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Assessors reports for PIP claims
Marcia54
Member Posts: 8 Connected
Recieved a copy of the assessors report today, i was absolutely shocked at the discrepencies in the report. Anyone else found the same in their reports?
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Replies
It's terrible, but it is extremely common. Assuming you are not happy with the decision, the thing to concentrate on is what points you should have got and why. As Mike says, don't focus too much on the errors in the report - what's more important is to talk about the evidence you have (including lived experience) which shows that points should have been awarded.
You can take the PIP self test here, which helps you to see what points you should have got.
You can complain about the report separately (to ATOS or Capita), and it can be worth contacting your MP too. But the main thing is usually to challenge the actual PIP decision and get the right result. Start with the MR, explain what you should have got, and explain what evidence supports that results. If you do need to go to an appeal, you can also talk about why the assessor's report isn't good evidence, but there is very little point complaining about the report at MR or appeal - tribunals know that they are generally of very poor quality.
Good luck with getting the right decision on your PIP award.
Will
Tribunals are only interested in what you can and can't do. My tribunal gave me a grilling but in the end they allowed my appeal.
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If they were reports that were factual then that is a different thing.
Everybody can have an opinion, a statement of fact is something totally different.
I doubt very much that either the DWP or assessors would be prepared to stick their neck on the line to issue such a report.
If you asked a financial advisor for written advice on your financial circumstances would you prefer his opinion (what he thinks might happen or what could be the best for you) or would you want a factual report (setting out the likely consequences and advising what action you should be taking)?
You would be hard pushed to be able to get redress in the form of compensation for an opinion but you certainly could if it was a statement of fact.
I’ve come across many assessments which were delusional but the problem is the inability to correctly weigh evidence at the DWP end and not the reports in isolation. Returning it to DWP makes no difference to that as illustrated by the past 26 years of DLA and AA.
shocking
There should be anger at the assessment process and at the privatisation of elements but this petition, in common with many similar ones, offers a solution which is utterly bizarre.
@LynneR I'm sorry you've come here and seen and subjected to this carry on, this is not normally like this here and everyone is very helpful as a rule.
I think because the sun has gone in everyone has got a little moody.
Just ask in a thread what sort of help you require and some one nice will help you. God bless.
I created one of the campaign election videos for Labour, and Jeremy Corbyn,
This is a new version of Emeli Sande, Hope "You Are Not Alone
You can see the video here.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P5o8hRHh9IY
To avoid reading the posts of any people that you don't care to read, go to their profiles and select the 'ignore' option in the drop-down menu. You will then no longer be able to read the posts of those people. So, no need to avoid some threads, let alone leave the forum.
Sorry to hear of your difficulties. Try to stay focused. There is help available.
As the PIP claim was made pre-age 65, if he loses PIP and then wins an appeal your husband will keep his PIP and associated benefits.
Try to get some f2f advice from CAB, or similar, or welfare rights. Age UK has a helpline.
Disability Rights UK site has a good guide to all stages of PIP including appeals.
Without the disability payments and just the basic pension it's going to be difficult.
You can request your medical records from your GP surgery. This is a legal right and i think it's free. Scope Helpline could give you more info about this.
At this stage focus on the specific points you think you score and then think of 2 or 3 recent examples per activity around what happens when you last tried or need to do that specific points scoring activity. Detail the when, where, how, witnesses, treatment etc. That’s far better evidence than some generalised letter from a medical professional.
I doubt the judge will have taken against you personally. More they will have been frustrated that you perhaps didn’t understand the specific roles. As a representative you do not get to speak for the appellant. You get to present the legal case and no more. You can also be a witness and give evidence if it’s something you have first hand experience of but that gets messy if it’s evidence your husband could have given many judges will deny you the opportunity, sometimes wrongly, because it’s not clear which hat you have on when you speak.
Be nice to each other for god sake!
“... most that have acessmants find that the person doing it has lied that cannot be disputed”.
In response to that I said
”It is incorrect to say “most”. The Work and Pensions committee took evidence on the point and had the largest number of responses in their existence. Even they said “For the majority of claimants the assessments work adequately”. Please don’t confuse posts on a forum with fact.”
You have since posted a link to the very document I quoted from and contributed to and yet you persist in insisting it proves your point. It does not. It says, as per the above, “For the majority the assessments work adequately.” It’s wholly unclear to me why you would persist in arguing it says something it patently doesn’t.
Am I saying all is well? No. Indeed I provided numerous examples of exactly what’s wrong with the process in my submission. What I am saying is that, in this context, to suggest that “most” assessors lie is not only wrong but demonstrably so using the very document you cite.
