PIP Home Assessment

chasnbons

Hi, sorry I haven't updated this for a while, but 'real life' got in the way.  Anyway I'm still waiting to hear from ESA as to when my HA will be, apparently there are no HCP's available in our area to do the assessment, so it continues to be a waiting game, which although it adds to my stress levels, it is nothing I can change.  

Steve had to ring about the Severe Disability Premium as I had heard nothing from them, only to be told that 'it hadn't been looked at yet', but the person on the phone said they couldn't understand why and that they would push it through as urgent!  I thought 'yeah whatever' and resigned myself to yet another waiting game.  

This turned out not to be the case...... two days later. yes you read that right, TWO DAYS!!!!! a letter arrived to say that I'd been granted the payment from the date I was granted PIP and that I was entitled to an extra £61.85 a week because I am severely disabled, PLUS an extra £15.75 a week because of the Disability Income Guarantee (I knew absolutely nothing about this bit and had never even heard of it)  Stunned isn't the word, and I'm not complaining, but I do find it weird that by changing over from DLA to PIP suddenly a whole new world of entitlements has opened up, as when I was on DLA I was only getting about £71 a MONTH in total.

My point in posting this is not to brag, but to try and let people know that it IS worth sticking with the process and not ALL claims turn out badly.  I'm fully aware that if it hadn't been for Steve and his tenacity, that I wouldn't have had any success as I'm simply unable to do these things myself, and I will be eternally grateful to him.

This just leaves the ESA to get sorted (you'd think that with all the latest evidence about my disabilities and decisions which have already been made by DWP, it would be very simple) but I'm under no illusions here, Capita or some other nasty vindictive, uncaring company have to be involved and will no doubt go against every earlier report and diagnosis (just because they can) and upset the apple cart, not to worry though as although it will likely be an horrendous experience, at least Steve and me now only have one thing on which to focus the fight on.

I will update again as and when I hear something from them.

Thanks for reading and for all the support I've had from this site over the last months, and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy (as possible) New Year.

Debbie_Alumni

Great news about the Severe Disability Premium @chasnbons! Sorry I've not been around much lately. We've been pretty overwhelmed at the helpline so I haven't had many opportunities to get on here.

I'm starting to have withdrawals though and I miss speaking with everyone. Things have quietened down a little bit in the run up to Christmas but this changes minute by minute at the moment. I will always try and check in when I have some spare time and i'm always available at the helpline if i'm not on the community just email helpline@scope.org.uk

Best wishes
Debbie

Sam_Alumni

It's always lovely to see you here @DebbieVoakes

Debbie_Alumni

Thanks @Sam_Scope, lovely to be here! I sure have missed you all x x

chasnbons

Thanks @DebbieVoakes hope you have a great Christmas and New Year hun, you deserve it for all the good work you do xx

Debbie_Alumni

Awww thanks @chasnbons that's lovely! I hope you have a lovely Christmas too and I'm sure we're all hoping for a much better New Year. 2016 has been a shocker! Better times to come hopefully! x x

chasnbons

Just a quick update, to say there is nothing to update.  Still waiting for my Assessment date for ESA home visit

chasnbons

The update I REALLY wasn't expecting to be doing....

Ok so we received a letter on Friday from Capita regarding our complaint, 3 months late but at least they have replied.

It has four points of reference on it which were complained about and I will list each one in order with their answer (boiled down to basics)

1- Delay in responding to complaint

Three months delay is below their standard, caused by the backlog of complaints so they have brought in extra staff to ensure no further delays.

2 - Our request for copies of all telephone calls to Capita

Capita say that this is down to DWP as it's DWP who have the copies and they should be in contact soon...... we had them weeks ago and Capita were informed about it, proving they still don't know their ass from their elbow!

3 - The way in which we were addressed in Capitas response letter

They agree that the way we were addressed was unacceptable and they are committed to improving, so they have spoken to the person who drafted the letter and 'provided appropriate feedback' (Obviously not sacked the person for being so rude) and they are sorry for any upset caused.

4 - The arrangements for my home assessment

This part is THREE A4 PAGES LONG! with lots of the usual blah, blah, blah stuff, but is also sprinkled with admittance of guilt.  This mainly being that it should have been done better and misinformation had been given by some members of staff.  One phone call in particular is highlighted  and they admit that THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!  

Apparently they have a 'quality champion' within their CS team who has 'provided a full account of the call to the CSM and feedback has been given to the agent (someone else obviously not sacked for ineptitude!) 

