Pip assessment problems

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Glasgowbelle1954

I was due for a pip assessment to change from Dla. I was offered at a centre 20 miles away with car park being 15min walk for me which I cannot do. I phoned when I got letter and was told I needed a letter to why I needed a h a which my o t sent. I was phoning right up to 10 minutes before appointment to see if letter had arrived,to be told no it hadn't.

 I contacted my o t to ask if he could check if letter had been sent by administrators. he said yes,this was before my appointment. then I had a letter saying my pip had been cancelled due to non attendance and my car tax. I phoned them up to complain as letter had been sent they said they received it after my appointment,I also had gave them my o t s phone number previously to phone him which they didn't,this was not my fault ,they said I could do a reconsideration and have to wait until it was seen to and decided on a decision.what can I do I still have a car to pay for I was on dla for life.thanks linda

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi Linda,

I'm sorry to hear you have had such a difficult time with migration onto PIP, unfortunately you are not alone!

I would recommend two courses of action here, firstly, I would send a Mandatory Reconsideration letter as soon as you can. On this I would be very specific, giving dates of when you were notified of the appointment, all the dates you contacted them back (and how you contacted them) the date the OT sent their letter etc - you need to make them see they will not win at appeal, as this will maximise the chance they could change the decision there and then. Make sure the letter is clearly marked MANDATORY RECONSIDERATION REQUEST. Best case scenario this could be done in a couple of weeks.

Secondly, both as a back-up plan to the above, and also for best practice, I would recommend sending a written formal complaint as regards the handling of your assessment. I would send it to the DWP, asking them to re-instate your claim for reassessment, and also a copy to the body who were doing the assessment (ATOS etc). This needs basically the same information as the first letter but needs to be clearly marked COMPLAINT, as it will then get to the complaints handing team.

In the meantime, I would recommend taking whatever steps need to be taken in order for your car to be legal - either tax it, or off road it until the matter is resolved.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mary

Solicitor

The Benefits Training Company