PIP very worried need advice please

Carla35

Hi, I have only just found this site and in need of some advice please.I applied for PIP had a medical & scored 0 points. I had an appeal ( same evidence provided) awarded a 10 year award. I am 61 years old by the way.
I suffered a stroke, then had a tumour & following brain surgery it has left me with severe visual & balance problems, where for an hour a day I can’t see properly. I am no longer allowed to drive & have Angina & Asthma also. I get extreme headaches and falls due to my balance issues.
I am now being followed when walking my little dog, where a call pulls in the bus stop & then the same car is near my home on my return. My home is being watched too these past few weeks. This is making me feel so worried & unwell.The same car was outside my home at 11.21 last night.
I have checked my PIP forms tonight & I clearly stated I could walk but had heaviness in my chest (angina) pain & was breathless on doing so & this occurred before 20 meters & I then had to use my pump & heart spray to continue but this was not always possible.
I also put that I understood the distance you were able to walk after was irrelevant & it was whe you felt the symptoms that was important regarding the mobility claim. I also stated that I did not know if I would be able to continue walking as I can loose my vision at any time & become unwell with an extreme headache & that I really need someone with me when I go out in familiar & unfamiliar places but this is not always possible as I am widowed & live alone. I was told as long as I needed the help it not matter if I did not get the help. I was still entitled to claim.
on the award form they sent me, their reasons state for awarding me enchanced mobility is because I can only walk 20 meters but this is not true.I did not say that or write that on my PIP application. I am so worried & if I did not need PIP I would ring & cancel the award. I was so happy to receive the award at the time I did not read through why I received it.
very grateful for any advice. Thank you.

Carla35

I have found online tonight,regarding PIP mobility the descriper only applies if you can do the activity daily. Is this correct? I can’t walk my little dog every day, my neighbour does it for me sometimes. I walk maybe one evening, then mostly every other I try but due to my illness, some days I am too unwell to go out for a week or more at a time.
So if I can walk ok after taking heart spray & pump but can only do it some days,say for example  I may feel ok at 6 pm to walk but then up through the night with my heart or Asthma & not able to walk my little dog the next day will it matter that they applied 20 meters?. Am I going to be trouble for not reading through what they wrote? Due to the visual disturbances I experience I can’t do anything realisable, safely or repeatedly. Just so very worried.
Thank you

debsidoo

Hi @Carla35,
If you feel you are being followed contact the police with times and dates also provide them with the registration number and description of the car and driver if possible.They can at least find out who is doing this and why. It may just be a coincidence but at least they will be able to reassure you there is nothing suspicious going on.
  Debsidoo x

Chloe_Scope

Hi @Carla35 and a very warm welcome to the community.

I'm sorry you are being followed, this must be so scary! If you feel at risk then please do contact the police. Getting that reassurance should help to put your mind at ease?

MikeFromLFE

As others have said - this is something you MUST report to the police. 
This won't be Capita / ATOS - they are only interested in profit, and this would eat into their margins; I very much doubt that the DWP have this amount of slack that they can afford to trail an individual this way.

KG100

I'd take a photo of the car and number plate and then call or visit the local police station and ask them to check it out. 

Carla35

Thank you all for replying. I will do that next time. I have been too afraid to go out the past couple of days. Really worrying especially when living alone xx

Chloe_Scope

Hi @Carla35, no problem at all! I can understand why it would be frightening. If the community can help you with anything else then please do let us know

buzzer

@Carla35
use this link to pop postcode in to find your neighbourhood community police team, they may have a PCSO who can drop by for an informal chat, or call 101 
https://www.police.uk/

Carla35

Thats great, thank you so much x

Carla35

Hi everyone, I called into the police station & explained what has been happening. The officer checked the reg number I gave him & he said it belongs to someone living quite near to me. However, he was could not give me any more info so still no idea if it is DWP x

Carla35

Can anyone offer any advice also please, regarding my PIP mobility query? So very worried. Thanks so much x

poppy123456

Carla35 said:

Can anyone offer any advice also please, regarding my PIP mobility query? So very worried. Thanks so much x

What advice would you like?

LindaButler1970

I had a person from the DWP come and fill in my form at home as I find it difficult to write after a short period. She referred to how I get about and because there is this 20 meter question she basically said 'can you walk without any aid, including not holding on to anyone, not using the wall, to when out, and I said honestly no. 

I wait for the outcome, this was now a month ago and no reply as yet!

poppy123456

Having just read through you post again i can now see what your question is related to sorry.

Enhanced mobility for the moving around part is walking outside on level ground up to 20 metres regularly and reliably without pain, discomfort, breathlessness and fatigue.  When you're walking how far can you walk before you need to stop because of this?

