I have just received my PIP decision - standard rate living and mobility. Reading the reasons leading to this award, I’m forced to the conclusion that the woman I saw wasn’t listening. The letter says I need an aid or appliance to cook a meal; I can’t cook at all. It says I can manage medication unaided - I need a pill cutter. It says I can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided, ignoring the fact that I can’t cope with crowds, busy roads or unfamiliar journeys. No account was taken of my Uhthoff’s Phenomenon, which makes going out alone awkward.
The decision maker says that the woman who saw me saw no hand tremors, but my condition is variable. He says I have no difficulty speaking, yet I trouble with my words more than once during the interview. There are other aspects of the decision that I disagree with as well.
I now have two options: accept the award (which is significantly less than my DLA award) or go through the process of review and possibly appeal. I’m already feeling shaky and unwell because of the letter. Part of me doesn’t want the stress of fighting this. Part of me wants an assessment that recognises my health problems.
Isn’t it flaming maddening! several folk here have also said their awards do not reflect the seriousness of their condition!
What is wrong with these assessors? Do they only allow so many to get what they should? I guess I already know the answer to that!
My daughter is an advocate for people who need to attend assessments and appeals. She said they are heartless swine’s!!! A client of her’s went through a terrible time recently during an assessment.
Yes, you should appeal the decision, but I fully understand your reluctance to deal with more questions, etc.
I can’t comment on your assessment as I wasn’t there and don’t know your circumstances. Having looked at the guidance I can only surmise the following:
1- I guess you have physical restrictions that prevent you from managing with aids or mental problems make making a meal for 1 unsafe
2- a pill cutter means you can’t swallow so you should have points for managing nutrition
3- planning a journey is purely mental ability and does not cover the physical ability. Crowds and busy roads would be deemed not for the majority of the time
Unfortunately, they seem to look how things affect you for most of the time. Bad news for MSers like us.
Defo ask for a reconsideration if you feel the decision is wrong.
I don’t know of targets. I have heard that the DWP don’t have them.
My problems with preparing food are caused by weakness and shaking affecting my ability to chop vegetables or move full pots and pans. I don’t have any problems with food, but I do find large tablets hard to swallow, hence the pill cutter.
Planning a journey is covered by question 13 - going out, so it does count as part of the mobility assessment. 13a is about going to familiar places. I don’t have problems planning a trip to somewhere I know well, but I can’t cope with busy roads or crowds which affects when I can go out, facts I was advised to include but have been ignored. 13b is about going to unfamiliar places, something that I can’t do on my own. The decision maker seems to have ignored this question completely as well.
I’m trying to get in touch with my MS nurse to find out if she or my neuro have been contacted by the DWP. I suspect the answer’s no because there wasn’t time between sending the form and the assessment, or between the assessment and the decision. I’ll wait till I hear from her, but I’m definitely going to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration. I’ll resubmit the relevant parts of the form with the appropriate sections highlighted. It may prove stressful, but I’m going to take this as far as I have to.
Interestingly, the amount awarded for Daily Living is about the same as I was getting for DLA. It’s the mobility component I’m losing on and that’s the area I’m having increasing problems with.
I am re-post this link Cheerful_Dragon it might help you:
PIP Mandatory Reconsideration Request Letter Tool
"Welcome to our Mandatory Reconsideration Request Letter Tool. We hope this will make it easier for you to ask the DWP to look again at their decision about your claim for Personal Independence Payment.
We hope that by using this tool you will have the best chance of the DWP changing their decision at this stage. But if they don’t, you can go on to appeal the decision. In fact, you can use the letter created by this tool to make your case for your appeal.
You cannot appeal against the decision until you have asked for a mandatory reconsideration.
You must normally ask for a mandatory reconsideration within 1 calendar month of the date of the decision letter."
According to Benefits and Work I am entitled to a copy of the assessor’s report. I’m going to write to the DWP tomorrow asking for one. Then I’ll know who got their facts wrong. According to that website, you are most likely to score points on question 13 if you have been diagnosed with a mental health problem or have cognitive or intellectual issues that affect your ability to go anywhere. My issues are with stress and anxiety which I’ve never asked for help with, so I may not improve my mobility score with a Mandatory Reconsideration. I can but try.
I do think that some of the decisions on Daily Living are wrong, though, and the statement that the assessor watched me walk 20m is an absolute lie. She watched me walk 5 or 6m at most from the front door to a chair in our front room, and another 2m when I got up to pass something to her. In fact, I’m looking forward to seeing a copy of her report because of the number of statements that I take issue with.
I know that I may not improve my scores, but there are so many inaccuracies that I can’t just let it go. Wish me luck!
Did you have any evidence (reports from your consultant etc) to submit with your claim? Unfortunately,if you don’t have something backing up what you say are your problems and the assessor sees you differently you end up with an “You can …” v “No I can’t” argument. The real difficulty with something like MS is that, unlike an amputated leg, the effects are not always visible/apparent 24/7.
Unfortunately I didn’t have time to get supporting evidence from my neuro or my MS nurse. The cut-off date for applying to switch from DLA to PIP fell during my holiday, so I had to apply to switch before we went away. I was advised to call the PIP helpline to ask for an extension for submitting the form but couldn’t get through. So I only had two weeks to complete and return the form, not enough time to contact anyone for evidence.
Come to think of it, it’s a few years since my neuro has asked me to walk a measured 100m, so even he wouldn’t know how much my walking speed has dropped. Recent calculations make it 1.5mph at best, and often less than that.
There’s also the problem that I don’t think I’ve ever told my neuro and MS nurse about the stress and feelings of anxiety that I experience when travelling, particularly to unfamiliar places. How can they give evidence of something they don’t know about? I guess the moral is to tell your healthcare professionals everything, just so that it’s on the record.
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