I had my PIP interview yesterday. It was really very strange I came out not knowing if I was going to remain on the same benefits that I am on when receiving DLA. I guess that is not the job for the interviewer to decide. It really was almost as if I was talking to a computer or dictation machine. The interviewer just asked a fixed set questions and typed my answers
I was not asked any questions about how far I can walk. There were lots of questions on how I cope in the kitchen, dressing, washing, feeding myself and my double vision
Iâm very very pleased I took my wife along with me and am also very pleased that I checked out the answers that I had down on my PIP form before both of us went to the interview.
A big weight has been removed from my shoulders. Its all out of my hands at the moment
Has anyone else got any feelings about their PIP interview.
The assessor doesnât make the final decision. Thatâs something that only a DWP employee can do. The assessor writes a report which goes to the decision maker.
Itâs possible that the written evidence you supplied with your claim form made your walking ability very clear and the assessor made their recommendation based on the paperwork. This could be why they concentrated on the personal care elements of the claim. I would hope that Iâm right in such cases, and that any decision thatâs made on the paperwork is generally for the maximum or enhanced award.
Certainly the people whoâve had their claims decided âon the papersâ who Iâve come across have been given the enhanced rate. If it happened that they failed to actually assess your walking ability but didnât give you the enhanced award, that would be a good point at which to start any reconsideration request.
Best of luck with getting the ârightâ decision.
Patrick I too am actually quite confident that my face to face at home went quite well. I certainly repeated on numberous occasions how I am âunable to do this safelyâ, âI am unable to repeat the activityâ, âthis takes me a considerably amount of timeâ, âI am reliant upon xxxxx to help me complete thisâ. All the things the great advice from here and the Benefits at Work site has told me/us. I had my face to face 4 weeks ago today, I have asked twice for the report to be sent, nothing in the post as yet, but I wait everyday to get home to see if anything has turned up. Enhanced Mobility and possible enhanced living is what I think I should be getting, just the dreaded wait. If I donât get what I think I should get I have no idea what extra I could add for the appeal. Charlie
Donât neccessarily need to add anything more for the appeal. you repeat the same and state that they have failed to consider the variability of your condition and your ability to carry out tasks reliably,safely,repeatedly and in a timely fashion etc. they normally donât change their decision at MR stage but tribunal is independant so consider the evidence and the relevant law without political pressure.Donât worry about that till you need to,it may be fine?!
We have the report from my wifeâs reassessment and based on the hcaâs report she gets higher rate but are still waiting for decision,seems ages ago!
Thanks for all the support guys, just going through what I evidenced and what was returned this evening and planning my response.
I feel confident that there a 3 specific questions she has âdown playedâ too see if I react. Quite clear to me where I should be getting 12 and 12 points and anyone else. My GP backed up my scores, but he has told me he wasnât actually asked to supply any info, he is a family friend btw, I donât have a hotline to my GP.
I cant belive you got nothing for mobility. I get so angry when i know people who get PIP for mobility yet they are off out doing things, i do not understand it all. I know they should be able to do those things, but how do they get the points.
That is 3 people now i know with MS who never got the mobility component. And for you to have a home assessment surely means your mobility is very poor otherwise how come they allowed it? Scratch head.
I certainly would appeal. I feel angry for you hun. x
according to part of the report, as I have the strength to drive an automatic car I must be able to walk between 50 and 200 metres! if her assessment of that is true motability will soon cease to exist as no one will be able to lease any car, my auto is due to me not having the strength, she has just turned it on its head. stupid c**! lol
Under the cuts to PIP mobility being able to drive is viewed as an indication of âgood functionalityâ - most who gain enhanced PIP mobility have âpoor functionalityâ and can no longer drive and have a named driver for their Motability cars. I think you will find it difficult to regain enhanced PIP if you continue to drive yourself.
One of the first questions for PIP is can you plan a journey. Anyone who can drive will loose those points as if you can drive yourself anywhere then you can plan a journey. Its quite clever even going by bus you can plan a journey.
The thing is with PIP its not DLA. DLA you were encouraged to get out by having the option of a motability car like an automatic to enable you to get out or go to work.
PIP is a new beast. Its independentâŚThe I being the word. INDEPENDANCE. If you can put the IN before the word dependant you have little chance I think of getting much.
You have to be truly dependant on aids, or people to assist your daily needs. That is how I view it, perhaps i am wrong.
Having a motability car now is more for someone to help you get out, like having a WAV vehicle for a wheelchair etc.
DLA is not PIP.
I have to use most of my care component to pay my personal assistant for direct payments after a financial assessment, and believe me i am only on a pension and have under the threshold savings.
Its not a give away now its there to help us live our life. I dont begrudge using it to pay for my care, as well its what is for to help me be more independent. I cant drive anymore. My life is pretty much restricted to my home.
I couldnât get a home visit for my PIP assessment because the lady who filled in my form put I GET ANGRY WITH MYSELF and FRUSTRATED⌠they would not allow an assessor to my home in case I attacked someone lol. They took it out of context. I was talking about how I FELT. My assessor on my face to face in the centre knew about it, and said I was one of the most calmest people he had seen lol. He knew it was a bogus statement.
