Hi,
Just received a copy of my pip report which is full of things i didnt say and much of what i did say is missed out. I have contact ATOS and im sending them a complaint by e-mail which they say they have 20 days to respond to.
Iv not got an award as yet but the untruths in this report was too big to let go.
Christine
Wow thats naughty Christin, its no wonder why people dont get it. I hope you get it sorted out. x
I was completely rejected first off too. I asked for a copy of the ATOS report and penned them a whopping letter (I think it was 9 pages including a letter from my MS nurse). They came back with basic offer on both components but after reading the mistakes continued into the DWP report, we applied for a tribunal.
It never actually happened as DWP re-reviewed it.
Having said that, I was re-reviewed in January and have still not received a final reply on that yet!
Do ask for the mandatory reconsideration and good luck with it
Sonia x
I find it hard to believe that they are so consistently rubbish if I get a review I will ask for it to be filmed as what people are saying they all appear to be pathological liars.
My report was full of rubbish, all the things I said were not mentioned & things said were not in the report.
My advice to everyone is to go on to Take the PIP test before you go
get letter from MS Nurse, Neurologist and help from Citizens Advice
X
Thanks everyone,
My advice is to show your true colours, if you are angry show it, if you are upset show it, if your are hysterical show it. And yes film it.
I should have stopped the assessment long before it ended because it was too fast and furious for me even my daughter who was with me froze.
My daughter like many is very trusting and sees the good in everyone. However this assessor used manipulation to befriend us saying she recognised my daughter from where she worked. This then caused my daughter to feel vulnerable in herself and was unable to prompt me . I then stated talking a load of rubbish. God do you live and learn.
Despite what i said she has contradicted everything, missed vital info out and lied and lied and lied.
I dont have a ms nurse yet, only diagnosed a couple of weeks ago.
I need to get my head together and fight this. Theres alot at stake and not just money, its about the principle of someone who knows little about me or my conditions lying and more lying.
Request a copy of the ATOS report. I went thru that section by section! So many errors, untruths and clearly it was a re-hash of another report.
Iām relieved to say that I called DWP today - after double checking the chain of events and identification etc. she confirmed the date payable is in 2019 but she agreed, it didnāt appear theyād written to me so she was going to request a letter for me. I think it was simply the case that we were available when ATOS contacted me so I was re-reviewed almost a year before it was due. Clearly it was just too quick for them. The last letter a few months ago, just apologised for the delays.
I took my husband this time, as he picks up everything I canāt do. I remember the first time I explaining how Iād coped. The fact Iād made so many adjustments counted for nothing, she just said I coped with it, therefore I could. Things have changed a lot for me so Iām glad I fought it. Technically, Iāve just retired (Iām 45) so itās fair to say that I struggled with ānormalā for as long as I could. I think itās hard to even say it about yourself, my husband now has no qualms about saying āmy wifeās disabled, can you please make sure weāre seated with easy accessā¦ā BUT that was after a handful of complete disasters. Youāre so right about showing your true colours.
If you need any help with your letter, just let me know if I can help. I did largely work with complaints and was self-employed for 12 years doing that. I can still compose a good letter, it just takes a bit longer now.
Sonia x
Good on yer, Sonia!
polx
Hi Christine, I too will be fuming if they lie in my assessment!
Go get `em girl!
Boudica`s with you.
pollx
First things first Christine. Is this report the decision on your claim or your copy of the report that ATOS has sent to the DWP for the DWP to make their decision?
If it is the ATOS report, go through the results they give for each of the descriptors as that will tell you what points you should get for each when DWP make their decision. DWP arenāt obliged to follow what ATOS say but, in reality, they will.
So, leave aside what you disagree with in their report and count up the points that you will eventually get. You may be surprised and the final total results in you getting the result you feel is fair. If it does then you can still make a complaint about the assessor but you might simply want to let it lie - both are equally valid and we can all see why someone in that position might take either route. Just remember, though, that it COULD be possible for ATOS to find that the assessment was so flawed that it has to be done again.
If it doesnāt tally with what you believe you are entitled to then you can:
a)challenge it with ATOS - who could declare it fatally flawed and re do it
and/or
b) use the time between seeing the report and getting the DWP decision to get all your evidence and arguments together to start the process of mandatory reconsideration and appeal.
When you are disagreeing/disputing what the assessor said you need EVIDENCE not OPINION. Simply saying the assessor was nasty and underhand and you disagree with him/her isnāt enough you need to be able to āthe assessor is incorrect in her finding X because of A,B and C which are referred to in the report from Dr E which was provided by me with my initial applicationā.
