Review or not

Toffee

Hi all i am on pip 224 a month
Just been diagnosed with fibermergila can't spell that sorry
Should I let pip know would it change anythink?
If so any any advice on what to do I would be great full

lindadenise

I let PIP know i had another condition i had to go through a new claim again.
Assessor gave me a bad report and i ended up losing two points so i just got standard care.
I have fibromyalgia Dystonia and Spinal stenosis and it did not make a blind bit of difference to the DWP.
I did MR but still not overturned going to Tribunal which im dreading. Whatever you decide goodluck you may have a person with a heart. 

Toffee

Thank you lindiadenise xx

mikehughescq

A new diagnosis is irrelevant. All that matters is whether there are activities where your points score would go up, or you’d score for the first time. Nothing to declare.

Yadnad

mikehughescq said:

A new diagnosis is irrelevant. All that matters is whether there are activities where your points score would go up, or you’d score for the first time. Nothing to declare.

Is that the case? I thought that with any change of circumstance you had to notify the DWP and let them make the decision as to whether there may be a change in points or not?
What you are suggesting is that the claimant is entitled to decide what is or isn't a notifiable change depending on whether the claimant thinks that they will score more points or not.

mikehughescq

It’s not whether the claimant thinks. It’s whether any reasonable person would think that a change in benefit would likely result.

It’s also not any change of circumstances. It’s any relevant change. 

Yadnad

mikehughescq said:

It’s not whether the claimant thinks. It’s whether any reasonable person would think that a change in benefit would likely result.

It’s also not any change of circumstances. It’s any relevant change. 

I bow to your knowledge but I have always worked to the notes and information put out by the DWP whenever I deal with them regarding a claim for any benefit. The notes relating to PIP do not say anything about a relevant change or if you think that the award would change. The terminology they use is that it is for the DWP to decide if it is relevant or material, not the claimant.

CAB advise as an important note:

There are lots of changes that can affect your PIP and these are just some examples.

If you’re not sure if a change affects your PIP, it’s best to tell the DWP anyway. Not telling them could mean you’re missing out on extra money or being paid money you’ll have to pay back. 

To be honest Mike I would not feel comfortable in not telling them, as I would not really know one way or another if it is or isn't a change that they should be advised of.

mikehughescq

Yikes, if that’s the CA advice then I personally disagree. The best advice on any change is to get advice before acting. Relying on DWP literature is understandable but at best they deal in gross oversimplifications and lowest common denominator wording. At worst they’re often plain wrong. As Sutton they’re telephone “advice” they are the one source to not be trusted, albeit there are certain scenarios where it’s advantageous to cite what they said e.g. on overpayments when they cite the INF 4 booklet everyone allegedly gets about what to declare and it turns out that the thing they cite isn’t even in there. 

Bottom line - it’s far easier, but often inaccurate, for DWP to give examples of things you need to disclose than it is to summarise what the law actually says.  

Toffee

Thank you so much all 

Yadnad

mikehughescq said:

Yikes, if that’s the CA advice then I personally disagree. The best advice on any change is to get advice before acting. Relying on DWP literature is understandable but at best they deal in gross oversimplifications and lowest common denominator wording. At worst they’re often plain wrong. As Sutton they’re telephone “advice” they are the one source to not be trusted, albeit there are certain scenarios where it’s advantageous to cite what they said e.g. on overpayments when they cite the INF 4 booklet everyone allegedly gets about what to declare and it turns out that the thing they cite isn’t even in there. 

Bottom line - it’s far easier, but often inaccurate, for DWP to give examples of things you need to disclose than it is to summarise what the law actually says.  

Yes, it was taken directly from the CAB's online advice notes for PIP.

mikehughescq

Sadly, people need simple messages. Simple messages are not necessarily wholly accurate. Indeed lots of things can very much go wrong when you disclose something which didn’t have to be disclosed. That’s the point I absolutely disagree with. The things which can go wrong may not be your fault - UC being a disaster zone of an example of that - but can be avoided with good advice.