I sent my PIP application in August and received the automatic response a short time later. I’ve just received my face-to-face appointment letter, much sooner than I expected. I have to change the appointment date because it clashes with an appointment with a eye specialist. That’s not an issue. What surprises me is the location - my home!
Has anyone else had their face-to-face interview at their home? What was it like? Does the ‘interviewer’ snoop round the house looking for aids (or the lack of them)? I’ll have to give the house a good clean and tidy, which will really knock me sideways, but that’s as far as I’ll go.
Personally, I wouldn’t bother spending any effort to create an impression that I am perfectly capable of doing housework. Don’t make an effort to look smart and tidy either, because it will count against you.
These people are not acting in your best interest and only looking to catch you out, so putting on a brave face will suit their agenda nicely.
Yes don’t bother with housework it will just count against you as It proves you can manage to do it , they can’t go snooping around your house without your permission so don’t give it if asked , if they won’t to see any aids let them .
Just try and relax don’t offer cups of tea or anything ,really hard but however nice they seem your every move will be noted .
My assessment was carried out at home – I think this is more, in some areas than in others as Capita seem to do higher proportion of home visits than ATOS.
The woman who carried out my assessment was very nice and, generally, her report was very fair. Interestingly, she was qualified as an occupational health professional rather than a doctor or nurse and I think she had a better grasp of day-to-day living with a condition like MS.
She didn’t ask to go around the house and we stayed in the dining room throughout. I had a couple of the aids that I use with me when I was with her (page magnifier for when I was reading documents etc) but she didn’t asked to see any others.
However, she had clearly noticed a few things as she knocked on the door and I let her in - such as the handrails on the stairs and at the front door. She also noted how long it took me to open the front door and also that my walking from the front door to the dining room was slow and unsteady. She could also see that I had some problems manipulating pages of letters etc.
In fact, this all worked to my benefit as she didn’t feel it necessary to test my walking or carry out any physical tests and she noted that I was exhibiting signs of increasing fatigue as the assessment continued. (Ironically, I felt that I was having a particularly good day that day and I didn’t feel particularly fatigued!)
One thing that annoyed me though was that she made reference to my 2 dogs and stated that I had difficulty controlling them! They spent all but the first five minutes of the assessment sleeping at my feet
My husband was present throughout the assessment which was very useful as he was able to prompt me when I misunderstood or didn’t hear the question that was asked me.
My house wasn’t particularly neat and tidy that day – not that it ever is but we had, at least, put the dishes away!
I’m fine with the idea of not doing housework. It’s not something I’m really capable of, anyway. I know it sounds dreadful, but I said on my application that I sometimes don’t bother showering because of the effort involved and the pain and fatigue at the end. (All of which is true, btw.) So I’ll be unwashed and wearing trousers that haven’t been ironed.
Hubby said he’d take the day off work to drive me to the interview (another point from my PIP application - I don’t travel unattended to unfamiliar places). He’ll be at the home interview, partly for support, partly as a carer.
I’ve signed up with Benefits and Work and downloaded their guide to applying for PIP. Thanks for the advice and the links.