Help

lucyyy

Hi how do I appeal pip I don't understand do I need to ring first before hand or can I just write to them.

Jimm_Alumni

Hi @lucyyy, PIP can sometimes be a confusing process and it isn't always clear what the next steps are.

Citizen's Advice have some really good advice about appealing PIP, Manadtory Reconsideration is the first step if you've not reached that stage yet Challenging a PIP decision - mandatory reconsideration - Citizens Advice. 

If you have already gone through Mandatory Reconsideration then you can appeal to a tribunal following the advice here Challenging a PIP decision - appealing against the decision - Citizens Advice.

You can call them up, but it is generally recommended to do everything in writing so there's no... mistranslation of your words.

chiarieds

Hi @lucyyy - don't ring, it's far better to write. The first stage of appealing is called a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR)  where another decision maker will look at everything again.

Remember PIP is not about any diagnosis, but rather how your disability affects certain activities of daily living &/mobility the majority of the time. Have a look again at the activities/descriptors that are looked at: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/personal-independence-payment-descriptors-and-scores-april-2023.pdf
With your MR you should say where you think you should have got points, & why giving a couple of recent, detailed examples as to the difficulty you face for each applicable descriptor, i.e. when did it happen, where, what happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing an activity?
Say if you can't do an activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes you much longer than someone without a disability. See this mentioned at the end of the link above.
Put your name & National Insurance number on each page. Keep a copy, & get a free Certificate of Posting from your Post Office when sending it off.