Everyone applying for PIP should remember to submit as many medical reports as they can with their original application - although the form looks as if the DWP will contact your specialist etc there is no guarantee that they will or that a report would have been forthcoming. Lots of doctors wonāt complete requests for reports and they are under no obligation to do so.
The other dangerous thing to do is to assume that the assessor will know what something you mention in your application or at your assessment actually means. You need to explain. At length. And then explain again if necessary. If you answer the question āCan you walk to the corner shop?ā simply āYesā then it is not going to get the same score as an answer āYes I can but I canāt do it safely or normally because I cannot walk 10 steps without stopping to re-align myself. I use 2 crutches to walk. I cannot walk in a consistent straight line causing me to, frequently, bump into pedestrians or street furniture unless I am being supervised, assisted by a 3rd party. I frequently stumble and sometimes I cannot prevent myself from falling. My walking rate is very slow, it has been measured by my neurophysiotherapist (see attached report) as being an arage speed of X. I have been assessed on the standard test for extent of disability for MS patients as 6.5 (see attached consultantās report and link to explanation of scale) etc etc etcā
My application for PIP was thick enough to choke a pig!
I was also fortunate in that my assessor was clued up and, although I didnāt agree with everything in her report, she understood my situation. She wasnāt a doctor or nurse, she was an Occupational Therapist by proffession which, when you think of it, is probably a better qualification for someone doing these assessments.
Anyway, Christine, have a good sweary rant today and tomorrow start planning how you are going to stick it to the powers that be.
BTW the message board on Benefits and Work is very good as well as their guides. It is not a discussion forum like here, it is a place where you can ask questions and the moderators give you very helpful and detailed answers.
Good luck
Iām not wasting time complaining to Atos. They are corrupt. And if DWP are not also corrupt, they simply donāt care, are clueless, and do whatever they think they might get away with. The system is designed to fail people. Not to support people.
Iām first getting assistance from CAB, then getting the necessary medical evidence from my MS team. Then Iām going to the independent tribunal.
Anyone having an Atos interview - bring a witness. These people are not your friend.
Thanks Sonia for your kind offer to help me with a letter. My daughter has been helping me and what started off to be the length of an assignment has now been condensed as Atos say that even if you disagree with the report they will not change their recommendations nor will they offer a further assessment. In view of this i will let send a copy of my letter to DWP. I will then have to wait for my award letter which im almost certain will be declined as iv calculated that iv only got 6 points in the care component and 4 in the mobility. I will then ask for a reconsideration.
Thanks for your support. It really is a terrible system and unfair.
Thanks, You have raised some very valid points. I think i can safely say that i wont have enough points, possibly 6 for care and 4 for mobility. This is from the atos report and not the award.
On the atos website it says that even after making a complaint about the assessment you will not be offered a further chance to be re-assessed nor will they change their recommendations.
I guess i will have to wait for my award and take it from there.
I did take a witness and it made no difference whatsoever. I have learnt so much from this assessment which is not going to help me now i know but it will be very useful for any future assessments and also to help others going through the same thing.
I hope you get a positive outcome at your appeal.
Hi Christine,
Earlier this morning I posted the following on trisha444ās story. I think itās is worth repeating.
Anthony
Thatās even more shocking - that even in the presence of a witness they still lied. Shocking, but not surprising to me, if you know what I mean.
I hope you also have a fair outcome in your claim in the end. A friend of mine with MS said she hasnāt heard of anyone who didnāt have to go through the appeal process.
Take care.
Have sent you a PM.
ATOS can/will/should/must reconsider if there are clear factual errors in their report that can be objectively disproved - eg if they were reviewing Stephen Hawking and stated that he was seen to be able to walk 100m unaided! Yes, that is a silly example but what their provisos on their website are there for is to emphasise that they are not there to get involved in āyes I amā - āno you are notā disputes of opinion.
What you have to decide is whether that particular fight is worth fighting or whether you should save your energy and ammunition for the important fight against DWP.
Thanks Anthony,
This really help you know, it helps when i see it written down. I like the bit about you told us but you didnt tell the dwp. How true that isā¦now when i think about it why didnt i tell them about my mood and how i can sometimes feel, when i have no motivation to get dressed or eat and so on.
My daughter is reading the secret,to help with positive thinking. I think we both need to keep reading it ā¦again and again.
Omg Iāve been through this whole process, reapply, appeal, tribunal - it was awful - just give them as much evidence you can