PIP declined MR letter sent.

AndrewTH

I was awarded 7 points for daily living and 0 points for mobility, I believe I should have scored 10 on both parts as I did so on the self test. I've sent off a MR form explaining how on my worst day (On the telephone assessment I explained my worse days happen 3 or more days a week) I will barely eat and will need prompting. Plus I found that because I cannot plan or follow an unfamiliar destination without assisstance (due to my anxiety of new places and new people) but scored zero and I beleve I should have scored 10 just based upon the former statement. What are your thoughts and what are my chances of success, as I really don't want to have to take it to an independent tribunal but I will if i need to to get what I believe I should be getting.

poppy123456

The PIP self test is the most unreliable thing you could use. It will not be accurate at all if you don't understand the PIP descriptors and what they mean, very few people do. It's very easy to over score and even underscore yourself on the self test.

Basing it on your worst days is not what you should do at all. You should tell them about all of your days. PIP is about how your conditions affect you for at least 50% of the days over a 12 month period, so the majority of the time is what applies.

Forget the self test and please have a read of this.

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

Jimm_Scope

Poppy is right about giving information about all your days. If you only describe your worst days and then say they are around 3 days a week, the DWP will assume the other 4 or so days you are unaffected completely. And you need at least 50% of your days over the 12 month period to be affected to get points in the descriptor.

I know this may not seem like common sense but this is how the DWP will often interpret such information. You need to say what your non-worst but still bad days are like, and what your good days are like. Because for many of us, even our good days can be affected by our conditions enough to satisfy some descriptors.

If they reject the MR then your best course of action is the tribunal. It is a long wait but tribunals have a much higher success rate and are generally seen as fairer. The decision is no longer in the hands of the DWP but HMCTS.

Let us know if you do have any other questions about all this. I'll also link you our advice page for appealing PIP decisions: Appealing a benefits decision | Disability charity Scope UK

I hope it helps!