Three out of the four parts guilt has been admitted leaving only a subsection of part 4 where they deny that someone said that home assessments were reserved for terminally ill or severely disabled people.  They have stated that they have listened to the phone call (strange how they have a record of it but said we had to get copies from DWP).  The problem is, they have listened to the wrong conversation (our fault as we put the wrong date in the complaint letter)  Anyway they have now been informed of the correct date and even given the times the agent stated the fact (he said it TWICE) so once they have listened to it we should have a full house!

So there you have it, guilt admitted but basically nothing done about it.  That is until we read the last paragraph of the letter, which we actually didn't believe what we were reading, here is it in full.....

We aim to deliver a quality service for all claimants going through PIP assessments and are committed to making improvements.  To reflect the poor customer service you have received, I would like to offer you a gesture of goodwill of £100.00.  Should you wish to accept this gesture, please contact the Customer Relations team with your bank account details and we will process the payment.

Although the money is nice, I get more satisfaction from the fact that they have admitted their wrong doings and if it means one less person is treated they way we were, that's worth far more to me than the cash, which I will be giving to my Landlord, because if it wasn't for him I probably wouldn't be writing this post now. 

I hope this update gives others the courage to continue to fight against the hideous things they (the Government) try and force upon us.

PS

Still not heard anything yet from ESA

Debbie_Alumni

Morning @chasnbons,

I'm really pleased to see that you've finally had a response to your complaint. Well done for pursuing this all the way! I really hope that others who have had bad experiences like yours take up complaints. We can't change anything if we stay quiet and accept things the way they are. I really admire your courage for seeing this through and I hope that other people draw from your experience. You're right about the money, the apology means more and if your complaint helps them to improve their practise and make the PIP journey a better experience this is worth more.

Thanks for keeping us updated with the progress along the way

It doesn't come as a surprise that you're still waiting to hear about the ESA. I hope that this is also resolved soon.

2017 is going in the right direction so far, let's hope it stays that way.

Very best wishes
Debbie 

chasnbons

Thanks @DebbieVoakes onwards and upwards as they say, you yourself have played a big part in all this as well, by trying to keep me upbeat and motivated about it all, so a BIG thank you for that hun x

chasnbons

Hi all, just a quick update, another letter arrived from Capita, saying that they have reviewed the correct phone call, regarding the 'HA's only for terminally ill people' fiasco, and they have now agreed that it is what we told and that it shouldn't have happened.

The relevant CSM has been given the information and 'appropriate action' will be taken with the individual involved'

Something in the letter might not be too widely known so I will quote it all for future reference in case anyone should need it...

In a very small number of assessments, we do not have home visit appointments available when requested by claimants.  In this situation, in order to avoid booking an unsuitable appointment and potentially triggering the failure to attend (FTA) process, WE ASK CLAIMANTS TO CALL US UNTIL AN APPOINTMENT THAT SUITS THEM BECOMES AVAILABLE. While we recognise that this may be inconvenient for some claimants, we have this process in place so that we can see claimants without further delay.

So the thing is why wasn't this process offered to US and if it is true that they do this, then why haven't I heard anything from ESA since they told me there wasn't any HA's available?  The keep ringing option wasn't offered in this case either!  Needless to say, I am still waiting

chasnbons

Morning all.

I've not been here for a while but I thought I ought to update on my ESA fiasco.

I FINALLY got a HA date 06.09.17 between 10.30 and 12.30.  We (Steve and me) waited for the Doctor (yes an ACTUAL Doctor) to arrive.  By 12.45 he hadn't arrived so Steve rang Maximus and was told he was running late and should be with us in about 15 mins.  30 mins later he still hadn't arrived so Steve rang back and was told they couldn't contact the Doctor and they were worried about him but that he SHOULD turn up eventually!!!.  45 minutes later still no Doctor so Steve rang back again and was told that IF the Doctor turned up that we were to turn him away as it was now outside their accepted time scale for being late and that they would send me another appointment out as soon as one was available on out area!  I was out of my mind by this time and it took me 5 days to start to get over it... just enough time for them to send me another appointment letter and start the stress up all over again.

Steve had booked time off work to be there with me which had been a total waste of time so he put in a complaint and it turned out that someone had cancelled their appointment but the Doctor had cancelled  mine instead of theirs!

The new appointment was for 09.10.17 at 9am (now 2 hour window for this one, but an actual time) but this time the guy coming was a physio so I was even more wound up as I don't see how a physio can be qualified to assess mental health.

Anyway the day dawned and I was close to a nervous breakdown.  Steve sat in the living room watching for him arriving so he had the exact time (he notes EVERYTHING down in case it's needed later).

8.55 the car pulls up and he comes through the gate onto Steve's property at 9am prompt.

9.14am he went back through the gate!  No I haven't mis typed that 9.14!

