PIP - Decision wait time

beckyapril123

Hi all 

I was just looking for a bit of advice really, I had my phone assessment on the 11th of May and received a text on the 18th to say they have received my report. I am unsure of how the assessment went, she seemed nice but also had a lot to say regarding my condition and even said '' off the record you should do this with your medication ''. I know some of the assessors do have some sort of medical background but I wasn't too sure she should be telling me what was best with the tramadol I take daily. 

How long roughly have people had to wait from assessment to decision, I realise it can take anywhere up to 8 weeks but just so I have some sort of idea, if there is any. 

I feel all I am doing at the moment is looking out of the window for the postman or waiting for texts to come through. I also feel because of my age (28) I may not be taken seriously enough as my condition '' usually '' effects older people. For those of you now wondering what I have it's Degenerative Disk Disease and spinal stenosis. 

Thank you in advance 

poppy123456

Although they tell you up to 8 weeks, it's actually more like up to 12 weeks from when the assessment report is returned. PIP isn't awarded based on any diagnosis anyway. It's about how those conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities.

apple85

Same boat - text came through on the 15th may after what looked like a paper based assessments 

on this site I’ve read of people getting their confirmation of award text on the same day, a few days later and a significant amount of time in the future.

So far I haven’t read of rejected award text so I guess dwp letter before text may not be good news

ive had 8 concluded dwp assessments/reassessments over the years - for me personally the pattern seems to be that they get back in double quick time if they’ve downgraded a award but take an age if the award has increased (could just be coincidence mind 🧐)

the big question I have is has anyone ever lost an award if the dwp themselves elect a paper based review?

but yes I’m nervous too

apple85

On your other question personally I don’t think an dwp assessor has the right to advice on how you manage your health condition - that’s the job of you gp, any specialists you see or perhaps even a friendly pharmacist you’ve known for age - people in jobs that look out for your well-being rather than those encouraged by the higher ups to cut awards when possible

thats just me though

beckyapril123

apple85 said:

On your other question personally I don’t think an dwp assessor has the right to advice on how you manage your health condition - that’s the job of you gp, any specialists you see or perhaps even a friendly pharmacist you’ve known for age - people in jobs that look out for your well-being rather than those encouraged by the higher ups to cut awards when possible

thats just me though

Yeah I was completely baffled by that, she also called my partner a poor ba****d at one point because of how much he has to help me. I don’t think it meant to come it … but it did and I heard her. Ooopsie 

poppy123456

apple85 said:

So far I haven’t read of rejected award text so I guess dwp letter before text may not be good news

They don't usually send a text to confirm a refusal. Usually just the decision letter.

apple85 said:

the big question I have is has anyone ever lost an award if the dwp themselves elect a paper based review?

It's extremely rare not be awarded something with a paper based assessment but some members are still unhappy with the decision after a paper based assessment. I've experienced 3 of these for PIP in the past and been happy with the decision for all of them.

Soph1993

Telephone assessment on 25th April, text to say I've been awarded pip on 23rd May, roughly 4 weeks for a decision, I think it also depends on what area you like. 

beckyapril123

Just a little update - received the text on the 18th of may saying that they had received my report and today received a letter dated 31st may to say they have all the information they need to make a decision. 

L_Volunteer

Happy for you @beckyapril123. Hopefully, they will make a decision soon. Thank you for your update too. Please feel free to let us know how things go once they have made their decision and if there is anything we can do to help in the meantime