You must also be affected at least 50% of the time over a 12 month period.

Carla35

Hi both & thank you for replying. I have Angina & Asthma so I get a sensation of heaviness, like theres a heavy weight on my chest, pushing every time I walk, ( or have stress) before 20 metres & I have to use my GTN ( angina spray under my tongue )I also have pain. I also use my pump, & then I can continue walking my dog but not every day. Use both during my walk also. I put all this on my forms & explained in detail but as I put in my post, I was so happy to receive my award after scoring 0 points at the first attempt, I didn’t read through their reasons for my award. I only realised when looking through my forms, due to being watched/followed that the DWP stated I could only walk 20 meters. This is not correct & not what I wrote or said as I can walk further than this but not before using my spray & pump & I can’t do it reliably. I also can loose my vision so I really need someone with me when I go out anywhere but as I am a widow, it’s not possible x

cristobal

@carla35 - try not to worry (harder to say than do I realise!)

Any of the descriptors should have 'reliably' attached to them, so when they say that you can walk 20m they mean 'can only walk 20m reliably'

There may be any number of reasons why you cannot walk further 'reliably' - maybe you can walk further, but not every day. Or walking further causes you pain.

Carla35

Ok thank you. I didn’t know that x

Carla35

Hi all, 
Not slept all night. I am still being followed & my house is still being watched. Honestly, this is making me a bag of nerves, despite not having done anything wrong. It is now a different car but they are doing exactly the same thing. They pull in & I walk past & I see them on their ipad or large phone & then they drive off further up the road until I reach them, then they drive away. When I return home, they are parked up quite near my house.
I have not been outside the door since last Friday. Then only to attend a Hospital appointment as I have been too unwell. I am never out daily & also unable to walk my little dog daily so why am I under surveillance & why is it ongoing? 
Thanks x

poppy123456

If this was anything to do with DWP then they would do it secretly and you probably wouldn't even know about it.

Have you phoned the police? If you haven't then i'd advise you to do this ASAP.

Carla35

This has been ongoing since July. Please will you read over my earlier posts which explain my condition & how it affects me. I am so very worried. Thanks x

poppy123456

I did read everything, as i always do before giving advice. Have you contacted the police?

Carla35

Yes, I contacted the police but they were not allowed to tell me any details. The time I leave the house varies when I am able to walk my little dog & there is no car outside when I leave, then within minutes it’s pulled up just ahead of me. Just really worried as I live alone. Thanks x

poppy123456

What do you mean they are not allowed to tell you any details? Are you saying they know you're being followed?

I honestly can't see that it would be anything to do with DWP. I know someone personally that was charged with benefit fraud, DWP had video footage and photos as evidence but the person didn't even know they were being followed.

Carla35

The police said the car belonged to someone who lived not far away from me but could not give me any details. This is now a different car but their behaviour is the same. If it is DWP there is nothing for them to really video. I am unable to cut my own lawn. My shopping is delivered as I can’t carry so all I do is walk my little dog & thats not even daily. It’s making me feel so unwell. I haven’t reported this new car incase the police think I am being paranoid, as living alone but I am not x

poppy123456

Could be a neighbour parking their car, which is why the police can't give you any details.

Carla35

No its not my neigbours I know them all & there are just a couple of houses x

AndrewM

The police will not believe you are paranoid. You see what you see and they have a duty to investigate if someone is making you feel unsafe in your home. Having said that, they are unlikely to treat it with the highest of priorities but should, at the very least, send round a PCSO to have a chat and maybe observe your concerns.

Someone filming you is not totally unlikely although I doubt very much it is the DWP. I know of a number of cases where disgruntled people film someone claiming benefits to show to the DWP - is there a chance someone could be doing this?

Most likely case is the cars that are parking up are coincidental, particularly if they are local cars. Maybe this is a convenient place to pull up and use a mobile phone? Whatever the case, you are not doing anything wrong and worrying is only likely to make things worse, particularly your health.

Do you have a mobile phone? if so, why not take a video of what you see and show this to a PCSO? It is worrying enough if you believe you are being followed, but even more so if you feel you are not being believed.

