Got my PA4 today not good, no points when i got 12 last time.
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Hi Kim, My wife actually called the DWP on Monday and spoke to a gentleman called James, he said a descion has not yet been made, so he can put a block on your report so you can send a letter with the concerns you wish to raise about the assessment and the assessor.
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I did read the whole thread before commenting, it's DWP Decision Makers who make the decisions, and not the call centre staff who you spoke to. Perhaps some kind of disconnect happened. It can take weeks for mail to show up in DWP's system so it's quite possible your letter wasn't seen by the DM.
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You're an absolute angel, thank you so much @Kimi87. The PA4 is a long way off for me then, lol.
I might make a thread later so I don't derail this one but do you know roughyl how long it should take for my form to arrive? Is it a case of 'how long is a piece of string'?😅
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Hi Kimi87
I thought I had sent a quote but I cant see it, anyway, My wife phoned up the DWP Monday 28/09/2026 at 09.23am and spoke to a a gentleman called James, he said a decision had not not been made so he can put a block on it to give us time to send in a letter of complaint against, we sent the latter Wednesday by recorded delivery, can they do that, make a decision even though he said one has not been made, and put a block on it, knowing we were running around like headless chickens gathering information, to just make a decision anyway, so he only gave us one day ie we phoned up Monday sorted out the letter Tuesday, we posted Wednesday, thats hardly fair is it.
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The Decision Maker could have been unaware of what you were told on the phone. Unfortunately, what the DWP (or more likely one of their outsourced call centres) say on the phone isn't always accurate.
You can make a complaint about the way this was handled.
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My wife and son have been on the phone with DWP for quite awhile , between them they must have spoken to 4/5 different people, I cant go in to everything as it would take to long, but I was assessed on the 10/09/2026, the assessor typed up her report on the 18/09/2026, we gave it a week or so before we phoned up and asked for the PA4 form, it wasn't ready, so we gave it another couple of days, phoned up on the 23/09/2026, spoke to Kevin who said yes its here, I will send it out, It arrived next day 24/09/2026, we went through it and was not happy with what was wrote, never mind the descriptors, so wife phoned up on 28/09/2026, spoke to James who said the decision had not been made yet I will put a block on it, so send a letter in explaining what you are not happy with, sent letter 30/09/2026, Letter arrived at DWP today 02/10/2026 received text today saying decision has been made, so basically they had already made the decision 23/09/2026, James told a mistruth, so while we are running around sorting out this letter which cost £10.00 to send the decision had already been made without anyone reading the letter.
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Just to let you know how fast pip can move when they want.
- 10 September: telephone PIP assessment.
- 18 September: assessor completes the PA4.
- 21 September: DWP texts you confirming they have received the assessment report.
- 23 September: according to what DWP have now told my wife and son, the decision was made — just two days after DWP told you they'd received the assessment report. You also phoned that day and Kevin arranged to send you the PA4.
- 24 September: PA4 arrives. Only then do you get the opportunity to see what the assessor has written and discover the discrepancies.
- 28 September, 9:23am: My wife speaks to James at pip He tells her he can see that no decision has been made and says he'll put a block on it so you can submit your concerns.
- 30 September: having relied upon that information, I post the detailed eight-page letter, paying around £10.
- 30 September: according to what DWP subsequently told my wife and son, the decision that had been made on 23 September was signed off/finalised on 30 September.
- 2 October, 6:06am: DWP receives/signs for the eight-page letter.
- 2 October, 8:13am: you receive the text saying the review is complete.
- 2 October: after further enquiries, DWP tells my wife and son that the decision was made on 23 September and signed off on 30 September. Stephanie form pip also reportedly listened back to James's recorded 28 September call and confirmed that he had said no decision had been made. She explained that James's computer/system had not been up to date, so he could not see that a decision had already been made.
- But here is what is going round in my head, if James put a block/hold on the decision on the 28/09/2026, not knowing the Decision had been made on the 23/09/2026, which is down to their internal system, how was it signed off on the 30/09/2026, with a block/hold placed on it two days before. Now if a case manger has the power to override the block, that would explain it, but why would she override the block/hold knowing there is more information to come in the shape of a letter.
Sorry for waffling away on here but it does help with my mental health.
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Just a little bit of an update, I have been in touch with my local MP, and here is part of his reply,
Thank you for sharing your concerns.
I can understand how difficult this situation must be for you.
Please be assured, I am able to liaise with the relevant authorities to investigate this situation. However, before my casework team and I take any action, we will require your home address, postcode and phone number.
If this is not allowed to be mentioned , please feel free to remove.
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Thank you for the update @Scott63, that reply sounds positive!
I'm glad that being able to vent on the community is helping your mental health😊 Sometimes just being able to write things down and get them out can do wonders!0 -
Hi Mary,
Well as expected I received my letter last Friday regarding pip, and as I thought going off the PA4, no points awarded in anything, Its laughable, ignoring everything else, I should have scored points for using incomitance wipes, classed as an aid with IBS and diverticulitis, hand grabs on the bath, non slip grip tape on the bottom of the bath, a dosette box (pill box) I also need the use of a magnifying glass even with my reading glasses on, Im not sure about the magnifying glass though.
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I'm so sorry you were awarded no points @Scott63. Using aids doesn't necessarily mean you will score points. It's based on how your condition affects you day to day. Are you going to ask for a mandatory reconsideration?
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Hi Rachel
Yes I have asked for a mandatory reconsideration, I am just in the process of gathering more information.
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