Refused PIP

annie62

I went through one if the most traumatic 1 1/2 hours of my life on Friday 28 September, I came out feeling very traumertised and it has made my anxiety far worse and my mental  has plummeted to new lows.
I received a letter today telling me I would not be getting PIP quote’I did not appear anxious or worried’ despite the fact that I couldnt even wait in the waiting area and was told by the assesor I had done really well considering my levels of anxiety. Don’t know where to turn really am am concerned this will effect my ESA claim for which i am in the support group.
I woukd appreciate any advice 
thank you 
Annie 

RachelSB

Did you have someone attend the assessment with you?  The next stage is a manidory reconsideration.  You need to ring the DWP and ask for a copy of the assessment so you can object on a point by point basis to their findings.  It’s best to get some help doing this from someone life CAB or welfare rights or Mind local.  You tell the DWP you want a reconsideration and that you will need extra time to prepare this.  You get letters and supporting evidence from any professionals in your care team family members anyone who will support you.  When everything is collected you send it to them.  They may change their mind or they may refuse again, at which point you can go to a hearing.  There is a very good rate of getting their decision overturned at hearing, it’s abot 70% of cases that win.  Stay strong!

poppy123456

Hi,

Was this a new PIP claim, a transfer from DLA or a PIP review?

You now have 28 days to request the Mandatory Reconsideration. You should put your request in writing stating what you disagree with and where you think you should have scored those points and why. Any further evidence you have should be sent with the letter of request. Only 17% of MR decision's change so expect to have to take it to Tribunal.

I would advise you to get help and advice with this from a local disability advice centre near you. Welfare rights for example.

RachelSB

The 28day deadline has been found discriminatory to folk with mental health issues so you are with in your rights to ask for extra time to collect everything.  You do however have to ask for the reconsideration before this 28 days is up.

Yadnad

The poster has indicated that the assessor and reported to the claimant by the DWP, said that they did not appear to be suffering from any mental health issues.
As far as the DWP are concerned I can't see on what basis they could ask for more time based on mental health issues?

poppy123456

RachelSB said:

The 28day deadline has been found discriminatory to folk with mental health issues so you are with in your rights to ask for extra time to collect everything.  You do however have to ask for the reconsideration before this 28 days is up.

I didn't state anything about a deadline, i did state 28 days to request. However, if you ask for the MR over the phone and then send your letter with evidence at a later date, will they wait for the letter and evidence? Most likely not, as this has happened to many people.

RachelSB

The OP says it has made her anxiety far worse, one can infer she has a diagnosis of anxiety from this.
The assessor was looking for and commented on signs of anxiety, why would they be doing this if she had not reported anxiety?  My report did not mention that I have two legs for example?
The findings were that people with mental health issues would find getting the reports from professionals harder, they’d need more time to recover between sessions, and organisation skills are poorer so their disability would impact their ability to send the pack off in time.
If you request extra time they will give you a new deadline and this will be recorded on your file.  I normally ring them up again straight afterwards and check that the new deadline has gone on with a different advisor.

Yadnad

RachelSB said:

The OP says it has made her anxiety far worse, one can infer she has a diagnosis of anxiety from this.
The assessor was looking for and commented on signs of anxiety, why would they be doing this if she had not reported anxiety?  

What the claimant and assessor said is of no concern. What matters is what the assessor put in the report quote ’I did not appear anxious or worried’ 

So the report says that anxiety was not apparent.

 

RachelSB

It would be up to a court to decide in the end if she is anxious or not.
DWP have as yet never risked the discrimination case though and will grant extra time.

poppy123456

Wait, this is a PIP claim and the mental health rules apply to the returning of the ESA50 form, not sending in extra evidence for a PIP MR.

poppy123456

If you have mental health problems, the DWP has a policy of referring your case to Maximus for consideration if you have not returned the ESA50, rather than automatically refusing your claim.

Taken from this CPAG link. http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/ask-cpag-online-have-you-failed-submit-esa50-questionnaire

RachelSB

The DWP applied them across the board.  The case president has been set so it would likely follow the same format.

poppy123456

Do you have a link for that?

annie62

RachelSB said:

Did you have someone attend the assessment with you?  The next stage is a manidory reconsideration.  You need to ring the DWP and ask for a copy of the assessment so you can object on a point by point basis to their findings.  It’s best to get some help doing this from someone life CAB or welfare rights or Mind local.  You tell the DWP you want a reconsideration and that you will need extra time to prepare this.  You get letters and supporting evidence from any professionals in your care team family members anyone who will support you.  When everything is collected you send it to them.  They may change their mind or they may refuse again, at which point you can go to a hearing.  There is a very good rate of getting their decision overturned at hearing, it’s abot 70% of cases that win.  Stay strong!

annie62

Thankyou Rachel for your reply, yes a friend came and felt certain I would be awarded PIP, I cried most of the interview and felt very intimidated, wasn’t aware but my friend said I was shaking most of the time. I have had mental health problems for about 14 years, social anxiety and GAD, I have been on various meds.  I also have mobility problems for which I was awarded 4 points?!?
i need to find the will to appeal but don’t have a lot of support around me, I will do as you have suggested and go for an appeal, I just feel so totally vulnerable and exposed if that makes sense.
thanks Annie 

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi annie62,

We cannot allow the DWP to keep making these poor decisions without a fight. I know it's hard, but please find the strength within you to appeal this decision. If people don't appeal and don't get what they are entitled to then we are allowing the DWP to walk all over us.
You may be able to get help from a Welfare Rights team at your local council, or CAB. Try and find local services that can take you through the process so you are not doing it all yourself. All the very best,

Lee

annie62

poppy123456 said:

Hi,

Was this a new PIP claim, a transfer from DLA or a PIP review?

You now have 28 days to request the Mandatory Reconsideration. You should put your request in writing stating what you disagree with and where you think you should have scored those points and why. Any further evidence you have should be sent with the letter of request. Only 17% of MR decision's change so expect to have to take it to Tribunal.

I would advise you to get help and advice with this from a local disability advice centre near you. Welfare rights for example.

annie62

Hello Poppy
yes it was a new claim I am on ESA support. Thank you for your help 
Annie 

RachelSB

So sorry to hear how poorly you’ve been treated and how vulnerable it’s left you.  Please fight!  Come here and post if you need support.  Get CAB or welfare rights on your side.  Maybe tell the GP you need some extra support for a while?  Mind local if you have one can have some helpful services.  Get on the phone or on the email and find someone to stand by your side through all this.

a good friend once told me “when faced with bullies, the trick is to find a bigger bully”. Find someone who can kick DWP back to reality.

debbiedo49

I had support from a mental health service and welfare rights. I do not think I would have gone on otherwise. It's so hard to deal with the stress and affects on your mental health and I can understand what you are saying. Getting lots of good advice and support on here also helped me to push on.  There is a process to go on with this fora reason. They don't always get it right. I trusted the decision made at tribunal as they are supposed to be independent rather than atos etc. Good luck

Yadnad

RachelSB said:

It would be up to a court to decide in the end if she is anxious or not.
DWP have as yet never risked the discrimination case though and will grant extra time.

Taking the DWP to a discrimination tribunal??