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Rejected PIP
DiLited
Member Posts: 4 Connected
I have just received my judgement on my PIP claim which was denied. Reading the notes I am wondering if they are the right notes for me because it doesn't sound like the meeting I was at. I was a nervous wreck throughout it and cried non-stop but aparently I showed no tenseness and was calm. I read out my scripts from the screen which is impossible because I can't pronounce them and in reality I had a copy of my script which I handed to her. I stood up easily - well if rocking back and forward for 3 mins before standing using the desk to steady myself is easy I guess I did. I didn't understand half the questions for example she kept on asking me how I coped going around the shops. I told her I didn't go to the shops for various reasons physical and mentally. After badgering me over and over about how would i go if I did go to the shops I told her that I would have to get in and out as quick as I could which in her mind translated to I was alright going shopping. The exercises she got me to do were barely moving which was just as well as there was no room between the chair and the desk and I couldn't get up and move the chair. I'm an independant person and if I can do something for myself I will and I find it difficult to admit if something is hurting me so when she asked me to flex my hands I gritted my teeth and did the best I could but that didn't mean that it didn't take it out of me . She made a big deal of the fact that I had driven there by myself. I live alone and have no friends or family so I had no choice. I can't use public transport so I either drove there or missed out. It was the same with the questions - do you feed yourself? well if I didn't no one else is there to feed me so I do what I can. I am so disappointed with the result all the stress, not sleeping before hand makes me want to weep and the effort of the journey and exercises meant that I was bedridden for the next 2 days. I have phoned them up for a mandatory something or other but I can't see that it will do any good as I'm still waiting on appointments for heart/muscleskelator specialists.
Replies
I have just had a similar assesment too with the same results. I too questioned if they had the right appointment.
I have just submitted a mandatory reconsideration, I found a guide on line which was really useful and draughts a letter for you and sends to your email. Google support with mandotary reconsideration.
Statistics show a lot of people do not take it any further so.i feel this approach is a saving money measure!!!
However the stress we go through to go through this process can really set you back.
Good luck.
I have asked for a mandatory reconsideration but I know that it is hopeless. I have seen articles of other people in the same situation and it is rejected and since it is going to be based on the same information I don't rate my chances. The main trouble is that you have to be fit and healthy to navigate the system to claim and of course there seems to be a case of if you can manage to apply for this then you don't really need it mentality. It also seems that they fail to take into account how multiple conditions can affect a person, instead dealing with each condition as a stand alone condition. My Crohn's means that I have very bad diarrhoea, the arthritis means that there are times I don't make it to the bathroom in time, and this exasperates my anxiety and depression, but when you take each of them seperately then you aren't seeing to whole picture as certain aspects might seem insignificant unless you see how it connects and is interwined. I have also been informed that the assessors are paid a bonus for every claim they reject so the odds are stacked against you before you even sit down.
My health getting worse every month (I found out this month that on top of my Crohn's, Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, clinical depression, social phobia and anxiety I have suspected cancer of the uterus and cardiomyopathy) and maybe I did jump the gun and apply too early before getting all the information from my specialists but I find myself getting increasingly confused and panicky and since I don't have any family or friends that can act for me I wanted to get it out of the way while I was still able to. When the reconsideration comes back rejected I'm not going to take it to court as I'm not strong enough to do this. They would badger me and make mincemeat out of me when I get confused. I may just wait until I get all the results back and then apply again as the person from DWA suggested and the next time I am going to take an advocate and a tape recorder to record the meeting so that they can't lie like they did this time.
Before you go further I’d advise that you look at the PIP Assessment guidance - it’s on line. This will give you an idea of how many points you should score and is important because this is what the DWP use to assess claims so you know what the ‘rules’ are. Also there are some ‘anomalies’ which it's wise to be aware of,such as Bathing, which doesn’t include drying yourself?
Read it carefully and then you will know exactly what each of the categories mean.
For example category 1 is about cooking for yourself which, according to the DWP, means:-
…a claimant’s ability to prepare and cook a simple meal for one from fresh ingredients. It assesses ability to open packaging, peel and chop, serve food on to a plate and use a microwave oven or cooker hob to cook or heat food. Serving food means transferring food to a plate or bowl, it does not include presentation.
If you aren’t able to do this explain why e.g. you have a arthritis and are unable to chop veg,or open a packet, or your grip is very bad and you cannot lift a saucepan off the hob.
Also explain what you do if you can’t do something (you’re expected to use an aid to help you if you can)
Do this for each of the categories.
I’m not an assessor but, in relation to driving to the assessment I think that they probably concluded that you can go out on your own, find your way somewhere unfamiliar, have sufficient cognitive function to be able to drive, can grip a steering wheel, sit for long periods etc.
Curiously, when I had my assessment, they concluded that since I could drive a car I could pay for things/ calculate change when shopping!
Good luck…
It's best to make an MR in writing.
I suggest you concentrate on preparing for your appeal submission as your MR might well be refused. Only 20% succeed whereas 71% of tribunal appeals do.
It's worth going to tribunal despite the hassle as so many tribunal appeals win. Be sure of how your disabilities affect you and don't let the panel lead you into saying something different. The panel will challenge you.
Alternatively, you can make a new PIP claim at any time. Try to get some f2f help from CAB or similar, or local authority welfare rights.
Take a look at Disability Rights UK site: their list of descriptors and appeals guide.
You could have taken a taxi to the assessment centre and assessment company would have refunded your fares if you had agreed this with them in advance. Driving yourself can indicate several skills to assessors and appeals panels: concentration, manual dexterity, energy, stamina. Though making a few short car journeys a week shouldn't lose someone points.
You might be able to feed yourself but you have great difficulty doing so and probably can't do so in an acceptable time, i.e. it takes you more than twice as long as it would a non-disabled person.
The exercises I was given at my assessment were very superficial so in my appeal submission I put that I'd defy anyone not paralysed not to be able to do them adequately!
Panel increased my PIP from standard both to enhanced both.
PIP points are awarded for how your conditions affect your daily living and mobility, not for the conditions themselves.
Keep fighting and good luck
Nothing wrong in what you have said, but unfortunately you have not understood what the descriptors say and mean. It is with those descriptors in mind that you find the correct way to answer their questions. You appear to have thought that it is just an question and answer session. Far from it, You have to be aware of why they ask the questions and answering in a way that is the truth but also focuses on the answer you need to give.
You have to keep things simple for them. Decide which descriptors apply to you. These descriptors have to apply at least 50% of the time, I.e. at least 4 days out of 7.
It sounds very much like my assessment. I suffer with a Cerebral Spinal Leak which was caused by a spinal block 7 years ago and it’s symptoms are unbelievably painful and debilitating. I also suffer with an Eroded Trans Vaginal Orbatrator Tape which is also extremely painful and debilitating and throws in continence into the mix as well. She admitted that she’d never heard of it. This has brought on Fibromyalgia and causes me great difficulty with everyday living. I also suffer with Bipolar. These conditions are far to complex for a Physiotherapist to have enough knowledge and experience of to make an informed decision. She concentrated on depression only and not the manic side of Bipolar and repeatedly insisted that the pain in my back from the spinal block until I finally agreed with her. The pain in my lower back, groin, hips, legs and feet are due to the eroded tape. I haven’t received my report yet but I’m not holding out much hope and am already preparing for a mandatory consideration.