Dreaded PIP first review (Northern Ireland)

PaulO1234

Hi All, I had posted before asking when to expect my review form and right on cue before Xmas I got the dreaded text today. Expecting letter with return date any day now.

Can any other forum users based in NI comment on how long their review took from submission to decision? And was the assessment over the phone or face-to-face?

Many thanks,
Paul

PaulO1234

Further - award end date is August 2024

poppy123456

It will take up to 2 weeks to receive the form. For my review I believe it was about 10 days after that text that I received the form. With Christmas post it may take a little longer. 

In England and Wales there’s extremely long delays with review decisions but not sure what it’s like in N. Ireland because we don’t often have many threads with members from over there. 

The most important thing is to remember to treat it as a new claim. Even if there’s been no changes. Please do not just put no change and nothing else. 

Also include a couple of real world examples of exactly what happened the last time you attempted each descriptor that applies to you. Adding detailed information such as where you were, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were. 

You can also ring PIP to ask for extended time to return the form and they usually give and extra couple of weeks. 

PaulO1234

Hi Poppy, thanks for the reply and the great information as always. You’re a great help to me and all other users.

I’ll just have to wait and see when it arrives but it is really something I didn’t want to have to deal with over Christmas. Great timing!

Perhaps you can answer this, but it may be different in NI - someone else has told me that I won’t have to obtain and provide my own supporting GP evidence as DWP (DfC over here) contact the GP for supporting evidence themselves? Does this sound correct? It would be one less thing to have to sort over the Xmas holidays, and I dare to think how awkward this would be to actually request as my surgery is not the easiest worked with anyway.

poppy123456

You're welcome. Based on other threads here in the past DFC are the same as DWP and they very rarely contact anyone for any evidence.