@Matilda offers good advice in respect of the ignore button although it hasn’t served her well when she’s posted on threads where others have already posted advice which wholly contradicts hers. So using the ignore button has unforeseen consequences too.
@susan48 I see no reason to close the thread unless it veers off topic again. Nobody, bar one person, has attacked personalities or individuals. This is a disagreement on a factual matter. Provided it’s not abusive and doesn’t breach forum rules I see no difficulty with people disagreeing. That’s the nature of discussion. It would be very boring if we all agreed all of the time. How we disagree is what matters.
Where I do take issue is with @GoForIt and that is for two reasons.
1) They hijacked a thread to post a petition. The petition was absolutely on topic. Their reaction to more than one person commenting on the nature of the petition and their advocacy of it was, shall we say, unhelpful.
2) Went out of their way to locate my wall and post personal comments on it. I have deleted but not reported these. I will report them next time. On a forum where any number of people could be on the spectrum I wonder how many people would feel it appropriate to target an online personality for criticism and comment? By all means disagree with a post or an issue but attacking the person/personality can never be acceptable.
I have no knowledge of this person nor them me so I cannot comment on their personality and nor would I wish to. Their actions however speak for themselves.
If your happy to continue to do so then that’s your choice but there are others on this forum that don’t want or need to read this negative stuff.
And before you say, I know I don’t have to read it or I can use the ignore button but remember there are new members joining this forum all the time and what message does negative post say.
Could you explain what is negative about offering a different view; explaining about a factual inaccuracy or calling out abuse? Why have a forum if alternative perspectives are shut down or factual inaccuracies are allowed to proliferate? Why should the opinion which dominates be the one that accuses @yadnad of "living in a bubble" for example or demanding of me "Do you think all claimants are idiots!"
If you would like the thread closed down you need to find an offensive post and report it. You don't get explicitly asked what outcome you would like but there's enough space for you to make it clear.
I realise it's a big ask but if you re-read the thread from the top then it becomes apparent that one poster has made several aggressive and unnecessary comments to at least two of us. As the poster will still be on the forum closing the thread will not actually solve that approach. It will appear on other threads as the petition has.
It would be unfortunate if that poster were to be banned or leave because in an earlier post they describe their PIP experience and, whilst far from unique, it has clearly had real and serious consequences for them. There is much they could gain from this forum far beyond just the fact there are other people like them.
However, the fact that people such as myself disagree with the petition they have posted is no reason for the kind of comments described above.
It is absolutely true that a significant proportion of HCP reports contain inaccuracies. Some of them are indeed appalling and the consequences are serious and potentially harmful. It is pointless calling them "lies" as that cannot be proven without an actual transcript. It is not true to say that "most" reports "indisputably" contain lies. Indeed the Work and Pensions committee explicitly say to the contrary and yet the petition itself offers a solution of reverting to a DLA process which was just as bad in most ways partly because of the content of reports but mostly because of the DWP approach to evidence.
I have neither said nor implied you are thick. Nor would I. Being wrong does not make anyone thick. Nor does it make them always wrong. It makes them wrong on this occasion. No more no less.
I’m quite chilled but thank you for your concern.
I think you've missed the point about my use of the 'ignore' button. I have no objection to others posting points of view that differ from my own, either before or after my own posts. The number of people I have ignored is very tiny indeed and is confined to those who appear to think that their opinions are the only ones that count, to put it no stronger. I simply have no interest in reading their posts.
It is only a very small percentage of claimants who find that things go wrong.
Your suggestion that 'most' claimants have problems is therefore exaggerated and wrong
If ignorance, whatever that might mean, to others is an issue then they are free to raise it but, given that no-one else has mentioned such a thing, I’m not sure why you feel the need to raise an imaginary thing on behalf of others who haven’t raised it.
As for the post re: ASOS it was a light-hearted joke and not a dig. Thus the emoji. I’m more than happy to publicly apologise if a rare bit of humour from me didn’t translate but on the other hand if you had a problem with it you’ve long had the option to do so by either saying so or reporting it. You did neither but decided to wait until now, which would strike most people as passive aggressive hypocrisy. It strikes me you’d rather perpetuate this nonsense than accept an apology.
everyone should realise this is an open forum and you will get folks that work for the DWP and assessment providers on here looking at all your reply's?
Just always be mindful what you post as everyone has an opinion.
I created one of the campaign election videos for Labour, and Jeremy Corbyn,
This is a new version of Emeli Sande, Hope "You Are Not Alone
You can see the video here.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P5o8hRHh9IY
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