Help with MR notice please!

paul5674

hi, posted recently regarding my PIP claim for my disability and had some really helpful feedback.  My condition is known as gigantism of the foot for which I have had lots of operations for. 

Got my decision back today stating they have declined to award the PIP as I scored 4 points.
i am going to ask them to do a mandatory reconsideration but am after some guidance please to ensure I don’t lose the 4 points I already gained!
I had help from CA completing the form and it wasn’t until next day I thought of things I should have included, such as I said I’m fine washing and bathing but my balance is affected when I am in the shower and there are times I need to hold on or else I would slip which then makes me nervous for future showers.  

They also said there was no evidence of low mood or lack of motivation even though there was a note made on the application where it was said my wife and family see how much my condition gets me down frequently.   They state I only take over counter pain relief which is correct however after each operation I have I have to have stronger pain relief…  I have not been to drs to request stronger pain relief as I do not want to have to take them every day for rest of my life and feel unable to cope without them… they also said that I didn’t mention my balance or breathing… I think because I have just gotten used to my balance being affected that was why I didn’t say anything… I also have asthma which does get affected by my walking which I did not mention.
my question is, can I mention these things now please? Or is it too late to state them… and am I at risk of losing anything already given points for? Any help greatly appreciated thank you

chiarieds

Hi - yes, it's absolutely fine to give more detail about the problems you already have. With a Mandatory Reconsideration another decision maker will look at everything again. If you can't do an activity 'reliably' you should say so. This is doing it safely, repeat as often as would normally be expected & if it takes you much longer than someone without your conditions. You can see a section about 'reliability' in this link, but the whole thing is worth reading carefully: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

You should put your Mandatory Reconsideration in writing (put your name & National Insurance number on each page) & say exactly where you feel you should have got points & why. Also try & give a couple of detailed examples as to the difficulty you face for each applicable descriptor, i.e. when did it happen, why, did anyone see this, what happened, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing this such as increased pain, fatigue or breathlessness?

It would be rare to lose any points, but currently they're insufficient for an award, so there's nothing to lose. Good luck.