Pip home assesment

dazman14

Had my home assesment yesterday. It was scary to say the least.


What I found was the assesor kept saying I dont have to stand up f I don't want too. I explained the severe joint pain and it was noted in my pip2.

She mentioned it at the start, inbetween and twice just as she was asking me to do the activities almost stressing I shouldn't do it or I felt that way.



Is this positive? I ofcourse said I really dont want too and she said that is okay. 

Also she made a point of saying she rang to ensure my mum was present three times before coming. And was concerned when she arrived also saying it's good your mum is here for support. 


She also asked if I was statemented in school and had chams etx.

I've read hundreds of posts being  negative etc I suppose you dont hear about the good ones as much. But she really seemed to ask everything.

Also she had to extend the time from expected 45 minutes to just over an hour and 20 minutes.

I never hear of extensions like this? If she felt it wasnt going anywhere wouldn't she just cut it short... I dunno...

The whole process was relaxed but I felt on edge to say the least and I really dont help myself by running my head with thoughts but it is part of my conditions. I am not comfortable saying what they are.

Edit:

I also forgotten to mention my mum talked for me for the most part. Which the assessor was more than happy with looking at her for answers and asking us both questions.

I think these are positives but I was wondering if anyone else had any similar experiences or heard of any. My mum isn't my apointee also.


Darren

poppy123456

HI,

The length of time the assessment lasted for is about average. It can be anything from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours, it really depends on what questions are asked. I've had assessments last 1 hour and 10 minutes.

No one can really predict anything at this stage. A week after the assessment, it you live in the UK you can request a copy of the assessment report to be sent to you. This will give you some idea what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the report, to request it you'll need to ring DWP. You'll still need to wait for the decision but at least you'll have some idea.

Waiting times for decisions can be anything from 2-8 weeks, sometimes longer. Good luck.

Chloe_Scope

Hi @dazman14 and a very warm welcome to the community! 

You're right, we hear a lot less about the positive experiences. But this doesn't mean they don't happen!! Like @poppy123456 has said, requesting your report can give you an idea of the award. I hope you aren't waiting too long and I wish you the best of luck.

dazman14

Chloe_Scope said:

Hi @dazman14 and a very warm welcome to the community! 

You're right, we hear a lot less about the positive experiences. But this doesn't mean they don't happen!! Like @poppy123456 has said, requesting your report can give you an idea of the award. I hope you aren't waiting too long and I wish you the best of luck.

poppy123456 said:

HI,

The length of time the assessment lasted for is about average. It can be anything from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours, it really depends on what questions are asked. I've had assessments last 1 hour and 10 minutes.

No one can really predict anything at this stage. A week after the assessment, it you live in the UK you can request a copy of the assessment report to be sent to you. This will give you some idea what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the report, to request it you'll need to ring DWP. You'll still need to wait for the decision but at least you'll have some idea.

Waiting times for decisions can be anything from 2-8 weeks, sometimes longer. Good luck.

Thankyou for your comments. I hope for my sanity its faster. I have ran into problems requesting reports before a decision but ill try 

poppy123456

If you live in the UK they usually agree to send the report before a decision. You may be unlucky to speak to someone that won't agree to send it, as this does happen sometimes. If so then just ring again and speak to someone different and they'll most likely agree to send it to you.

worried33

Out of the 4 times I rang, the first lady was awkward but agreed after I agreed it was subject to change if the DWP send it back for audit.  The other 3 people had no issue in getting it sent out to me. So it would seem to be a minority of the call centre staff who might obstruct the request, as poppy says if you refused just ring again.  I only had to ring 4 times as my report actually wasnt there but delayed by audit.

dazman14

@worried33 is an audit basically like their own version of a reconsideration to ensure that the right things have been chosen by the assesor. Eg a fresh face checks it and agrees or disagrees.

worried33

yep, I figured that out after I read that gov document for auditing but it seems the DWP like to call it an audit in public.

dazman14

worried33 said:

yep, I figured that out after I read that gov document for auditing but it seems the DWP like to call it an audit in public.

