My recent pip assessment

BrettW

I had exactly the same message for my review yesterday. I decided to ring them and find out the result as the stress of not knowing one way or the other wasn't doing me any good. Turned out to be good news so don't view the message as something negative because it isn't.

Hope this eases your mind a little

male45

Thank you poppy. Would they get annoyed  at me ringing them with the text telling me not to.
I don't want to jinxed anything..my nerves are going through the roof 

male45

Thank you @BrettW
I have this mindset that I don't trust them if they are nice to me I wonder why..i have such heavy nerves my heads sore. I do get afraid of things like this.
Here in NI it was announced they will be recruiting 900 civil servants because of the shortage amd also they are migrating everyone to UI. 
So that has me thinking if I ring and they are short handed they'll be angry and reverse any decision from good to bad.

poppy123456

Nothing will happen if you ring to ask what the decision was because that decision had already been made. 

Sorry but I don’t know what UI is. 

male45

Thank you poppy sorry I meant UC as in universal credit. See how I'm nervous I can't even type let alone talk.
I'll be brave and take the bull by the horns.
I'll ring now...brb

BrettW

male45 said:

Thank you @BrettW
I have this mindset that I don't trust them if they are nice to me I wonder why..i have such heavy nerves my heads sore. I do get afraid of things like this.
Here in NI it was announced they will be recruiting 900 civil servants because of the shortage amd also they are migrating everyone to UI. 
So that has me thinking if I ring and they are short handed they'll be angry and reverse any decision from good to bad.

Do not think that ringing them will in any way affect the decision - it's already been made once you recieve the message saying so and you ringing them will not change the decision in any way.

The guy I spoke to on the phone was extremely helpful and considerate and was more than happy to tell me my outcome and even read out the decision letter to me. 

If you have received the message to say a decision has been reached and you are getting stressed out then ring them and get your result. They are more than happy to tell you and one way or the other you will have your answer

poppy123456

male45 said:

Thank you poppy sorry I meant UC as in universal credit. See how I'm nervous I can't even type let alone talk.
I'll be brave and take the bull by the horns.
I'll ring now...brb

PIP isn’t part of UC. Only those claiming benefits such as Tax credits, housing benefit, Income Related ESA/JSA and Income Support will be migrated to UC. 

BrettW

I don't think he was implying it was part of PIP I just think he mentioned UC in relation to them employing extra staff to cover the changeover for people onto UC. Either way its irrelevant to the discussion and doesn't really need to be questioned.

poppy123456

BrettW said:

I don't think he was implying it was part of PIP I just think he mentioned UC in relation to them employing extra staff to cover the changeover for people onto UC. Either way its irrelevant and doesn't really need to be questioned.

I wasn’t questioning it. I was trying to put their mind at rest that contacting PIP will not transfer them to UC. 

I asked because I didn’t know what they meant by UI. 

BrettW

Either way I really think that the DWP needs to look at that message they send because it seems to be a major cause of stress for most people.

They should either tell you the outcome of the review like they do with an intital claim or refrain from sending a message at all and just leave it at sending out the outcome letter.

Surely they must realise the stress it must cause to tell people that a decision has been made but you're gonna have to wait up to two weeks to find out? 

male45

Hello poppy and all.
Well I finally got through to pip in Limavady where we here in Belfast have to go through.
A lovely woman answered and was able to tell me the result of the review.
I got awar high rate mobility and standard rate daily living until 2026.
A two year period per usual.
Big headache off my shoulders. My next payment is in 2 days which would be the norm. She said I'll still gwt the letter within two weeks which tells it in writing.
So I wish to thank poppy and all who have helped encourage me and supported me here .
You are all wonderful people the world needs more of you.
I've tears in my eyes thinking and wishing I could shake each of ur hands.
Please please except my best wishes to all still going through reviews or new claims and to all who help on here.
I pray for you all.
Male45

BrettW

Glad to hear its good news for you!

I got upgraded from standard to higher rate mobility yesterday and now have to make the decion on whether to apply for the motability scheme or not. 

I'm leaning towards applying for it as having access to a car would really make a huge improvement to my standard of living

poppy123456

That’s great news! I’m so glad you were able to ring to find out what the decision was. At least you can relax a little for now.

I think all text messages they send are anxiety provoking and many people ask what they mean. 

They started sending texts with updates in the hope that they would help but the opposite happened. 

Though I do agree that they could change the wording of that text where they tell you not to ring because that does make people think it’s bad news. 

scape1960

Sorry if this going off track, but I’m just curious about the number of people who are mentioning been awarded a ‘lump sum’. I don’t know if these are related to reviews or not, but I completed my review form in January and was under the impression that my payments from a renewed award would just continue as normal and I wouldn’t receive any back payments for increased awards. Sorry if I’m reading this incorrectly. 

BrettW

@scape1960 The guy who told me my outcome on the phone yesterday did say to me that if I was entitled to any back pay (which I don't think I should be because its a review) it would be calculated seperately and they would notify me

scape1960

Thanks for that Brett, I won’t get my hopes up, I would be delighted if I could move from standard to to higher care for daily living, but will still be more than happy if I continue to receive the standard I was awarded with last time.

poppy123456

BrettW said:

@scape1960 The guy who told me my outcome on the phone yesterday did say to me that if I was entitled to any back pay (which I don't think I should be because its a review) it would be calculated seperately and they would notify me

In normal times when it's a review started by DWP they don't usually pay the difference between the old award and the new award. However, because of the delays that many people are experiencing with review decisions the decision maker is using their own discretion on whether to award from an earlier date. Some people are owed money and some are not.

male45

Thank you all forbthe support you have given me over this stressful period.
I agree that they should tell the claimant if they've been award and what.
I received  the confirmation letter this morning Friday October 27th detailing all points etc and included a certificate if I want to claim vehicle road tax exemption.
I got 12 points for mobility and 9 for daily living 
Some of the previous points on the daily living were removed saying the adjudicator thinks I can do this and that. I feel they took off the daily loving points and added points to the mobility.
Previous award has always been standard on both elements.
It also stated that back dated lump some will be placed into given bank account...(already has been) also states back dated from July 2022 ongoing...
Now I don't know what ongoing means.
In the phone call I made to pip office the woman stated awarded until 2026 although she did not give a date in 2026

Male45

poppy123456

Ongoing means a 10 year award. Sounds like the person at the call centre was incorrect when they told you the length of the award.

If you're not happy with the award and think it's possible to score those extra 3 points needed for Enhanced daily living then you can request the Mandatory Reconsideration. (MR) You have 1 month from the date of the decision to do this. 

You should put the request in writing stating where and why you think you should have scored those points. Then include a couple or real world examples of exactly what happened the last time you attempted each descriptor that applies to you.

You can take a little time to consider what you would like to do because you have 13 months to request it. If you're outside the 1 month timeframe you will need to tell them why you didn't request it within the first month. If they refuse then you just proceed to Tribunal.