Things went as follows...

He came in (Steve had warned him when he answered the door how wound up I was) he asked if it was OK for Steve to answer the questions for me, which I nodded in acceptance, and Steve questioned him about whether or not he was qualified to assess mental health (the answer was only that he was qualified to do assessments, which means he's had Maximus's minimal training.  Then spent 7 minutes confirming who I was and looking at my meds etc, Steve gave him loads of further evidence which he didn't read then told me that he could see what a state I was in and that if I preferred I could go to my room, which I didn't as I couldn't get off the chair as though I was paralyzed with fear.

He continued asking Steve questions for a couple more minutes and then stated that he had enough information and the assessment was over and left and I hadn't said a word to him!

Stunned and exhausted I collapsed onto the floor literally sobbing.

Three weeks later the dreaded brown envelope arrived.  When I'd plucked up enough courage to open it, it wasn't the decision letter but a letter from Jobcentreplus saying that due to a recent change, they had looked into my claim again and that my money had been increased and I'd been moved from the WRAG to the support group!

The next day I got a letter from HB saying that due to a change in my benefits they had reassessed my HB and they had increased it by a whole £0 (what a waste of paper!)

These 2 letters led me to believe that I had been granted ESA but I hadn't had the ACTUAL decision letter (I still haven't) so I asked Steve to ring and find out when I should get the letter.  They told him that it should have been posted on 31.10.17 and that it should arrive soon.  He asked them to confirm that ESA had been granted and they did saying 31.10.19 is the date they may need to look into it again.  He asked for a copy of the Assessors report and they said they would post it out and that I had been awarded the magical 15 points (strange how it never seems to be more than 15)

Anyway that was a week ago and as yet nothing more has arrived.  My benefit went into my bank last Saturday and it was the higher amount, so that's another plus point, but why does it take so long for them to send the decision letter out when they have obviously made their decision, everyone and their Mother's clearly have been informed of this, apart from the most important person, namely me!

So that's it, hopefully all sorted (apart from the letter) for 2 years and I might be able to calm down a bit now.

To anyone currently going through this keep your chin up and try not to let them grind you down (too much).

One final thing because Steve had lost work time for the assessment that never was, he was sent £100 as compensation, yes that's TWICE they have done this so if you have a complaint make sure you register is in the loudest possible voice, as they WILL listen if you shout loud enough, although threatening them with your local MP helps as well

Take care all, and good luck.

Best wishes from Christmas and the New Year (can't quite believe I just said that lol)

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @chasnbons, thank you for sharing your home assessment experience with us: it sounds like you've had a rubbish time of it trying to get things sorted, but I'm glad that things have been somewhat resolved. I hope your decision letter arrives soon and you can have some more peace of mind!

Many thanks again for sharing, I'm sure there will be many people who read your story and find it helpful/applicable to their own situations. Hope today is as kind as possible to you! 

Debbie_Alumni

Hi @chasnbons,

It's really lovely to hear from you again and with such an in-depth account of how things went with your WCA at home and the subsequent ESA award. 

It's no wonder you were feeling the way you were in the run up to the assessment, during and afterwards. You had such a bad time with your PIP and going through another assessment so soon was bound to cause the greatest of distress.

I'm so pleased that the right decision has been made and you'e been moved to the support group. I hope this gives you time and space to recover and rebuild.

Those decision letters do have a habit of coming out late. I often hear from people who find out that they've been awarded a benefit from sources other than the actual decision letter. It's hard to believe until you've seen the decision letter!

Thank you for coming back and sharing with us. It's really good to see that Steve was compensated too, rightly so. It's also really reassuring for others reading this that sometimes the right decisions are made first time around. 

I'm sorry that your overall experience with the benefits system has been so tough. I wish I could say that the worst is over, but Universal Credit is coming, and this has problems of its own. 

For now though relax, recover and have a lovely Christmas (can't believe I'm saying that either). Here's hoping for a great new year! 

Very best wishes
Debbie

chasnbons

Hi @Debbie_Scope Thanks very much for your lovely reply hun, if it hadn't been for your support and kind words in the early days of this fiasco I seriously wonder whether I would be writing this today!

I just hope that it shows that if you battle on and don't give in, the right thing might just happen in the end.

If by reading my posts it helps just one other person, then it will have been worth it.

Stay safe and keep well and most of all.... thanks for being there when you were needed.

Lots of love and best wishes x

Nairb

I have a hone visit next week I didn't ask for one but I sent in a card with all my home visits on from the stroke team the stroke team are coming again to see me tomorrow I am going to ask one of them if they will come to see me next week when I have my pip home assessment so they can be here at the same time has the asseser