Upset with assessment report

tara2019

I have just had my assessment report today, I'm so upset that I scored 6 points on the test. I suffer from mental illness and depression I have tried taking my life loads of times, I frequently self harm, the assessor said I had no issues with this I also have disc degenerative disease and bulging discs, this has been proved in a MRI scan that i took in 2013. I also have osteoporosis in my knee and a damaged sciatica nerve which is compressed. I'm in constant pain, I cant stand for more than 30 seconds and cant walk more than 15 metres without being in so much pain that I have to stop. Although the assessor said i can walk unaided for 200 metres this is very wrong, what a absolute liar the assessor was. Furthermore please can people who are going through similar things give me some advice and help me through this tough situation. 

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @tara2019, and a warm welcome to the community!

I'm so sorry to hear about your experiences and your assessment outcome. It can feel so frustrating when we feel like we've been misunderstood, and I'm sure many of our members will be able to empathise with what you're going through.

You are a member of our community and we appreciate you. If you are having thoughts of suicide, it is important that you discuss them with someone who is qualified to help. Please call the Samaritans on 116 123 (free) or email them at jo@samaritans.org. You might also benefit from reading MIND’s information on how you can help yourself.

If you feel that you may be an immediate danger to yourself, please call 999 or go to your local hospital right away.

Once you've received your decision, you can appeal this if you choose to. The first step is a Mandatory Reconsideration. You can find out more about the process on this Scope page on DWP appeals. Do have a read, and feel free to come back to us with any questions.

tara2019

thankyou for your quick response i have my son and daughter with me they are helping me with my bad thoughts at this time just thought getting the report would of lifted me but with the score been 6 this has just made my anixety and deppression so much worse i really want to take my upset and complain so much about the assessors how can they make me feel like this more so 

Pippa_Alumni

I'm glad you have some support around you @tara2019, and it seems as though your thoughts are perfectly valid although I'm so sorry you're having to experience them at all.

Looking after yourself is the priority, so please do take care of yourself. However, if you feel up to it and want to take things further, you may also want to think about making an official complaint. You can find the DWP complaints procedure here.

tara2019

thanks for information its getting too confusing now do i complain to the assesment centre or to dwp my life seems to be on hold now cant think about anything else 

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @tara2019, if you're wanting to appeal your decision and have it looked at again, don't worry about making complaints for the moment. 

Instead, focus on appealing the decision and asking for a Mandatory Reconsideration. You can find the process for doing so on this Scope page.

• Ask DWP to look at the decision again – this is called a mandatory reconsideration.

• It's best to do this in writing and give reasons why you disagree. The address to write to is on the decision letter you have received.

• You must do this within a month of the date of the original decision.

DWP will look at your claim and tell you their new decision.

If you're struggling, it might be worth checking the Advicelocal website to see if there are any organisations nearby who can help you.

tara2019

thanks for helping im going to see my doctor again on monday hopefully help with my mental heath and then she can refer me back to specialist for my back problems ive also printed off the forms for mandatory reconsideration ready for the no decision 

Benistmonk

You have the right idea, when you see your GP, get him to give you a Not Fit for Work cert, what we used to call a sick note, get it backdated to when your benefit was stopped, otherwise they won't pay you the assessment rate when or if you have to appeal.

poppy123456

Benistmonk said:

You have the right idea, when you see your GP, get him to give you a Not Fit for Work cert, what we used to call a sick note, get it backdated to when your benefit was stopped, otherwise they won't pay you the assessment rate when or if you have to appeal.

As this part of the forum is about PIP/DLA then i'm sure the question is about being refused PIP not ESA. You don't need a fit note to claim PIP because it's not about working.

Benistmonk

Thanks Poppy, just noticed that.

tara2019

thanks for advice i do work part time its the only thing which keeps my mind normal. wanting advice should i ring dwp on mon and tell them my assesment is so wrong or should i wait till,  no decision is received 

poppy123456

You need to wait until a decision is made. DWP won't be interested in any lies told in the report. When writing the MR request letter you should state what what descriptors apply to you and your reasons why. Adding 2-3 examples of what happened the last time you attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to you.

Any complaints about the report should be sent to the health assessment advisors, once the MR request is sent.

tara2019

oki thank you im so glad your here to help ive started to note down everything which is wrong on the report i just cant believe someone who saw me for 40 mins can say all this when ive been sruggling with depression anxiety issues for 30 yrs and had serious back spine knee and sciatica for 13 yrs obviously deteration has made my life impossible to live  

poppy123456

Try not to concentrate too much on the things that are wrong in the report, they won't be interested in any of that. What they will want to know is how your conditions affect you against the PIP descriptors as previously advised.

Did you send in evidence to support your claim?

tara2019

yes there was mri scans on spine n knee,  medical reports dating back from 2006 till now, doctors reports,, specialist reports physio reports, showing and proving the deteration over the years, about 40 supporting letters, dont think the assessor was interested in any of them its my mobility that has deteriorated so much over the years but yet she scored my 0 
  

Matilda

@tara2019

Ask for MR and then appeal if necessary.  71% of appeals succeed.  Some people have gone from 0 points after assessment to enhanced both components after appeal hearing.  Many assessment reports are inaccurate as many assessors are either incompetent, dishonest, or both.

cristobal

@ilovecats - that's interesting. Could you answer this.

My assessment was full of errors which I persuaded Capita to correct. It was essentially complete re-write and submitted a "PA3v2" to DWP.DWP had another look, and changed the points awarded massively - from 8/4 DL to 17/22 MOB if I remember. 

Will there be any consequences as a result - I'm not looking for the assessor to get sacked, just wondering if they get "feedback"??

tara2019

thanks for advice ive read my report over again i have mri scans proving that ive disc degenerate disease bulging disc compressed sciatic nerve which is 1 of the most important part to my mobility the assessor has not put any of that in my report 

poppy123456

Those scans don't tell them how your conditions affect you and that's the evidence you need. The scans will only tell them that you have that condition.

tara2019

oki the assessor said i can stand for 4 minutes no i cant i told her for 5 seconds before im in intense pain and need to sit down i said i could manage upto 30 seconds walking and need to stop rest hold on to something  and also loose my balance she said i could walk a full lengh of a football pitch no problem the second i move i get intense pain what a absolute joke she is 

Yadnad

ilovecats said:

  

If they were to look at everything and read it thorough, a lot of people would be sat in the waiting room for a very long time! I believe the case manger has more time to actually read everything though, so if the CM found evidence that you submitted which is at odds with the assessors report, then the report gets sent back to be redone and ATOS/Capita get fined. 

I believe that that is how the system should work. However in reality, and is evidenced to the government which they have accepted is true, the case managers have been only looking at the assessor's report and more importantly the recommendations. The case managers in their own defence have cited that they just do not have the time to wade through all of the evidence before making a decision - they assume that the assessor has done all of that before giving their recommendations and the justifications.

With my 2015 MR I had to ask the case manager if she (it was a she as she telephoned me) had carefully considered the comprehensive report submitted by my GP and all of the attachments from the various clinics and Social Services that he had sent in. Surprisingly I was told that they had probably not even been looked at. Following that conversation my award went from 0 points to enhanced care & mobility as the same had happened in 2013. As for the 2017 decision the DWP told me following the MR that evidence, whilst still valid and relevant would not be looked at as it was more than 2 years old.