have the PIP Assessment Recording guidelines changed?
Howdy all! o/ hopped in here as I have browsed these forums many times and got some very good information in the past and present :) While I was not registered and just lurking I appreciate the expertise and experience people have shared on here.
As the title says, I am trying to find out if the guidelines have changed or not. I have a headache and sore shoulders and a million and one tabs open in my search for an answer.
I have hopped about the internet like an interstellar ping pong ball and come up with … blank.. nada… nothing.. zero…
on many forums and websites it still seems to say that this should still exist and that we are allowed to record ourselves when having a pip assessment done, but on the gov website those paragraphs are omitted or have been removed.
my need, I have complained about my assessment and as expected Capita has blown me off like a heap of withered leaves with a high powered leaf-blower! therefore its my word against the HPs.
I have auditory processing issues, short term working memory challenges and a lot of executive functioning challenges therefore I recorded it covertly for my own personal use. The question remains.. am I going to get locked up and the key thrown away or hung drawn and quartered - or the guillotine if I proceed to inform them - of my covert recording?
if you got this far! go get yourself a cookie! <3
Comments
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Have a read if this:
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Hi @Usernametaken and welcome to the community! Just to add to the link that FredFlintstone has provided, here's some information from Citizens Advice
"It might be useful to make a recording of your assessment in case you need to challenge the decision.
If your assessment is face to face or over the phone, you and the assessor can both make an audio recording. You can’t make a video recording.
You’ll need to ask if it can be recorded - you should phone the assessor as soon as possible before your assessment.
You’ll need to agree you’ll only use the recording for certain things - the assessor will ask you to sign a form or verbally agree to this.
The assessor will send their recording to you after your assessment.
If the assessor refuses to record it or tells you not to record it, you can complain to your assessment provider."
I'll have my cookie now 😊
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Hi and thank you for your response, I have delayed processing and working memory issues to name but 2 of my problems. I also struggle with being able to engage with other people, therefore I don't always get the chance to say what I want to say during an assessment. I already had the assessment, so that bird has flown the coop, but, as I expected I did not get the opportunity to ask - I was completely overwhelmed from even before I answered the call. I was struggling with an internal meltdown (Audhd here) and therefore I did not get the opportunity to request a recording at the time, but I had wanted my own recording so that I could review and process it afterwards.
The assessment was - what can only be described as a bunch of well fed elephants on laxitives… So the recording I made was for my disabilities and only for myself.
Now, I made an official complaint to the Assessment company who have gotten back to me citing that there is no evidence therefore theres nothing we can do and its your word against theres and that I should have done x y and z like every other neurotypical person would. I can't be that neurotypical, nor should I have to be.
so I had known that it was okay to record covertly as long as the recording was not shared or distributed and was only for personal use. This is what seems to have changed and is missing from the government website.
So the only proof of that assessment is my personal recording.. and that is the only proof to back up what I have said.
dilemna: I can't escalate my complaint without the recording, which means they get away with it and can continue doing that to people without consequence… But I am done with the way they operate, their systemic failures which have left me in misery and without support for the best part of my life. I am DONE with the abelism and even in their response to my coplaint - it contained more abelism. I am not angry - I am determined and so farled off I do not want to let this drop…
I cannot afford a lawyer or the stress of that, so it seems I am stuck like an insect on glue paper!
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Hi Fred! (love the username! 😄) I have spend hours trawling through and seem to find conflicting evidence and I am not sure which is the most up to date one. I may just have to e-mail the government and ask…. pllllloophies
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It seems really unfair. I wonder if you could get some free advice from a lawyer about it? There might be a way you can use the recording. I admire your determination!
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I just had my PIP assessment done telephonically, for the first time I asked before hand for it to be recorded and it was very easy to arrange. Unlike in the past where ATOS accuracy was far from accurate, I feel much better knowing that there was a recording and they said I could stop at any time if I wanted to. Obviously I wanted to. Felt like the assessment went on for longer than an hour and by the end of it I was so tired and confused, it's reassuring to know that there will be a cd record available if I need it.
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That's really good to know @MyHappy256. Thanks for sharing. Hope you had a well deserved rest afterwards.
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you can have more than one cookie <3 🍪🍪
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I will continue looking into it, but may just email them directly to see what they say. Thank you, but I have a very high sense of justice and I am not just doing this for me, that sense of justice I carry outweighs many of my problems. I just feel that we need more humanity in the word human these days. it seems to be lacking..
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Thanks for all the cookies! I'll enjoy them with a nice cup of tea 😊
Yeah that's a great idea, just see what they say and go from there. I agree that when dealing with benefits things can seem very heartless and bureaucratic. We definitely need some more humanity in the world.
Will you let us know how you get on?
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hehe enjoy!
I have just sent an email to my MP for clarification so we will see what he says, the letter from the DWP was in 2023 so its possible it may still be applicable but "hidden". I have also mentioned my complaint and denial of benefits - based on -how- my disabilities affect me and that my first complaint was met with more ableism, so we will see what he says to that as well. :) I will let you know how I get on, although I am frustrated I had to simply call the PIP process a circus and not be able to use the words I would like to.. go me on the, restraint department there haha
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Very impressive restraint there! I'm keen to hear about what happens. Glad you're fighting our corner 😊
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