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Mandatory reconsideration advice

Wishbuf

Hi, it's my first time posting but I've been lurking for a while as there's so much great advice on here.

I started my PIP process in early Sept and sent my form and evidence off. I have multiple issues mainly digestive and mental health based. My phonecall review seemed fine, it was an hour long, my husband was with me and contributed a bit, the woman I spoke to was friendly and and warm and I felt like I was able to get my points accross and that she understood them - that was until I got the report and she's given me 0 points.

From reading other posts I know this is devastatingly common, and whilst I haven't recieved my official letter yet, I want to be prepared to proceed with mandatory reconsideration as soon as I can. I've found the form on the gov website, but it says phoning is quicker - I just want to make sure that I can get accross all the points I need to and this might be easier done in writing rather than verbally.

There's so many things for example, I struggle with fecal incontinence basically everyday and use aids to help me, on top of that 1-2 times a week it's so bad that I need assistance to help me afterwards. I stated this repeatedly yet the report says in one place, 'no incontinence' and in others 'manages toileting needs on her own'.

Another descrepancy is that due to MH issues resulting in low motivation my husband has to all but force me to take a shower and get dressed on bad days, this was noted yet again I was given 0 points. Again 0 points for mobility despite a long paragraph outlining the overwhelming psychological distress of leaving the house for any reason due to incontinence issues, they said that I use grounding and breathing exercises to overcome panic attacks - I literally said I'd been taught these in CBT but they do not help me when I'm anxious! They said I don't have any aids - I have CPAP which my husband maintains and puts on me at night as I normally fall asleep without it... I could go on!

Sorry this is more of a rant than anything, I knew this would be a long and dehumanising experience and it hasn't let me down so far!

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Comments

chiarieds

Hi @Wishbuf - great you're now joining in with the community. I'm sorry the assessment report is certainly not what you hoped, & yes, they often are poor. I know this might be difficult, but, if considering a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), do put this report behind you, & concentrate instead on where you feel you should have got points, & why.

Yes, you might start the MR quicker if you ring, but gaining a couple of days rather than giving yourself a little time to do this properly in writing, as you've thought, just isn't worth it. So, yes, please put your MR in writing; a letter would be fine, so long as you remember to put your name & National Insurance number on each page.

A couple of things to note; PIP is about how you are the majority of days, altho you should describe all of them (avoiding words like 'good' & 'bad' if possible).

Your CPAP is used at night time, so won't be considered, as PIP is about how you are during the day.

Please keep on having a read around the forum, & come back when you get your decision letter for any needed advice.

These links may be useful to read in the meantime (the first is about doing a PIP claim form, but still relevant to look through for some pointers; with the 2nd, the concept of 'Reliability' is very important): https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

Jimm_Alumni

Hey @Wishbuf, welcome to the community. I'm also currently going through PIP and had my assessment the other week. I perhaps should have asked for my report but I've not yet done so. The government does say calling is faster but it's highly recommended that you send in a letter so you know exactly what has been written down. The person you speak to over the phone may not write down all the details you tell them. Citizen's Advice has an informational page here.

Your CPAP is used at night time, so won't be considered, as PIP is about how you are during the day.

Now, I'm not sure how much I know about PIP. I've been through it twice now (well, second time just now, don't know the result yet) but I also know you've read up about it far more than me as well as experienced it more than me.

However, when PIP says "days" I take that to mean both day and night, the entirety of the day. Some people work night shift for example, so their "day" is during the night.

Also, not properly putting on a CPAP machine can be very detrimental to your next day as you cannot get proper sleep and rest. Surely that would matter to an assessment/assessor?

chiarieds

I'd politely disagree with @Jimm_Scope - from the 2nd link above: ''2.1.8 A scoring descriptor can apply to claimants in an activity where their impairment(s) affects their ability to complete an activity, at some stage of the day, on more than 50 per cent of days in the 12 month period.''

In this context 'day' isn't meaning a 24 hour period, & unlike Disability Living Allowance doesn't take into account any needs a claimant has during the night time.

For a person working night shifts, if they're anything like my son's wife, she gets home about 8am, sleeps, gets up in the afternoon, then she'll dress, cook, eat, etc, shower, then leave for work just after 7pm. If she were claiming PIP, then the activities of daily living would still be completed/attempted during the daytime, just the same as someone who works during the day.

P.S. I sometimes wonder why we try to give any advice as you consistently recommend members check out Citizens Advice to speak to a benefits advisor, & we've seen some of the inaccuracies they've come out with, or like now, about a MR, where there's too much emphasis on the assessor's report, rather than just disagreeing with the actual decision letter.

Jimm_Alumni

I probably shouldn't be debating semantics in this thread to be honest. Let me make a new one, sorry Wishbuf