’ve done that with both ESA and DLA forms.

It makes it much easier for the decision maker person to read.

Also I think including a letter from a good friend saying how your MS effects you helps too. I have one good letter and send a copy in with all my forms. The friend who wrote it include a cover page saying that she wrote this for ESA but has agreed for me to use it again.

Start the process nice and early so you are not rushed. I spend several days on my forms (YES it’s exhausting and emotional but it is worth it).

Best of luck to everyone. I’m still on DLA and know it’s only a matter of time before my PIP forms come.

Pat xx

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I understand that from now on, if you are part of the 15% top payment receivers, like you and me, you won’t be reviewed for your health ever again, since it is considered, by some politicians, a complete waste of time! About time. Well done the new minister for the disabled.

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I spoke to the PIP people, sending me out forms, and advised i got Aged Uk in to help me, so rang them, and they will come and sort my forms out for me when they arrive and ask for a home assessment, so i feel so relieved as I could never have coped with the forms on my own. So now just got to wait for the forms to arrive.

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That sounds like a really good plan, but remember the old saying “Rubbish in – Rubbish out”! If you have somebody helping you complete the forms who does not know you intimately you have to make sure that they are aware of all relevant issues.

What I would suggest is that you have an initial look at what areas the relevant questions cover and then have a really careful think about how they apply to you. For example, if someone asks you “Can you this?” and your reply is simply “Yes” rather than “Yes, but I do need the following help to do so” you are not going to get very far.

“Help” doesn’t, of course just mean having a person help you or even using a particular “disability aid” it can mean assistance using “ordinary” items or using furniture or household fittings to help you. This item from a panel member who sits on benefits appeals is very interesting indeed. He talks about an additional question he asked a person about whether he needed to support himself on the wash basin to get himself up from the toilet; the person appealing hadn’t mentioned that he needed to do this and the fact that the tribunal member as “this leading question” was material in the person getting his appeal allowed. Disabled people are being wrongly denied benefits. I help get them back | Benefits appeal panel member | The Guardian

you really have to think carefully because what has become “your normal” might be highly relevant when people are viewing your claim. For example, I don’t need my wheelchair or my crutches inside the house but I do need to “furniture surf” and do a strange lean/slide against the wall to keep me upright. I don’t notice this now because I’ve done it for a very long time but it was very relevant when my claim was assessed.

I remember when I applied for DLA, I essentially have to take a long hard look at myself in the mirror and list/acknowledge all of the issues that were caused by my disability. I didn’t want to do it. It was horrible. I remember crying after I did it but it was absolutely necessary.

Trained advisers from organisations like Age UK are brilliant and worth their weight in gold but remember that they won’t know you particularly well. Although they may prompt you a little bit they might not know where they have to prompt! The assessor from Capita/ATOS won’t prompt you at all! The responsibility for making sure you put your case over will lie with you and you alone.

Good luck with your application. Having read your posts on here for a long time I am sure you will be brilliant at putting your points over!

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HI wow really informative thank you.

I have a full assessment and care plan from adult social services which i have scanned and will print out. My house is surrounded by aids so I can explain to whoever turns up how my illness impacts on me. My husband will take them on a tour of all the areas with aids including my bedroom. I get what you say totally about things like needing support at wash basin (i use a perching stool), and grab rails to get me up from the toilet etc.

When i got my DLA i was totally undiagnosed but i got full mobility and middle rate care. I was assessed at home by a doctor for DLA and she said to me, she would BET I had MS without a doubt. She was right. Anyway as i said to the lady at Aged UK i am now diagnosed with MS, and TEA, and have letters to support all this, and a plan from pain clinic about me joining a support group etc, so i have tons of evidence to help with the application. I have care workers too who know me, and I will have one with me too.

When you come into our drive which is huge, there is a parking area for two mobility scooters constantly on charge, and ramp by door, and other disabled aids, so even before you come over the threshold you can see someone lives in the house with a disability, so hopefully this will help whoever helps me. I rarely go out.

IF I dont have help i wont be able to do it not hand written anyway, and my husband has shaky hands and he would find it more challenging.

I am hoping it will be ok, i feel kind of comforted i have support and will keep in mind what you have written. I shall write it down on bullet points by me so i can remember.

I am not stressing as what will be will be. I can only do my best, all i know is since i had DLA i have now been diagnosed with progressive MS, so my illness speaks for itself, and if you met me, you would see how I was, i come over put together on here, because i mainly post early when i am fresh, later on i rarely go on Internet as my brain ends up scrambled so by 11am i am resting always for most of the rest of the day.

Thanks i really appreciate you taking the time to guide me, this is why i love this forum so much, people are so caring. xxxx

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I don’t think you will have a problem Crazy Chick, Ive gone though the process twice with my pips and got the enhanced rate for both my care and mobility. I still haven’t got a diagnosis but both times when they’ve done the home visit it was obvious that I was genuine. I find the whole process very upsetting but both times ive been treated well. Ironically the lady they sent the first time had been an ms nurse. Its just sad going through your life and i must be still grieving my loss it was May 13 when what can only imagine what was a very bad relapse took away my mobility and changed my life forever, got slightly better i think but never got back what i lost, i’d be a mess without my carers and adaptations, mobility car and wheelchair ect. I hope i don’t have to keep going through the process again and again. ive never had DLA it was pips from the beginning but maybe they thought id improve, im not sure if they do indefinite on pips.

Michelle x

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