Pip assessor help

Hi anyone can you help us get into a nonchalant frame of mind

hubby has secondary progressive MS. He’s just reached 64 about 2 days before his 64 th birthday we had the letter your DLA is ending now and to receive benefit pip you must apply.

rang the number received the form filled it out sent papers in with consultant proof, ms nurse letter, two copies of , wheel chair evidence, medication evidence eye specialist letter.

now we have had the letter the independent person is coming for the face to face at hope should we play nice with tea and coffee

just looking for some calming support for us to deal.

Crookes

hi crookes get support from a welfare rights advisor, ask him or her to check through your application form. they will be able to tell how much you should be awarded. if you don’t get the correct amount they will help you to appeal. if you need to have the face to face before their involvement, stay neutral. offering tea or coffee appears that you consider them a friend. some may be nice people but they are NOT your friend. good luck and i hope everything goes well for you. carole x

I suggest you treat the assessment as you would in an assessment centre. They wouldn’t offer you tea and biscuits, so I wouldn’t offer drinks etc to the assessor either.

Think about the points you have made on your claim form and exactly where you expect to win points from the assessment. Make sure the assessor gets the right messages. This means both you and your husband need to know what the activities and descriptors are, and where you fit into those descriptors. This is quite a useful guide from the CAB: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

I suggest that you see the assessor not as a friend (Carole is quite right), but not as an adversary either. If the assessors job is to find out what you / he is capable of and where the points should be awarded, then treat it like a meeting in which you are working together to demonstrate to the assessor what your husband has trouble with and what he is capable (or incapable) of in the narrow areas covered by the activities table.

Try not to worry about it, be clear, but don’t volunteer any information that’s not relevant to the assessment.

Good luck.

Sue

Thank-you for the descriptors that’s a huge help

hubby now less stressed he can use it to target his answers were it adheres to his health issues.

thankyou

crookes

Crookes,

I had a f2f as well. Its your hubby so they will ask him the questions. They want to see him walk or sit or hold a cup.

THINK about everything you say. When they ask a question, take time to think it through and chip in, cuz we all see ourselves different to how others see us.

Make sure to tell them HOW you do things. Yes I can cook a meal, BUT I can’t carry hot pans, lift a casserole out of the oven, stand to chop veg etc. The devils in the details. I can raise my hand above my head - but can I safely get a can from a high shelf?

Some of the questions will be personal, like bowel and bladder function and don’t dress it up. Tell it how it is.

Just relax its not the spanish inquisition lol… These guys are just there to do a job, its sad that some have caused a ripple of discontent and horror in the people having them.

Make sure you answer the door.

Let the assessor introduce themselves and just let your husband take a breath. The assessor will just go through the form with him. I had to go to the centre and the guy was amazing, put me at my ease, was really good.

He told me straight you will only be here 20 minutes as we have all we need this is just protocol for me to meet you, and he ws right.

I think if you have filled in the form well and proven everything, there is little to worry about. I had one assessment for DLA at home and one in centre for PIP and not once was i made to prove i could walk, or hold anything.

He will be fine, just let him be his normal self. I ended up laughing with my assessor yes, and felt totally relaxed.

Every person now i know who has these has had no issues with them. I am glad to say.

Good luck, p.s. with my DLA assessor my husband offered her a drink and she had a cup of coffee.

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Thank you everyone I’m just panicking because when he was first diagnosed 2009 we were both in a state and had to go in for the esa medical board ATos and they were very very nice very symperthetic but they did not convey anything that he said correctl They said he was fit for work and all they answers were totally different to what he said I’m thinking it will be the same when he did the telephone phone in for pip the guy was not good constantly reminded him how much he would be penalised if any info was incorrectly like he was goading him to kick off etc Our experiance of these people and DWP since diagnosis has not been good.since I’m happy to listen happy to help but not happy to have some clerical person start up some thing that they are not qualified to digest about MS etc Sorry to rant but as I’ve always said you cannot deal with a person or persons who are deal able it’s like they have a different agenda