Should I reapply for my daughters PIP?

AnnieV123

Hi. My name is Annie and I am looking for help for my daughter who is 20. She has a rare chromosome abnormality which causes a lot of autistic expression, she also suffers from panic disorder, anxiety, mobility problems as her feet turn in and her legs hurt and to top it off, she got glandular fever when she was 14 and now suffers from chronic fatigue. When she was diagnosed with the 9p chromosome issue,at 12 we applied for DLA for her and got medium rate along with high rate mobility. She was under CAMHS and saw a geneticist and paediatrician. When she turned 16, they sent a nurse out to assess her for PIP and she was once again successful at medium rate for care and high rate mobility, in fact, they initially awarded low rate mobility and then changed it without us having to say anything. Eight months ago, we were sent a letter of review in which I said there was no change to her condition and they sent a lady out to check her out. The lady did no physical evaluation at all and said it was because ME changes so often and she assured us that she was confident that my daughter would continue receiving PIP.  She was turned down and lost all her privileges like free prescriptions and her blue badge which we never actually used, but it would have come in handy if she'd ever driven or gone out alone which she doesn't. I, as her representative, appealed the decision, but were once again turned down and she was worried about going to an appeal as she struggles with social situations and travelling is very difficult so she said not to worry about it. Part of the problem I feel is that she had been discharged from CAMHS and the paediatrician and the genetics in London and as she rarely leaves the house, she rarely sees the GP unless I go with her and most of her visits are over the phone now. We have got her GP to write a letter defining her conditions and she is going to see someone in adult mental health in September and we are going to ask for a letter from that person too. I know that she may be turned down if we reapply now so I'm trying to find out the best way forward. Any helpful hints or tips or contacts would be gratefully received. 

thespiceman

Hello @AnnieV123   Pleased to meet you welcome.

Thank you for sharing.  So sorry what has happened I feel for you and understand the situation you are in.  The difficulty and may I add the stress and anxiety.

Many of our members have gone through the PIP assessment and all the issues and problems around it all.  Including myself.

I am sure they will be in touch to advise as will a member of our team.  Please can I suggest contact our helpline for support and information.

0808 800 3333

Also may I add have a look at our benefit information and advice on Talk about PIP.

Hope that helps.

We are a friendly support community. Care and share.

Lots of information, advice and support.  New friends.

Ready to listen

Please take and wish you a successful outcome.

@thespiceman

Chloe_Scope

Hi @AnnieV123 and a warm welcome to the community! Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your daughter. You are able to appeal the PIP decision and information on this can be found on the Scope website. Also, it may be worth having a look at the PIP self- test online as this may give you a clearer idea of what award you could be expecting. There will be a lot of community members who can relate to you with this so please do get involved If you need anything else then please do not hesitate to be in touch!

markyboy

Like a lot of people claiming PIP you list all her medical conditions and getting doctor's letters
While it is ok to mention these the emphasis must be on how her condition affects her ability to carry out the descriptors laid out in the PIP criteria this is what gets you points not how many specialist you are seeing or how many times you visit your GP 

mikehughescq

If nothing has changed in terms of the consequences of her conditions then you need to appeal the original decision. A new claim offers no magical opportunity for success. Multiple claims are not a successful strategy at all. You’ll not find anyone on here boasting how they got PIP at the 3rd or more attempt for example. Your daughter may struggle with social situations but this is her income for a long way into the future and any impact on her health will not be permanent. You need to appeal.

Liam_Alumni

Hi @AnnieV123, how are you getting on?

BenefitsTrainingCo

AnnieV123,

As Mike says, the first thing to look at is a challenge of the decision in which your daughter lost PIP. It sounds as if you went through the first stage (mandatory reconsideration or MR), but then your daughter decided not to appeal further. I completely understand this, but unfortunately it is often the only/best way to get the right result on a PIP claim. As far as I can see from the time scales, you are still in time to ask for a late appeal, explaining your daughter's concerns about the hearing but that she now understands this represents her best chance of getting benefit. 

There is of course no harm in applying again, and certainly having doctor's letters is helpful, but there is no guarantee of success. In your situation I would suggest that you consider a late appeal now, because it is worth a try, and remember, your daughter can request a hearing based on the papers (ie she doesn't have to attend, though I have to say that her chances of success are much better if she does attend, & I would encourage her to do so). Meanwhile, as it will probably take several months for your request for a late appeal to be considered, and then for a hearing date to be arranged, you could still put in a further PIP claim once you have supporting letters (eg especially after you get a letter from adult mental health).

Unfortunately though, no matter how good the letters it still possible to be turned down - but you can hope (very occasionally people don't have an assessment & the decision is made purely on the claimant's own evidence, but it's very unusual).

Will

Yadnad

BenefitsTrainingCo said:

AnnieV123,

As Mike says, the first thing to look at is a challenge of the decision in which your daughter lost PIP. It sounds as if you went through the first stage (mandatory reconsideration or MR), but then your daughter decided not to appeal further. I completely understand this, but unfortunately it is often the only/best way to get the right result on a PIP claim. As far as I can see from the time scales, you are still in time to ask for a late appeal, explaining your daughter's concerns about the hearing but that she now understands this represents her best chance of getting benefit. 

There is of course no harm in applying again, and certainly having doctor's letters is helpful, but there is no guarantee of success. In your situation I would suggest that you consider a late appeal now, because it is worth a try, and remember, your daughter can request a hearing based on the papers (ie she doesn't have to attend, though I have to say that her chances of success are much better if she does attend, & I would encourage her to do so). Meanwhile, as it will probably take several months for your request for a late appeal to be considered, and then for a hearing date to be arranged, you could still put in a further PIP claim once you have supporting letters (eg especially after you get a letter from adult mental health).

Unfortunately though, no matter how good the letters it still possible to be turned down - but you can hope (very occasionally people don't have an assessment & the decision is made purely on the claimant's own evidence, but it's very unusual).

Will

It also depends on the DWP if they wish to object to the late appeal being heard.

mikehughescq

It actually doesn’t nowadays. The tribunal rules require no explanation for lateness nowadays. They just require that an appeal has some prime favour merit and that it would be in the interests of justice to proceed. There’s no obligation on HMCTS to ask why it was late at all but still they do. The bit where DWP get asked by HMCTS if they object to the reasons for lateness is equally archaic. Haven’t heard of a case since the new rules were introduced where DWP gave actually objected. Moreover, even if they did, the rules on fairness/interests of justice could over-rule anyway.