Pip assessment

busyMum16

Hi everyone sorry for the long post after some input/advice if anyone has been in this situation before 
I have a pip phone call assessment this week my issues are mainly mental health related 
however I’m currently heavily pregnant which has made worse my mobility due to years old chronic bad pain and hypo mobility which I used to manage with co codamol but obviously can’t take them now. 

I’m sure I’m over thinking this but I’m sure being pregnant is going to go against me and having a refusal.
do you think this will go against me, will the assessor be considerate of my mental health struggles which I’ve suffered with for a years? And do you think once DWP receives my report I’ll still have to wait the average 12 weeks for a decision.
im all ready stressing about it and haven’t had the assessment yet 😂 

poppy123456

I don't think you should assume that because you're pregnant that this will go against you. Many people claim PIP successfully whilst being pregnant and having children to look after.

Timescales once the report is returned are up to 12 weeks. It's impossible to predict how long a decision will take exactly.

busyMum16

poppy123456 said:

I don't think you should assume that because you're pregnant that this will go against you. Many people claim PIP successfully whilst being pregnant and having children to look after.

Timescales once the report is returned are up to 12 weeks. It's impossible to predict how long a decision will take exactly.

Thank you so much for your reply you have put my over thinking mind at rest 

L_Volunteer

It does sound like a really stressful time at the moment @busyMum16. Is there anything that might help this to feel more manageable for you at the moment or that usually helps you when you are feeling stressed? Please do not hesitate to let us know if we can do anything else to help 

busyMum16

Hi I had my pip assessment via phone on Tuesday the lady I spoke to said she was going to send the report to the dwp the same day, however, I’ve not received a text saying they have received my report reading through this forum I’ve seen nearly everyone else has a text. I’m stressing now because I feel my assessment didn’t go very well it was quite short and she didn’t asked about my mental health and affects it had on my daily life, it’s already been a long process and can’t be dealing with waiting even longer for a decision that I have a dealing I’m going to have to appeal. 

My question is do they send everyone a text?
How long should I leave it before requesting a copy of my report I understand there are huge backlogs and properly got a massive amount of claims to go through but I’m ready to fight them if I think the decision isn’t right and wants to gather as much info as possible. Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some light 

poppy123456

Not everyone receives a text when it's returned. Sometimes reports are chosen for audit. When she told you it will be returned the same day she would not have known if it would have been chosen for audit because it's at random. 

If it has it's nothing to worry about, it means they are checking the assessor did their job correctly. There's no timescales how long it will remain there. From personal experience i've had a report for a PIP assessment remain in audit for 6 weeks.

You can request the report once it's returned. They can't send it before that because they won't have it to send it. Do also be aware that it can cause a huge amount of extra anxiety for a lot of people, even if it's positive for you. It's not the decision, it's a recommendation only.

Once it's returned a decision can take up to 12 weeks.

busyMum16

Thank you for your reply my report has gone to audit and capita can’t give a time frame on how long it will be there for, looks like I’m in a for longish wait 🤦‍♀️ Anyone else’s report been sent to audit van shed some light on the timeframes recently 

poppy123456

Sometimes it's a week, sometimes a few weeks and other times longer. There's really no timescales. Once the audit is completed it will be returned to DWP.

Hannah_Alumni

I'm sorry to hear you are in for a longish wait @busyMum16 I do hope we can be a place of support for you

busyMum16

Thank you both for taking the time to reply these benefits are a minefield and not easy to understand 

Chloe_Alumni

They certainly don't make it easy! I hope you hear something soon @busyMum16! Have a good weekend.

busyMum16

Stupidly I received a copy of assessment report and it’s the biggest load of lies I have read! Most things I’ve said the assessor wrote down different I’m so annoyed right now if the DM goes with the report I’ll only score 4 points. What can I do now? Can I ring pip and explain or should I prepare a MR ready for when I the official report.
seems I went through the trauma of applying for something I think I’m entitled to to basically be told I’m fine and don’t help! Which is untrue everyday is a struggle and the assessor didn’t even make a note of it 

bg844

busyMum16 said:

Stupidly I received a copy of assessment report and it’s the biggest load of lies I have read! Most things I’ve said the assessor wrote down different I’m so annoyed right now if the DM goes with the report I’ll only score 4 points. What can I do now? Can I ring pip and explain or should I prepare a MR ready for when I the official report.
seems I went through the trauma of applying for something I think I’m entitled to to basically be told I’m fine and don’t help! Which is untrue everyday is a struggle and the assessor didn’t even make a note of it 

You can phone PIP and request for a Case Manager to phone you back if you wish, you can explain what you think is wrong with the Assessment Report and get your points across. This may have a big impact or none at all, after you've had a decision that would be the time to go in to detail via a Mandatory Reconsideration.

poppy123456

Also to add, there’s no guarantee that a decision maker will ring you before making a decision. 

Jimm_Alumni

That's got to be so frustrating @busyMum16. In addition to the advice already given to you, I'd like to link you to the PIP section in Turn2Us who have a page about complaining. It does reference about it being after the decision as that is the most common scenario but I hope you find it helpful.

Challenging a PIP decision - Complain about a PIP decision - Turn2us