PIP Assessment

somerville94

Hello everyone, 

Just looking for some guidance/ advice if possible, please. 

I recently had a telephone assessment with PIP and fear it didn't go well. Unfortunately, my anxiety got the better of me and I didn't articulate myself very well, or my symptoms. One thing I noticed was that the assessor focused heavily on my education history, and was particularly interested in what course I studied at university and when I graduated. Is this common? I had no issue answering as I assume this was a memory question; however, I just wanted to query whether anyone has experienced this. I couldn't help but feel like this was being used against me? 

Also, I noticed that the assessor never asked about how I manage my condition, for example, do I need prompting etc. I have documented all this information on my form, is this perhaps why it wasn't explored on the assessment? Concerned that they will also use this against me as I simply was asked how my disability/ condition affects me. 

Many thanks. 

chiarieds

Hello @somerville94 - & welcome to the community. I wouldn't worry too much about your assessment. If you struggle with anxiety, then it would be normal for this to increase with an assessment, which can be quite stressful.

They do sometimes ask questions about your education, but I don't know if this would directly be testing your memory.

It would be correct for the assessor to just ask how your disability affects you, rather than asking perhaps a leading question, such as do you need prompting to do an activity? The assessment is to gather more information, so they can tend to ask about only certain things if you've already explained others well in your form.

I think all of us are filled with a bit of self doubt after an assessment, which is completely normal.

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @somerville94

Welcome to the community!

I'm sorry you feel the assessment didn't go well and that it left you feeling anxious. Chiarieds is right that they tend to ask how your disability effects you. I hope we can be a place of support and friendship for you. Please keep us updated on the outcome!  

somerville94

Hello everyone,

I received the decision today and was granted standard rate mobility and 4 points on daily living component. As originally feared, my training/ degree in mental health was very much used against me which is disappointing as anybody can suffer with mental illness, irrespective of their training. There were also a lot of discrepancies and false claims in the report so I will be submitting a MR. Overall, I am deeply upset with the decision and feel much of my claims were overlooked completely.  My question is, do I need to provide additional evidence for a MR? Or do they use the same evidence originally submitted. Thank you. 

poppy123456

When you request the MR another decision maker will look at everything again and come to another decision.

You don’t need to send extra evidence but if you do you should make sure it’s relevant. I would also advise not to send multiple pieces all saying the same thing because it’s not helpful. 

When requesting the MR try not to concentrate too much on the report. It’s fine to mention a couple of contradictions or obvious errors but then put it to one side and forget about it. 

If you didn’t give a couple of real world incidents of what happened the last time you attempted each descriptor that applies when you filled out the form I’d advise you to do that now.

Don’t forget to add detailed information such as where you were, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were. 

Don’t forget to put your name and NI number on everything you send.