Hi all… Haven’t posted for a while but I’ve just had to apply for pip as its replacing my Dla so just asking for any positives regarding success getting pip or is it the nightmare a lot of people think it is.
thanks again
baz
Hello
i applied for reassessment as my condition progressed. I was on high rate mobility of DLA.
the assessor was nice & listened to me. It was a really smooth transaction. I got high rate mobility & standard care. The letter from the DWP was spot on with what I could and couldn’t do.
all the best
Paul
Do ya homework!! my assessor ATOS was so nice & sweet & understanding, hey in a few yrs ago i would of got a date! what a lying deceitful peace of wok she was!! not even a f$"&$£n Dr
pls read other folks post, i only know of 1 other person who had a nice time there!!
Julien,, good luck pal,
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Wow… Seems as though Julien had a tough one. I will give more of my experience. I filled the form with my problems. Said what aids I needed for each descriptor and what assistance I needed.i am lucky that my only problems are physical so tick no problems in eating, communicating, engaging, reading and managing money (not that I have any !). I said I was ok planning journey, I just couldn’t walk. I have kept a copy of my form.
i got an appointment 20 miles away so called & got one 2 miles away. The appointments are booked by a team 100s of miles away so didn’t know my area. You can call to change location if it’s a problem. I was seen by a Physio, not a GP. They seemed to understand my issues.
If I couldn’t do something, I said so. I think they asked for ID. My fingers are naff so my partner handed it over.
The person marking my form said my problems were physical and recognised my use of aids.
Paul
Hi Baz
I recommend finding out as much information you can, look at the CABs website: Personal Independence Payment - Citizens Advice
or consider joining Benefits and Work: http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/
They have some terrific guides to PIP and ESA which are accurate and up to date. They do charge for full access to their guides, it costs about £20, but I think it’s well worth the money.
Sue
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Mine was good. I was really stressed about it but the assessor, a nurse, was lovely. I wasn’t challenged on anything and she didn’t;t ask me to get out of my wheelchair so I was pretty certain the mobility element was safe.
It took 12 weeks from the initial letter to the decision and I was very pleased with the outcome. Dignity and respect was given at all stages.
www.benefitsand work.co.uk guides are brilliant.
Sarah
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Still not sure i will have to go through PIP, as its so unclear. I am 65 now, but officially received my pension in 2012 November at 61 and have passed retirement age officially. It goes on about if you were 65 in 2013 you wont be assessed, so i am assuming i will be? I have indefinite award. I couldnt go through it, would rather not bother, and just apply for attendance allowance.
I think you’d be right to apply for Attendance Allowance if you are only getting the ‘care’ element of DLA, however, there is no ‘mobility’ component to Attendance Allowance, which there is for PIP.
So in order to maintain eligibility for mobility (if this applies to you), you would have to qualify for PIP, which I presume you would eventually be asked to apply for as to continue getting DLA you’d have to have been aged 65 on 8th April 2013.
Have a look at the ageuk information: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/Factsheets/FS87_Personal_independence_payment_fcs.pdf?epslanguage=en-GB?dtrk=true
Sue
so basically i could be waiting until 2018 to be assessed. If i last that long. I still not sure i want to go through all the stress, i couldnt visit anywhere as i cant drive, my husband is too ill, so it would be logistical nightmare. Since i was given DLA i have been diagnosed now with MS, and another rarer neuro disease.
So I shall just wait for the brown envelop to arrive and then decide.
If its not until 2018 crikey i will be 67 lol. Thanks for that Sue.
I filled in the 40 page tome to the best my ability and where it asks for you to write further explanations I used speech recognition software which I printed out and stapled to the blank page explaining that I could no longer use a pen.
A month or so later I received a reply saying that they were still reviewing my case…
A few weeks after that I received confirmation that I qualified for the highest rate whatever in a letter which seemed to have been written by a sympathetic human being with the proviso that if my circumstances changed I were to let them know immediately.
I then telephoned the number given and thanked them for their courteous reply and yes my circumstances had changed, in fact in the time that it took them to assess me my condition had worsened…
Stephen
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Hi, like you I was given DLA indefinitely. But that means zilch as we have to once again, justify our reasons for needing PIP.
There is a 65 rule…depends when you turned 65 as to wether or not you will simply transfer to PIP.
I am 63 now, so I will defo have all that paperwork and angst to go through.
Innit the pits?
I am sorry to hear both you and your hubby are too ill to attend an assessment. But they will come out to you if you cant get to them.
I have heard some people get their award just with returning the claim forms or a telephone interview.
Good luck.
pollxx
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One of the bad things about it is that different people assessed by different staff can get treated so different even if their condition is really similar. I read that they’re also in the process of making it harder to get points for using devices to help you with your disability.
Hi re the thing about losing points due to using aids. From what I understand, if you need someone to help you use the aid, then you won’t lose points.
Pollx
For Attendance Allowance the criteria are that you have to be of retirement age, and need it. Simple.
The “need” bit is if you need a second person around to help you. Lower rate (over £50) is at some time during the 24 hours, higher rate is round the clock (£80 plus).
I got mine for needing someone around when I was heading to the toilet in the night.
My wife got hers for needing someone around when she was having a shower (liable to fall).
Earlier this week she had a fall in the bathroom, last night I fell between the bed and the commode. We each needed each others help. The best thing about AA is that it is not means tested - you just get a payment every four weeks.
If you are an OAP getting an old age pension, apply for AA.
Geoff
Hi geoff, i need someone to shower me, feed me and help me when i am out. I have transient global amnesia as well as MS, so i never go out on my own, i am too scared as one time before my MS got worse and i still drived i went to the local village and totally lost where i had been for an hour, couldnt remember where my car was or anything, anyway few years later i was diagnosed with TEA. I take med for it now but still have the odd blips.
anyway i thought if i was on DLA I couldnt apply for AA? I dont drive and i have all the mobility aids i need. x
No, you’re correct. You can’t have both DLA and AA. DLA/pip is for anyone under retirement age and AA is for when you are applying post retirement. Does that make sense?
Pollx
I know someone who has just been refused PIPS. Also there DLA has finished and housing benefits etc. At the moment they have £67 a week esa. That is all. They have gone from lifetime DLA to nothing. We are going to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. In the mean time we have an appointment with CAB next week as we have no idea what to do.
It sounds like the CAB appointment is just what you need. They’ll sort out applying for reconsideration and also getting Housing Benefit back.
Sue
Thank Sue, I have replied on the other thread.
Well I had my appointment with health professional who actually came to my house and I must admit she was really nice and told us not to worry so here’s hoping I get some good news in the next few weeks.
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