Just got the brown envelope from the DWP telling me that my DLA is going to end and inviting me to apply for PIP if I want .
Neil
Donāt panic Neil! Get onto Dr & anyone that is involved in your care. Ask them to write letters to confirm your dx, any problems you have & a list of meds. Get in touch with CAB & make an appointment to get help from them to fill in your form. Photocopy any letters you have regarding hospital treatment, appointments & general care. Donāt presume anything is not relevant, as much proof as you have. Itās better to have too much, than too little. Include all health professionals letters, be it physios, MS clinic, everything.
I typed all my answers, that way I could go back & put anything in Iād forgotten. Remember to reference every page with question answered, NI no, DOB, your name. Print them & save & take them with you to CAB. Overlap your answers, if you struggle cooking, you probably struggle dressing. State why each task is hard eg, pain, walking difficulties & so on. Donāt presume they know about your illness, chances are they wonāt. Give as much info you can supply. Get onto things now & collect your proof. Think about it as writing an essay on yourself. Loads more of us on here will be along to add advice Iām sure.
ugh! have you got your portfolio ready?
pollsx
If you canāt get help from the CAB in person, have a look at their guide to PIP: Personal Independence Payment - Citizens Advice
You could also consider joining https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/ They charge about Ā£20 per year but their guides to PIP and ESA are excellent.
What Tracey said is dead right, get all the evidence you can from MS nurse, physio, GP, care assessment, any letters from your neurologist and make reference to the evidence in your claim.
You can also include photos of any adaptations you have made to your home or any aids you use.
Take your time with the claim, make sure you have answered every question and are honest with what you can do on a good day and on a bad day. Include things like the effect fatigue has on your abilities, so if for eg, you can walk 50 metres once but then need a long rest before doing anything else, say so. Equally, if you can just about manage self care but are good for nothing once youāve had a shower, with whatever aids you need to use, then say that too.
Finally, make sure you have photocopied the entire claim and have copies of everything you send.
Sue
Hi Neil,
Search PIP on the threads on this site as there was lots of advice when I was applying in January.
I typed my answers to so I could add things in. Remember to say how the MS effects you. Fatigue, muscle stiffness means you have to sit down to do activities like cooking etc. Donāt think theyāre interested in appointment letters but write the date of the appointment, who you met, what was discussed and what was the outcome.
I tried a FES - listed everything then said it wouldnāt work and reasons why.
Some useful websites that Fay posted that I looked at.
MS Society PIP
https://www.mssociety.org.uk/ms-resources/claiming-personal-independenceā¦
MS Managing Falls
https://www.nationalmssociety.org/NationalMSSociety/media/MSNationalFileā¦
PIP Citizenās Advice
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/resources-and-tools/search-navigation-ā¦
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/ā¦
Work and Benefits
Advice Now- How to win a PIP appeal
Keep calm and hope everything goes to plan.
Jen
I suspect that there might well be a few of us on here that are not looking forward to the post this week. I was under the impression that all āinvitesā (makes it sound like a nice experience!) would be sent before the end of September 2017, well thatās Saturday, so the dreaded envelopes should be in the post. Charlie
The trouble is that there are so many people still on DLA that there is no way everyone will get their āinvitationā (what a nice way to put it!) to claim PIP by the end of the week!
So if anyoneās not had their invitation yet, donāt panic.
Sue
I`ll save the panic till I get my invite!
pollsx
Apparently (surprise, surprise) the deadline has been extended to early 2018, it will probably be moved again. x
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Excellent advice here but please can I add - photocopy everything and send it back by recorded, signed-for delivery. They claimed to have not received mine and I had to start again; I cried for days! In fact I still feel upset when I think back 
Got the decision letter in post today. 15 points for Daily Living and 12 points for Mobility so Iāve been awarded both at Enhanced rate for an ongoing period. Decision was based on my application form and supplied evidence so I didnāt have to have any examinations.
Thanks to all who gave advice and good luck to any who are still going through the application process
Neil
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Woohoo, brilliant news. And just what was needed. So no flipping face to face. Just goes to show, supply sufficient evidence and fill in your form well and youāll get the right decision.
The more we hear of these no exam full award decisions the better. Did they say how long the award is for? As far as I knew the maximum was 10 years, but if yours is indefinite, thatās the biggest prize of them all.
Sue
Just says the awards are from 13 December 2017 for an ongoing period
Neil
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Brilliant. Maybe until the end of time. Or until they decide to scrap PIP as being unfit for purpose and swap it for something else complicated and hard to get your head round!!
Sorry, didnāt mean to burst your bubble of joy with a wee bit of pessimism!
Sue
Ongoing awards are reviewed after 10 years. Glad you got that result Neil. Paul
Congratulations!!
Neil - you have joined the 3% Club who gained PIP without a face-to-face assessment. I know Sue is also a member of the 3% Club.
Letās expand the membership to all MSers.
Best wishes,
Fay 3% Club
paul
also the 3% club
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EXCELLENT!
3% Club Members
Fay
Sue
Paul
Neil
Any more?
The point to being one of the 3%ers is that we were all well prepared for the application.
We (I am presuming here) all understood the rules and our own relationship to the various activities and descriptors.
We all provided relevant evidence of the ways in which we met the descriptors.
Lastly, we all made ourselves very clear to the assessors and decision makers in writing. This is something that not everyone is capable of, so they are reliant on assistance from welfare benefit advisors.
My point here is really that there are insufficient welfare benefit advisors who are available and have the time to spare to help people who perhaps do not have the knowledge, nor the means of gaining that knowledge, neither do they have the ability to express their relationship to the descriptors without expert help.
Given the complexity of the U.K. benefits system, we should all have access to reliable, experienced and knowledgeable advisors who have the time to spend on each persons claim.
Maybe we should be campaigning for more advisors?
Sue
3 Likes
Hi my daughter has just been diagnosed with MS after 3 years of misdiagnosis, we are on the medication pathway waiting for clinic appointments to discuss her choices. She is 26 with a 2 year old and works full time. Her main symptom at the moment as the other symptoms come and go is extreme tiredness. I would like her to be able to go part-time, would an application for PIP be worth doing at this early stage?
Any advice would be very helpful as her mother Iām feeling pretty useless.
Jo