Hi, I have completed my PIP forms, had my face to face assessment, and it is not good news.
I have gone from indefinite high rate mobility and care with DLA, to standard care and no mobility with PIP.
Any advice and asking for a review of the decision would be really helpful
KInd regards
Aunty Fluffy
You are entitled to Mandatory Reconsideration. You have to apply for this within a month of the award date. You can do this by phone and/or by letter. If you apply by phone it’s a good idea to wait till the assessor’s report has arrived. Once you’ve applied for Mandatory Reconsideration, you have a month to send in the application.
First things first. Get a copy of the assessor’s report. You’ll need this to help with your application. I know from experience that the report isn’t always an accurate representation of what was said, or of the problems you have with daily living and mobility. You can ask for a copy of the report by phoning the number on the award letter, but you may wish to back this up with a letter.
Did you use the guidelines given by the Benefits and Work website. If not, you may wish to join. It costs £20 per year and it’s worth it. I didn’t use their guide for my application but I did for Mandatory Reconsideration. It made a big difference.
The application for Mandatory Reconsideration is a letter in which you say why you think the award was wrong. Specify which parts of the award you take issue with, otherwise the new decision maker will look at the whole award. You can quote from the report if there are areas you feel are misleading or inaccurate (or just plain wrong). Quote from any medical evidence to support your claim. You can include further medical evidence if you have any. Keep copies of everything you send.
It’s a sad fact that the Government’s decision to make mobility dependent on mental health has reduced the number of people receiving high rate mobility by at least half. Having said that, you should still get something for mobility.
Thank you Cheerful-Dragon for your reply, it is something I will work through and sort out, I am going to ask for them to look at my claim again, as I feel that the assessor has cherry picked my words at he assessement
aunty fluffy
That’s an excellent answer Cheery Dragon. The web address for B & W is: http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/
While you are waiting for the assessors report to arrive, have a look at all the PIP Activities: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf
You are awarded one score for each of the Activities. The highest descriptor score is the one they will use. You need to score 8 points for the standard rate of Daily Living and Mobility, and 12 points for the enhanced rate of each.
Also, check that you have proved everything you’ve said on your claim or are saying in your reconsideration. By that, I mean if possible, get letters or reports from your GP, neurologist, physiotherapist, bowel and bladder nurse, neuropsychologist, anybody else who you see, who you can get to write a letter on your behalf to back up what you say about your Daily Living and your Mobility.
Sue
So sorry to hear your news Aunty Fluffy - here are some helpful guides.
But do get some extra help from your MS Nurse, GP and Citizen’s Advice.
PIP Mandatory Reconsideration Request Letter Tool
http://www.advicenow.org.uk/pip-tool
How to win a PIP appeal
Fay
Everyone i know now who is going through this i get them to complete this. It really gives you an insight into what they are looking for. The mobility element well the first question is designed to give you zero points before you start. Do go for mandatory consideration though, and make sure all your health care know how your illness impacts on your daily life. PIP is about how independent you are, not about your illness you have. Good luck most people get it on appeal.
I understood that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to know how successful mandatory reconsideration is at overturning awards. I know that tribunals are often successful, but reconsideration is comparatively new.
The first question in the mobility section seems designed to stop people getting high rate mobility. Essentially you have to be virtually housebound to qualify. If you can walk at all and have no problems with going out on your own, you have to settle for standard rate and kiss goodbye to Motability. I know that some people have difficulty going out without assistance even if they can walk a limited distance - I’m one of them. I just don’t think that the mobility component of PIP should give it 50% of the score. The whole thing seems badly thought out. Either that or it’s a deliberate ploy to reduce the benefits bill while seeming to care about mental health issues.