PIP lost my paperwork

samantha21

Hello, I am new to the community and I hope to find some like minded people and maybe get some answers to a few benefit questions.

Ami2301

Hi @samantha21 welcome to the community!

Looking forward to helping any way we can!

samantha21

Hi Ami3201,

Thank-you for your reply. I thought I would join as I am trying to find out if anyone has recently applied for the PI.P payments. I have had D.L.A for life and now have to transition to P.I.P instead. To cut a long story short I applied in June 2018 by September it was stated all my paperwork had been lost, Meanwhile I went to my MP. He faxed all my copies to DWP and then they replied how sorry this has happened and would sort everything out as soon as possible. That was on 18th September, and now 26th October I have heard nothing else. It has been over four months since I first applied and to be honest it is ridiculous that nothing is sorted it kind of leaves you in limbo land and you cannot get anywhere by phoning them just wonder has anyone had experiences like this with DWP.

Ami2301

Hi @samantha21

Sorry to hear what has been happening. Have you tried contacting them recently?

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @samantha21, and a warm welcome to the community!

Goodness, that sounds like a frustrating situation. Hopefully some of our more experienced members will be in touch to offer some advice.

poppy123456

Hi,

When transferring from DLA to PIP most people have face to face assessments, it's rare to have paper based assessments. Have you had one of these yet? Waiting times for assessment vary wildly across the country and it will depend on the backlog in your area the amount of time you have to wait for an appointment. Some wait a few weeks, others wait several months and more.

The good new is your DLA continues until a decision's been made on your PIP claim.

samantha21

Hi Poppy 123456,

I had DLA claim for long term which I have been on for 9 years. I received my letter from DWP with the new PIP form to start my claim for PIP. It is a long and difficult form to fill in but I got it all done and returned to DWP. I think the next step is the DWP scrutinize the form and then call you for an assessment. . Out of the blue after many weeks I got another PIP form and was told to fill it in and return or else my DLA would stop. I got onto DWP and told them I had sent the form back by recorded delivery and it had been signed for at DWP office so I know it arrived there. Firstly the DWP denied this but what could they say because I had proof they had signed for it, after one month they said the form had been lost in mail room and anything in the mail room for longer than a month is then destroyed. All my hard work and headache to get the form filled in and to be told it had been destroyed is ironically a sick joke. I had all my copies so these were sent off and the DWP received them they apologized for first error and told me my DLA would continue until the next step of the claim is sorted out.
My first contact about my PIP was early June 2018 it is now almost November 2018 and all I have been told is I will be contacted as and when. As far as I am concerned this PIP system is not fit for the service it is designed for and it leaves people worried anxious and distressed particularly when you have been left in limbo land and no answers to your claim for five months which is what I have experienced.  Sorry to have a moan but it all seems ridiculous to me.  Look at the Universal credit they have got to shelve that now for another year because they realise they have got it all wrong and the DWP would not be able to cope with it.

poppy123456

It's not the DWP who decide who needs the face to face assessments, it's the health assessment providers. When a PIP form is returned to DWP it's sent to the health assessment providers, they then eventually contact you with an appointment date/time for the assessment. It's nothing to do with DWP at this stage.

Unfortunately backlogs happen and there's nothing we can do about those. The good thing is that your DLA continues until a decision's been made on your PIP. Having a lifetime award of DLA doesn't automatically mean you'll qualify for PIP.

Hopefully for you, you'll hear something soon. Good luck.

samantha21

Thank-you for the reply, I shall just patiently keep waiting, when I have completely forgotten I even applied for PIP and am immersed with another aspect of my life that long awaited envelope will drop through my letterbox and offer me an appointment assessment.