Assessment - should you complain?

Martin2019

Hi, I am going through mandatory Reconsideration as I do not agree with my PIP Assessment. It is so far from the truth I feel I should complain. I have read stories about people complaining and then having to undergo a second assessment. Should I just concentrate on doing my MR and sending any additional evidence etc ? Is it beneficial to complain about my assessment ? / would it help others in the future but hinder me ?

poppy123456

HI,

You should concentrate on writing the MR letter first. Once that's done you can complain if you want to the health assessment providers, details how to that are on their website. It's very rare to have another face to face assessment so my advice is not to expect that to happen. You can't prove what did or didn't happen during the assessment.

Martin2019

Hi, with regards to
using “ an aid” it states the below:


It’s important to understand that ‘aid or appliance’ has a particular legal definition for the purposes of personal independence payment (PIP).  The law states that “aid or appliance”:
 
(a) means a device to improve, provide or replace a physical or mental function;
(b) includes a prosthesis; and
(c) does not include an aid or appliance ordinarily used by a person without a physical or mental condition which limits that person’s ability to carry out daily living or mobility activities.

does that mean for example an alarm on a phone as a reminder to take medicine at a set time everyday with not be classed as an aid or appliance ?

cristobal

does that mean for example an alarm on a phone as a reminder to take medicine at a set time everyday with not be classed as an aid or appliance ?

@martin2019 - yes that's right ...plenty of people use arms on phone's etc as a reminder....

Edit _ I correct what I said above...according to DWP guidelines alarms are counted as an aid if you are unable to reliably manage your medication without them

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pollyanna1052

Hi, yeh very sadly, assessors do not always give the full truth of what a claimant does or does not do.

I got full enhancement, but there were two inaccuracies in her report.

I do wonder why they have to add things that did/didn't occur in an assessment.

As much as we feel the need to complain, it seems it wont help our case.

Get that MR as watertight as you can and back it up with evidence, Good luck

DuffersMum

stejon said:

Hi Martin2019. You will find that a lot of hcp's lie in the assessments and they don't take onto account if you can do the tasks, Safely, reliably, too an acceptable standard and in a reasonable time. So make sure you mention this in your MR. Good luck 

Definitely correct about the safely, reliably etc bit..my HCP completely ignored that part in her report, nothing mentioned about it all 

cristobal

@DuffersMum - probably too late now (!) but when i had my assessment if I was asked "Can you do x" I only answered "Yes" if I could do it 'reliably'

If I couldn't do 'x' reliably I said no, and then the assessor had to ask further questions to find out why specifically I couldn't do something - e.g. could walk but only slowly, could prepare a meal but only once per day as i got too tired etc etc...

Worked for me, after a fashion...

The assessment took a long time though!!

Good luck..

DuffersMum

Yes I said things that I wouldn’t be able to repeat doing etc but she only focused her whole report on the fact I drive a couple a times a week, nothing about if I have to drive to a GP appointment (for example) that having parked right outside in a disabled bay and walking a few metres inside I would be in extreme pain radiating down from my back and hips into my legs and would not be able to repeat a similar experience that day...nope completely ignored that but kept saying because I can drive I can walk up to 50m despite me telling her on numerous occasions that my pain is from weight bearing and not from sitting...I was in and out in two shakes of a dogs tail, she couldn’t wait to get me out the door ??‍♀️ Awful woman, hope I don’t get her at my next assessment