Carla35

Hi Andrew, It’ s all very odd & I just can’t relax. Thanks, I will video it the next time it happens & then ask a PCSO to call. I didn’t think of someone filming me to report me to the DWP! Gosh I didn’t know that happened x

Carla35

Hi all, 
I am so upset & so worried I feel really unwell. I called around to see all my neighbours yesterday evening, to ask them all if they had noticed a car parking up. Where I live there is no parking allowed, there are double yellows. There are only 6 houses & we are all  
spread out. We all have drives, so when a car parks up it stands out. I explained all thats been happening since July, that I was ever so worried & going to report it again to the police, this time with a video clip. The neighbour living on the opposite side to me, told me in no uncertain terms, she had reported me to the DWP back in March (  I was admitted to Hospital in March due to my heart) & said hopefully it was them watching me! She said she had received my mail by mistake, opened it by accident & discovered I was in receipt of Pip. She informed the DWP that I appeared to walk briskly past her house & seemed fit for work! I told her if she had followed me around the corner she would have seen me stopping, using my heart spray & pump before walking my little dog. Also, I am so unwell, that some days my next door neighbour walks my little dog. I am a very private person but felt obliged to list my health conditions & their severity to prove I was not a fraud. She then calmed down, apologised, saying she did not realise how unwell I was but felt angry that she had to go to work while most people abused the system.I can’t believe anyone can be so malicious. When she had visitors staying over last Xmas, I even told them they could  park in my drive. I am so worried. I don’t know whats going to happen. What do I do? I received my Pip payment last week is that a good sign? Thanks x

tinka1992

Carla35 said:

Hi all, 
I am so upset & so worried I feel really unwell. I called around to see all my neighbours yesterday evening, to ask them all if they had noticed a car parking up. Where I live there is no parking allowed, there are double yellows. There are only 6 houses & we are all  
spread out. We all have drives, so when a car parks up it stands out. I explained all thats been happening since July, that I was ever so worried & going to report it again to the police, this time with a video clip. The neighbour living on the opposite side to me, told me in no uncertain terms, she had reported me to the DWP back in March (  I was admitted to Hospital in March due to my heart) & said hopefully it was them watching me! She said she had received my mail by mistake, opened it by accident & discovered I was in receipt of Pip. She informed the DWP that I appeared to walk briskly past her house & seemed fit for work! I told her if she had followed me around the corner she would have seen me stopping, using my heart spray & pump before walking my little dog. Also, I am so unwell, that some days my next door neighbour walks my little dog. I am a very private person but felt obliged to list my health conditions & their severity to prove I was not a fraud. She then calmed down, apologised, saying she did not realise how unwell I was but felt angry that she had to go to work while most people abused the system.I can’t believe anyone can be so malicious. When she had visitors staying over last Xmas, I even told them they could  park in my drive. I am so worried. I don’t know whats going to happen. What do I do? I received my Pip payment last week is that a good sign? Thanks x

She said never of open your mail it's a against the law I hate it when people do this everybody disability effects people in different ways with my mental health that person sounds like a nosey neibour 

tinka1992

I.wouldnt worry as dwp cant just stop your pip if u have mental.proof 

poppy123456

I think your neighbour is very brave indeed to admit that they reported you. I hope you told them that PIP isn't about not being able to work! I also hope you told them that to be entitled to PIP the conditions don't have to affect you ALL the time. It's how you're affected at least 50% of the time over a 12 month period. People should mind their own business instead of prying into other people's lives.

Opening someone else's mail is against the law also but you won't have any proof they did this. If you reported them to the police for doing that they could potentially deny doing it.

If it is DWP watching you, although you're only assuming it's them watching you and they do contact you for a compliance interview, you'll need to get some face to face advice.

If you've done nothing wrong then you have nothing to worry about , i know that's easier said than done.

Cressida

@Carla35 I would try not to worry, like others have said if you have done nothing wrong you've nothing to worry about. You could contact DWP and let them know you are aware that your neighbour has reported you and they may be able to put your mind at rest about being followed. That might be easier than not knowing what is going on, take back the control. 

Chloe_Scope

@Carla35, I'm sorry this is still happening and I imagine it was upsetting to hear a neighbour had reported you. If you ever are feeling unsafe then please do not hesitate to call the police.

Carla35

Thank you all for replying. All this needless worry and stress. People assume so much without knowing the facts & seem to think everyone claiming benefits is a fraud. All down to the media! They also don’t understand how hard it is to claim the benefit in the first place x

Chloe_Scope

I hope you're able to relax this weekend @Carla35, we understand how hard it is to claim and that you haven't done anything wrong.

