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Text from DWP and PIP issues

Geoff1964

Hi all, i sent my application off and got a text and letter to say that i dont need to attend a face to face assesment. I rang recently to find out where things were and was told that they wanted additional information from my gp which they have now got, they also told me it was now with a case worker to decide whether i qualify for pip or not although i am on dla at the moment , they also told me that it will take anything upto 16 weeks from when i called them???. Why when they sent me the application did they tell me i had three weeks to fill out and return the application when they allow themselves 16 weeks to reply??? STRESSFUL TIMES

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thespiceman

Hello @Geoff1964 Pleased to meet you welcome.

Thank you for joining and sharing. I can understand the stress and anxiety. May I add at least they have told you not have to attend an assessment. Face to face.

Which is a good thing as many of our community have to suffer the ordeal of going through all of that.

Including myself. Hope and wish you the best and success for a positive out come.

I do know it is a long wait as you care to look at any of our community posts there are many members suffering problems and issues. All around PIP.

Lots of support and information, advice.

We are a friendly community. Care and share. Please ask if we can help and advise on anything.

Please take care

@thespiceman

Geoff1964

Thank you spiceman, I will navigate the site over the weekend and hope to have a positive input, thank you for the welcome!!!

Yadnad

Geoff1964 said:
Why when they sent me the application did they tell me i had three weeks to fill out and return the application when they allow themselves 16 weeks to reply??? STRESSFUL TIMES

A question that I have asked myself many times.
Seems that the DWP guidance (the DWP's own version on what they think the law says) is made to be one sided.

I read on here from a professional source that these time limits that are imposed on a claimant actually have no legal backing. Yet the DWP insist on them being observed otherwise they have the right to cancel whet you are current getting as well as the claim.

The only legally enforceable time limit it seems is the 13 months one to lodge a MR and an appeal.

It also seems that if for any reason the claimant fails to adhere to these so called 'time limits' they have recourse to a Tribunal to decide the matter. Then we find that on the day of the hearing to rule on the legality of say closing a claim down, the Tribunal aren't interested they will expect the claimant to be ready to argue for an award - even the Tribunals seem not to accept these time limitations either.

Definitely 'Big Brother' trying to put the fear of God into claimants.

Yadnad

Username_removed said:

The time limit to fill out the form was extendable. You only had to ask and you'd have had a 2 week extension no questions asked. More if needed. The question you need to ask now is do you want them to make a quick decision or the right decision?

I agree, but and a big but, I only found out that this is possible quite recently on this site despite my 5 years of PIP history.
I have gone through the old PIP2 notes as well as the current government websites and can find no mention of the DWP allowing this extension.

Is this once again only known by those that trawl the net and WRO's etc. And if so, it doesn't sound good if the DWP are purposely withholding information like this from vulnerable claimants.

Geoff1964

Username_removed, I had no idea that the date was extendable or i would of used that time to send them more information to make the job of them making a decision easier, and it goes without question that i want the right decision in the same way that i want the use of my arms and legs back, i see your point though still i believe the DWP drags its heels and are renowned for it

Yadnad

Geoff1964

Well im done with my application , when i rang to tell them it may just be returned on the finaL day if not a bit later all i was told was it must be in by that date, nobody suggested that i had a day or two to spare or that i can extend the expected date? so i sent what i had in although it wasnt the conclusion, they now have to make what they can of my application or wait for an appeal if there decision is not fully accepted , i want nothing that im not entitled to, 35 years i gave to my country , if they think im not deserving then i will cost DWP nothing

Yadnad

Geoff1964 said:

i was told was it must be in by that date, nobody suggested that i had a day or two to spare or that i can extend the expected date?

Doesn't surprise me at all. The DWP appears to not want claimants to know what they can get. Yours is a prime example of that. All it needed was for the DWP to have said - don't worry you can have another 14 days if you want so as to allow you to put forward the best argument for an award.

Yadnad

Username_removed said:

There are 3 aspects to it.

1) The deadline is administrative. It’s not in the legislation. DWP can’t possibly put simple versions of everything up. Have a look at CPAGs welfare benefits handbook. Then translate that to web pages bearing in mind not even CPAG covers everything.

