Confusing PIP letter!

ellea

Hi,                                                                                                                                                        I posted on here a few weeks back! Re having recorded my assessment and then finding out that so much was played down and or ignored, I had my payment reduced.                                           

I asked for MR and was refused.  ( I think the DWP would be aware by now that I have a recording because I told my MP- who I assume would have told them. Though there seems little she can do despite being told her government are manipulating claimants assessment, ignoring medical evidence, ignoring the impact my health issues have on my life, which is the same a ignoring my disability. 

So I wait for my Tribunal date.. I assume it will take a while. But today I got a letter, which was not about the tribunal but asking me; ''We need some more information before we can process your claim for PIP'' it goes on. ''What we want you to do'' ''Thank you for telling us that'' (don't know what they mean) Then a box with  ''Please can you confirm if you have been in hospital in the last 3 years''. That's it. I was in a few times, for short periods a op on my right knee, which was day surgery, after that a fall, and then for migraine which was so bad I was admitted for a couple of days. Im sure I told the assessor during questioning. Anyway cant make sense of it..and getting more stressed by it all! Any ideas? Thanks! E

poppy123456

Best thing you can do is to ring DWP and ask them, they are the only ones that can tell you what's going on.

ellea

Yeah, I could and will have to at some point, but not without upping my stress levels..

poppy123456

I realise that but no one else can fully answer your question without guessing.

ellea

Yeah sorry..I'm new to this site. I thought there might be advisors who know what it might mean..together with the other stuff, recording etc. Trying to avoid the phone call. e

ellea

Picked up the phone to DWP after my last post..and I'm still waiting for someone to answer, @  53 minutes in....Exactly why I was trying to avoid it..Do they not have a limit to call waiting times? 

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi ellea,

The waiting times to get through to PIP can be quite shocking to be honest, and I find the later in the day you call them the longer you have or wait for it to be answered. If you call first thing in the morning as soon as they open you are more likely to get a quick answer.
I have read your message twice and can't see what you want to know about the recording. They will know it was recorded yes, but they've gone with the assessor conclusions like they normally do. It may be that you told them certain things, but the assessor's conclusion is their opinion of your difficulties, and often it differs from your own, which will need to be brought up at tribunal.
Even though I am an advisor working in the field I can't properly explain the letter about the hospital. The rules are that PIP stops after 4 weeks of hospitalisation, maybe they are simply just checking that you haven't been overpaid in the last three years. That's the only conclusion I can come to, but the only way to find out for sure is by waiting for someone to pick up the phone. All the best.

Lee

Fetlock

"I was in a few times, for short periods a op on my right knee, which was day surgery, after that a fall, and then for migraine which was so bad I was admitted for a couple of days. Im sure I told the assessor during questioning"

If you mentioned this to the assessor, and there are no details re hospital stays on your record, this may be why they sent the letter - to clarify when and how long you were in hospital because of the 28 day rule. A case manager reviewing the assessor report has probably picked up on it. If it was just a few days here and there it won't affect you.