I see. I am so torn my head is all over the stress the thoughts it's quite unfair that they dont discuss in detail what they think during a face to face to atleast ease or prepare someone. 

I hope that the positive comments like pip helps better than dla for people with my specific needs  (I do and dont see that point) and specifically asking if was statemented and about chams and making sure I didnt do specific things she asked by saying it numerous times will be something. It certainly hasn't eased my thoughts... I am at ww3 in my head. It scares me  to death because I grasp onto reality and I often spiral way out of control with the thoughts in my head to the point I literlary cannot cope with it and believe me when i say i am almost a time bomb waiting and that scares me right now but I honestly don't care once my minds made up... good job my mum comes around is all I am saying. 

worried33

Yeah I 100% understand, this is one of the reasons I think the time between f2f and decision should be absolutely as short as possible.  Maximum 1-2 weeks.  I would speculate for the majority of people this part of a claim is extremely stressful.

What helped me is getting the report early, but thats not a thing for everyone.

JulieTuesday

Hi, I have just had my F2F Home visit. The assessor lady said I will have to wait 5 to 6 weeks for a letter from DWP.  I know I can ask for a copy of what the assessor wrote, what I would like to know is when the final letter comes from DWP with your total points on and what you will receive (or not) could this differ from a copy of the assessors report, if it can differ what is the point of asking for a copy? does the DWP change what the assessor writes or do they 100% rely on her or his words please?  (I agree it is a long time for your final letter, but she said to me they are very stretched at the moment)  Thank you.

poppy123456

The assessment report goes into more detail than the actual decision letter, which is why it's always worth asking for a copy of the report. The timescale you were told is what they tell everyone but it's varies wildly in all areas.

JulieTuesday

Thank you poppy.

chris74

Hi, I had my F2F on 18th june still no one at pip has even looked at my report. I've been told today that due to staff shortages it could take another 8 weeks. When you do get your report, make sure you are happy with all the points, as you may still have time to add any supporting evidence to your claim before a DM makes a final decision. 

I wish you all the best with your claim :-) 

Chloe_Scope

Thank you for this @chris74. I hope you aren't waiting too much longer to get your report!

JulieTuesday

Thank you Chris I hope you get some news soon, yours sounds like a nightmare.  I did have a recent Consultants letter and sent it to the assessor company who came out to me, the lady didn't refer to it at all at my f2f and although it said my medication had to be increased she still asked what medication was I currently on.  It does feel like they are just checking your words on the day against what you wrote on your original pip 2 form. I offered her the new letter and she waved it away?  I will have another letter due any day so will send that to DWP instead, all correspondence I send I do put my NI number on, that is thanks to the helpful Poppy who comes on here.  18th of June is ages away for you, maybe they are clogged up. The lady who came here said they were very much under pressure. Best of luck.

JulieTuesday

If you mean me Lovecats I felt it went well but then today I think it didn't! I've been going over and over what I failed to say and some of the assessor's questions were very loaded. I did feel very uneasy and uncomfortable I felt almost ashamed to be asking for help. She asked me to make some upper body movements which I could do but one movement caused pain so I told her. I don't think there is any benefit in being very friendly at all as she was matter of fact and rarely smiled, she was certainly in a hurry. The f2f lasted an hour and a half. I have memory problems so I expect she will think I can't remember on purpose. Sadly now I just feel I've had enough and would like to thank all the lovely comments and people on here because it has helped me no end. I'm not alone which is how I felt before I came on here. I had a new consultants letter but she didn't want to look at it, I had already sent a copy to her office.  I live near the coast and she said she had so many visits to do in one day which is why she seemed in such a rush. Because these assessors are now visiting older people who are forced to move from DLA to PIP, they are not really geared up to oldies at all, she looked to be 15 years old to me!.  Just my opinion! Thank you to all.