2) I’ve limited sympathy for people who don’t ask. Wholly understand why that’s not an option for some people but in other cases it beggars belief that they get wound up about a deadline but don’t even ask if it could be extended. Not aimed at anyone here.

3) The Equality Act 2010 applies to any part of this process. If you are a disabled person as defined by EA 10 then ask for a reasonable adjustment.

How many people, ordinary people, with none or little knowledge of the systems would know that these deadlines are not backed up by regulation? The DWP say a date and most people accept that at face value. I have never heard of CPAG and don't know what it is. So not knowing it exists could never cause me to question what is in it.

You can only ask a question if you have a doubt in your mind and wonder if the deadline set by the DWP is actually one that is backed up by legislation or not. As I have said most people just accept what the DWP documents say as they have no reason or justification to think otherwise.

Would you when boarding a bus ask if two single tickets are cheaper than a return ticket? I wouldn't that is unless I had been told by someone beforehand that they had bought two singles and were surprised to find that it was cheaper than a return ticket.
You have to have prior knowledge to justify a question.

I only know about the Equality Act from this site. Before I joined I had no knowledge of how it worked or even who is said to be covered by it. Only this week did I find out that Diabetes is a disability. I thought that it was just a problem that life throws at you. Only when I was asked to fill out a form for the Council and it asked if I had any disabilities. Just the one I thought - difficulty walking. Then I was asked why had I not included Diabetes. Then I thought was having a mental health problem one and again I was told it was.
Again you have to have prior knowledge before you can ask a meaningful question.

Yadnad

Username_removed said:

Geoff1964 said:

i want nothing that im not entitled to, 35 years i gave to my country , if they think im not deserving then i will cost DWP nothing

With all due respect the 35 years you gave to your country are irrelevant. This is not a benefit paid for by your NI contributions. Nor is it about what you deserve.

In a way it is what the government unwillingly think you should have provided that...….

Geoff1964

Username_removed said:

Geoff1964 said:

i want nothing that im not entitled to, 35 years i gave to my country , if they think im not deserving then i will cost DWP nothing

With all due respect the 35 years you gave to your country are irrelevant. This is not a benefit paid for by your NI contributions. Nor is it about what you deserve.

Absolutely, just want a fair decision in a reasonable time, and for them to be more open about what is and isnt acceptable, i.e the extra time to complete the application , the 35 years was not refering to my NI contributions at all but my service , I ask for nothing more than as little stress and more forward information from Dwp. They have told me i dont need to attend an assesment and they have all the details from Gp and neurologists they need , i just dont get the 16 weeks they still have as they tell me to make a decision, its stress that nobody needs healthy or otherwise , confusing as to why with them telling me they have everything they need why i am told that it can still be another 16 weeks until a decision is made (can be)

poppy123456

The timescale is purely a guide and nothing more. No one can tell you how long exactly a decision will take. Having a paper based assessment for PIP doesn't mean you've been successfully awarded, it just means no face 2 face was needed. Ask for a copy of the assessment report to be sent to you, this will give you some idea what the decision will be as they mostly go with the recommendations in the report.

Geoff1964

No i dont need a copy , when the decision is made they will let me know whether thats 6 weeks or 16 weeks, obviously i should have done much more homework to find out the best way forward with my application, as you say the time scale is just a guide so when they tell you on the phone that it takes 16 weeks to come to a decision they should of said upto 16 weeks, just more misleading information, but i get that its down to the claiment to find all the criteria as its not put forward to you unless you look through any stipulations etc they have, I will wait now and see what the outcome is no doubt they will make the correct decision whether i agree with it or not, thanks for pointing these things out for me, maybe you can write a paper on things you should ask and be prepared for when making a claim it would be very useful for future ref

Geoff1964

Hi all, got my decision re pip. I got enhanced rate of mobility and enhanced rate of care and if i am reading it right that is awarded until 2028 unless circumstances change in anyway, thank you all for your input in what for me was a stressful time, I hope i can be of help to someone else on here in return for the constructive advice i got here

thespiceman

Hello @Geoff1964 Congratulations to you. Pleased for you. Another positive result.

Pleasure to meet you and hope we can help any time as a community. Please ask and keep in touch.

Take care

@thespiceman