PIP appeal being challenged

Sarah2909

My husband had ADHD and ASD which affects ours lives dramatically. He has recently gambled every penny we own as well as being an ex heroin user and is maintained now on buprenorphine. His first assessment was very poor by a physiotherapist who didn't understand neuro diversity at all and he scored no points. She bullied him on all questions and he lied about the severity of things. We asked for a mandatory review and got one and were given the same outcome. We applied for an appeal, and today a letter has come from DWP who have been asked by the court why the original decision was made, and they have upheld it, disputing everything that I have challenged asking the court to reject our appeal, implying that David manages his life without any issue. It is an absolute joke. I am a nurse and can't believe the lack of care and it all comes down to the first really bad assessment. David lost 3 jobs last year, is a compulsive gambler and not actively in recovery for drug abuse. I am at a loss as to what more they want. I am waiting for the court to ring me back. Any advice of anyone would be greatly appreciated. 

poppy123456

Has he only recently requested the Tribunal? If so then it's standard procedure for DWP to oppose the appeal and for them to request it be rejected. The reason for this is because they do not think he's entitled to it. If they thought he was then you wouldn't be taking to Tribunal in the first place.

The appeal will not lapse, it will continue as normal and he will eventually have a date for the hearing but this could take 10+ months. 

Has he requested either a telephone/video or in person hearings? either of those will give him a 68% chance of success. Paper based hearings have a much less success rate at only about 5-8%.

Sarah2909

Thank you for your reply. He is going in person. The letter implies that there will be no appeal but now I have read it after your comment, it makes sense. Thank you

Albus_Scope

Hi @Sarah2909, I'm glad to hear the confusion has been resolved and your husband is going ahead with the tribunal.  They're honestly a world apart from an assessment and much easier on the nerves once you're in there. Would you be able to keep us updated? 
We're always here for support.  

Sarah2909

Thank you so much. I have done hundreds of assessments over the years, as a social worker and a nurse and I'm horrified at this process. No wonder people give up. I have to say mind, when I spoke to the court, the lady was lovely and very helpful. We are going to get some more evidence to support the appeal as one of the things the DWP said was that David hadn't been at the GP for a year and a half. That's because he has 3 specialist services involved with him!! 

poppy123456

Try not to focus too much on the strength of their evidence. Focus on the weakness in your evidence.

When you read something like “hasn’t seen a GP for years” that’s another of their classic copy and paste reasons for not award points in descriptors. 

If you haven’t already then include a couple of real world examples of exactly what happened the last time he attempted each descriptor that applies to him. Include detailed information such as where he was, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were. This can be done for the submission if it hasn’t already been done.

Letters from a GP aren’t the best evidence to send because a GP will very rarely know exactly how your conditions affect you. This is because they don’t spend anytime with you to know how you managed the PIP descriptors. 

For evidence, less is often more. Sending multiple pieces of evidence all saying the same thing, isn’t helpful. 

Do also be aware that they will only take into consideration what his conditions were like at the time of the original assessment. They will not take into consideration any worsening of condition.