I had to be taken to my assessment in a way it was a good thing, as I went with my husband who drove our WAV Kangoo, and my care worker and i arrived in my wheelchair being pushed.
Hi Charlie i wasnt aware you drove your car, as PJday said below you will have functionality PIP is written differently to DLA. Most people now with motability cars have drivers who take them out. They have written it very well I think, the fact you can drive means you can plan a journey, zero points.
Even though i would have thought you would have gotten points for other things, as you could easily use your wheelchair to get to your car then a wheelchair to get out of your car, so not sure where she gets the fact you must be able to walk between 50 and 200 metres. If you had a home visit i am assuming it was because of severe motability issues. So i cannot for the life of me see how you scored nothing.
and this is an area where I believe PIP and the move to DLA is failing to address. I am physically not able to walk 20 meters, medical evidence was supplied and appears to have been ignored. I am physically able to drive an adapted automatic car, hand brake/accelerator. I drive to two/three places, an office that had been adapted for my disability, my house that has been adapted for my disability and I visit my parents, which too has been adapted for my disability. I go to no other locations unless it is planned in advance and even then mentally it is a huge struggle. The fact that I am able to drive should not in any way indicate that I score 0 points for mobility and this will be re-presented to the MC and then highly likely a tribunal. I am confident they will eventually award the relevant higher rate mobility as I fail to see how the current decision is justified. The other point of PIP where is fails miserable, my assessor was a paediatric nurse practitioner. She had little or zero knowledge of my neurological constraints etc so I found her being called a Decision Maker is a joke. My house is adapted, and my wife is my sole carer, standard care is correct and I have no issue with that part. All I can do is follow the process, and see where I end up. Cahrlie
Okay, thatâs the other point against your PIP scores:
" an office that had been adapted for my disability,"
So⌠you can still work. Another indicator of âgood functionalityâ. So you can afford to buy your own car or apply for âAccess to workâ payments.
I actually disagree with Fay and CC, I donât see being able to drive an adapted car as evidence than you can stand and move any distance at all. It would mean that someone who can only drive a WAV would not qualify.
The point about planning a journey is irrelevant to Charlie. That is about âGoing Outâ, ie the mental/cognitive barriers to travel.
Itâs the âMoving Aroundâ bit that applies. This is where your physical capability is relevant. If you use a wheelchair to travel any distance at all, can only get to your car in the wheelchair, then use it again when you get out of the car, plus your car is adapted for hand controls, then surely you should fall into the descriptor that says you can stand and move more than one metre but no more than 20 metres. You would therefore score 12 points and qualify for the enhanced rate of PIP for Mobility.
For example, I still have a driving licence. I could theoretically drive my Motability car (I actually didnât bother getting it adapted this time because my husband is retired and is more than happy to drive anywhere I need to go) were it adapted for hand controls and with a steering ball. I could probably just about get myself to the car and drive it. Iâd probably have trouble getting my current wheelchair into the car, because itâs heavy and unweildy and Iâm a weakling.
But, were the chair lighter and easier to handle, there would be nothing stopping me from driving. I would still qualify for PIP at the Enhanced rate for Mobility. Because I cannot walk more than a couple of metres.
This is my opinion having read the appropriate rules in the DWP PIP assessment handbook. It says nothing whatsoever about ability to drive. Itâs all about ability to stand and move. If you canât do it safely, reliably, repeatedly etc, then you canât.
Two points. Firstly, I agree with Ssssue. If you need a wheelchair then you automatically qualify for enhanced mobility because you canât walk 20m.
Secondly, being able to drive doesnât mean that you can plan a journey. If someone only drives to and from the same places, those journeys are familiar enough to not require planning. Itâs journeys to unfamiliar places that require planning and therefore may cause mental problems. I could drive to our local supermarket if it was necessary because I know the route so well. I couldnât drive to, say, Lincoln because Iâd have to plan the route. I have trouble driving unfamiliar roads (sat nav doesnât help) and I donât cope well with unfamiliar places when Iâm on my own.
Basically, I donât see that the DWP can justify turning someone down for enhanced mobility just because that person can drive familiar routes.
ah but charlie didnt say he drove an adapted car just mentioned he drove an automatic, if it has been adapted then it changes it.
Perhaps the forms were not filled in to show that he uses a wheelchair to his car etc, thats what i have said.
IF you can walk to your car and drive to an assessment then you can plan a journey and have functionality. The bit about adapted was made AFTER I and pj had posted sue, so i agree.
to be honest I would have thought charlie would have got enhanced rate for care, i know someone who got it and she has no care workers. I dont get PIP to be honest.
but yes using adapted car etc is different from walking to a motability car which is automatic and driving off.
as above it wasnt made clear he had adapted vehicle and used a wheelchair, still cant see where it says that. Just my friend was told if she could get to the centre and drive she would not score points because she could plan a journey. even going to normal routes what if there was a diversion?
PIP is made as difficult as possible to not get especially the mobility side of it.