Today's PIP tribunal was a bust and has made me feel awful

repulsive_jump_8609

So i've just gotten off of what was supposed to be my PIP tribunal video conference, but we couldn't go ahead with it because they said that they had none of the over 30 pages worth of medical evidence that i sent in. I didn't realise that i should've received the evidence in my pack as well until they told me.

I 1000% uploaded all of that evidence online when i first applied, and then was told they didn't receive anything and thought 'oh that's why they've awarded me 0 points', so i did a mandatory reconsideration and sent the evidence AGAIN through the post. Again, receiving 0 points.

Now i have to resubmit it all AGAIN, and wait god knows how many weeks for yet another tribunal which is super unhelpful for my anxiety.

Also, the judge was very condescending, saying "you've claimed a high level of disability here with nothing to back it up. You've said you have trouble with conversation, but we've just had a conversation here" and i'm like yes dipshit, that's because i had to have a nap RIGHT before this call after having had to leave my 1 day per week work shift early, because i felt like rubbish and wasn't able to cope for the rest of the work day.

I really am losing all hope here with this entire system, truly.

I'm going to send the next lot of evidence tracked this time so they have no excuses a third time around and at this point, after having heard from others on reddit whose evidence "wasn't received", i'm convinced that they're lying because they cannot be not receiving THAT many pieces of mail AND electronic submissions.

From them not having ANY of my evidence to use, to the judge quite literally judging me (which I am going to ask for a copy of the recording of, because the way he put me on the spot like that and was so condescending about my conditions and kind of insinuated I was lying about how bad I can get, was not on) before the actual tribunal had even BEGUN, I feel I am going to need all of the help I can get the next time around, and I’m hoping for a nicer judge too, as this guy didn’t seem to have any empathy or understanding for how mental health conditions can fluctuate. It made me feel really small and like my problems didn’t matter just because I’m able to work for 5.5 hours per week. 

Also, I’ve just read the following online: PIP is not means tested so your job role has no bearing on it at all. People get approved whilst having full time jobs.
If that is the case, then it’s actually super inappropriate that he said to me that because I can teach and hold a conversation with him (as if I have a choice in that part?) that I’m unlikely to be approved. Which is absolutely absurd. Once I have a copy of the call, I am going to send it to you because I really do think that some of the things he said were unethical and unfair.

poppy123456

The hearing can't continue without you having everything in the bundle, which you should have checked when you received it. When you requested the hearing and DWP responded they should have included everything in the bundle, this would have included the PIP1 and 2 form, assessment report, MR letter request and any additional evidence you sent to support your claim.

When you send the evidence this time you'll need to make sure you send it to HMCTS and not to DWP.

Your next hearing will have a completely different panel, it can't be the same again.

People do work and claim PIP but if the work you do contradicts the reasons why you're claiming PIP then yes it could go against you.

The Tribunal are also completely impartial to DWP and the assessment providers.

Please also note that you should only request the Statement of Reasons and Record Of Proceedings if you're unhappy with the decision they make. As no decision was made today I'm not 100% certain if you could request either of those.

repulsive_jump_8609

I did check the bundle, but didn't realise that the bundle was supposed to include my evidence.

I mostly want to request the transcript to show the woman from the law centre who's been helping with my case, so that she can advise whether I should complain about the judge or not because he really did make me feel awful and the tribunal hadn't even begun yet.

I don't believe the work i do does contradict it, as it requires me seeing and interacting with the same small number of people each week, no physical movement on the job, and utilises my biggest talent so is really easy for me and doesn't require a lot of effort. But even still, i always find myself straight back in bed after work each week because my conditions make any task twice as taxing for me as it should be both mentally and physically. Also, for most of the points i am appealing against, i haven't said that i outright CAN'T do things, as the judge put it to me, i said i need a lot of help, support and prompting to do things. He was just so flippant about it all when he hadn't even heard my case. I was doing the tribunal literally from my bed for christ's sake, if that doesn't tell him that's where i spend most my time then idk what does

poppy123456

I'm going to be total honest here and say that I would be more concerned about the person from the law centre that you said are helping you with your case. If they didn't see the evidence you sent in your bundle they should have queried that with you.

If I was supporting someone with a Tribunal case I'd be looking through that bundle with a very fine tooth comb.