Carla35

Thanks Chloe x

Carla35

Hi everyone,
My home is still being watched & I have reported it again to the police. It appears to be on going. I have not been well enough to go out with my little dog since I last posted. I have also had to cancel 2 Hospital appts as I have not been well enough to travel. I have received nothing from the DWP as yet. I have looked online & can find nothing in regard to how long they can continue to watch/follow me. I have my GP ringing later as I have not been sleeping & really suffering with stress & anxiety, worrying about the DWP calling me for a compliance interview. I have to write lists of questions to ask my consultants at appointments as I forget things & can loose my train of thought in conversations. When having questions fired at me I know I won’t be able to cope x

Carla35

Also, I am worrying if the DWP decide to take me to court, (even though I know I will be found not guilty as I have done nothing wrong) online it states the DWP can still insist you repay them, even if you are found not guilty. How can this be right? X

AndrewM

Carla, you need sound advice from welfare rights / CAB as you are making your condition worse by hiding at home and avoiding going out. Please ring CAB and discuss your situation with them. As an outsider looking in, you have done nothing wrong, you are not guilty of anything which would result in being taken to court but you have been worrying about this for 3 months now so you need someone who can look at your individual situation and give you correct advice.

Please contact CAB on 0344 411 1444. They will look at your situation and advise accordingly to help you get your life back on track.

Carla35

I will ring them now. Thanks Andrew M x

poppy123456

It can very often take a very long time to get through to anyone from CAB. If this happens then put your postcode into this link and it will tell you what other advice agency is local to ring. Then you can ring them. https://advicelocal.uk/

Cressida

@Carla35 so sorry to hear that this is still ongoing. Can you get someone to call the DWP on your behalf? It's awful that you have this worry hanging over your head. What did the police say when you reported it again? I hope you have some friends to support you. 

Carla35

Hi, 
I have spoken with a lovely advisor at CAB & they suggested I write a letter of complaint to the DWP. Unsure though as I do not want to fan the flames so to speak. They did say also to contact them for support/advice if I receive a letter for a compliance interview. Police are not that helpful, maybe they know the cars involved belong to the DWP & not allowed to tell me x

cristobal

@carla35 - personally I do not believe that it is the DWP - if they were carrying out surveillance they wouldn't do it over such a lengthy period, nor use a car that is registered to a local address.

As you say the police won't be able to give you the keeper details for the car but it does sound like it's one of your neighbours...

Chloe_Scope

Hi @Carla35, how are you doing at the moment?

mikehughescq

Bottom line is that if DWP believed at present that there was a reasonable doubt about your entitlement they would have already suspended it. They are allowed to gather evidence so as to ascertain whether a reasonable doubt exists and a complaint to DWP won’t change that nor involving the police. DWP can only film under specific legislation and they will have obtained that permission. It will end when they either review what they have and decide to do nothing or decide to call you in for an interview under caution. 

The latter should not be read as automatically meaning a fraud prosecution is imminent. It’s most often just a speculative information gathering exercise. There are few prosecutions and most of them occur not because of actual fraud but usually because people don’t get proper representation. In that regard I mean a welfare rights officer AND a solicitor. You’ll only need the latter in the case of fraud. You’ll need the former in any event as solicitors have little clue re: benefit fraud. 

The single most valuable thing you can do right now is to take your own notes. Where you walked; what date; how long and how far. Most importantly, what happened next i.e. whether you needed to use meds; were bed bound and so on. You’ve already won at one tribunal and barring a major misinterpretation or change of circumstance there’s no reason you couldn’t do so again if need be provided you approach it methodically. 

Carla35

Thank you so much Mikehughescq. 

I am sorry I am so late in replying to you. I have been really unwell & then had a severe angina attack. I am now on increased medications.

I will follow your advice & note down all the details every time I go out, which is never daily. I always use my spray & pump, when walking, although the DWP probably will not have filmed me using these. 

It is always the same route I walk my little dog, which is just around the block so to speak & the neighbour who reported me must have informed them of this.

The DWP continue to watch my home & last night, the 2nd time in a week that I went out with my little dog, they were parked on the pavement waiting for me to arrive home, then drove off as I approached my drive.

Due to other health problems,I have never walked my little dog more than 3 times in any week, my neighbour does it for me.I do not know why they continue to watch me. 

This is making me very unwell & afraid of what they may do. It stated online, if they try to prosecute, despite a judge finding you not guilty of fraud, the DWP can still demand a repayment & go back over many years so you owe them many thousands of pounds.I would have to sell my home.

I never put on my application I couldn’t walk. I said I had pain, severe discomfort & was breathless before 20 meters & had to use my meds before I continued. 

My Angina is far worse now than when I applied for PIP & heart tests I had recently, have discovered another problem with my heart & I have to have another angiogram & possible heart surgery. 

I rang CAB, then I rang Welfare rights & asked if they would look over my PIP application just to put my mind at rest but they said they do not do this x

Carla35

Hi Chloe-scope,
I have not been too good & still so very worried. Thank you for asking x