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Received my assessment report!!!!

Leighann111

Hi, I had my f2f Monday, received my assessment report today! I’m shocked to say the least! It seems like it’s written by 2 different people!

I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety in 2012, and alcoholism in 2015.

My anxiety is severe, I’ve not left my house alone in over 4 years and I barely leave at all, my husband manages all the finances, all the cooking, cleaning etc. The f2f was a massive trigger for me. Anyway, at the assessments I was kept waiting an hour and 15 minutes to see the assessor, went in and answered all the questions I could while trying to stop the looming panic attack! The assessor kept telling me to breathe, try stay calm etc and said she could see I was clearly suffering from mental health problems. Fast forward me getting a copy of the report.......... I scored 2 points on the engaging face to face with others and that’s it!!!!!! The report is full of contradictions, and a few things I’ve told her she didn’t even put in! I just called and managed to speak to a DM. she was very friendly and wrote down everything I told her to put in with my paperwork, however she said that she shouldn’t tell me over the phone but it’s unlikely that the decision will change, wait for my award letter then ask for a MR! Why are these assessors allowed to carry on like this! It’s made my anxiety levels peak and I now feel that all is lost and I should just give up!

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poppy123456

HI and welcome,

PIP isn't about a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect your ability to carry out daily activity based on the PIP descriptors. They do mostly go with the report. it's rare to go against it.

May i ask if you sent relevant evidence with the form to support your claim? Is this a first time claim, a review or a transfer from DLA?

You will need to wait for the decision to be made, then you'll have 1 month from that date to request the Mandatory reconsideration (MR) you should put this in writing stating where and why you think you should have scored those points. Then add a couple of real life examples of what happened the last time you attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to you.

Most MR decisions remain the same so it's likely you'll have to take it to Tribunal. Appearing in person will give you the best chance of a decision in your favour but the waiting times are huge in most areas, some are waiting a year for a hearing date.

Have a read of this link, it will give you more of an understanding of what the descriptors mean.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

Leighann111

Thank you poppy123456. I will definitely sit and go through that information. I just feel that my mental health was not taken into consideration one bit and fail to see how I scored so low. I will request a MR, but I think if that stays the same I’ll leave it! My mum has just been through a very lengthy tribunal with PIP, and although she won, it was extremely distressing for her. The assessor literally diagnosed me as having low mood, and not anxiety, I only put my medical diagnosis on here as a bit of background. I will certainly use the points you gave me when I appeal, thank you.

Edit, I didn’t send any information originally, but am waiting to speak to my doctor today to ask him to do me a letter detailing how I’m affected daily

poppy123456

You're welcome,

A letter from your GP isn't the best evidence to send because they very rarely know how our conditions affect us against the PIP descriptors, they will only ever know the basic like medication and diagnosis. If they know more than they then it could be classed as patient lead.

Leighann111

What would be better to send?

poppy123456

Evidence that states how your conditions affect you against the PIP descriptors. Also writing the MR as i advised above using those real life examples. There's only about a 15% chance of the MR decision changing, which is very low.

EricaMcD

Evidence from your GP and any therapists who can objectively back-up your claim is going to be a key. I would appeal the decision and gain as much advice as you can. I would advise using very specific examples of how your conditions meet the specific criteria of the questions, i.e. face-to-face. The examples that you gave in your introductory email are good, about not going out on your own for four years.

Leighann111

Thank you for the advice. Seems like it’s just pointless though unfortunately

Leighann111

Can I write and send all this now, so the decision maker can see while making the decision, or is that just going to be pointless?

poppy123456

There’s nothing stopping you sending it now but it may not arrive in time before a decision is made. They also usually go with the report, it’s rare for them to go against it.

cristobal

@EricaMcD said "Evidence from your GP and any therapists who can objectively back-up your claim is going to be a key.."

If the GP's and therapists can do this then that's great.

Bear in mind though that most medical professionals don't know a lot/ anything about the benefits system - they're trained to diagnose and treat illness not do paperwork for the DWP.

The 'evidence' that they able to give will be limited - since they don't generally see you cook, take a bath/shower, eat etc. Maybe they could comment on you getting dressed if they noticed this when they last examined you.

I've never worked for the DWP but I wouldn't be surprised if a 'supportive letter' comes across as exactly that. My GP said that she would write a letter if I gave her an idea what to write, so not really any use as 'objective evidence'!

@Leighann111 - good luck with your MR...

Leighann111

Thank you Cristobal. I Don’t hold any hope tbh. I’ve decided I’m going to write a letter to the DM, and hope it arrives in time. I will state that I know it won’t have any bearing on the outcome but I want my side put across as I feel the assessor didn’t really listen. Maybe she was rushed as like I said she kept me waiting an awful long time

cristobal

@Leighann111 - if you read back through the posts you'll see lots of mention of 'activities' and 'descriptors'...

I really do think that it's worth reading through these and using them to guide you what to concentrate on - for example 'mobility' doesn't include using stairs; preparing food is above waist height so doesn't include using an oven...

If you're talking about these then it's like being in an exam and not answering the question..!

Leighann111

Thank you I will

Leighann111

Also, and I don’t know if this has any bearing, but UC have declared me unfit for work

poppy123456

No, unfortunately it doesn't. PIP and the work capability assessment are different benefits, with totally different criteria. People claim PIP and work.

Leighann111

Ahhhh ok I wasn’t sure if they would look into my report from UC also

Leighann111

Right, I’ve written a letter but I think what I’m going to do is copy each page I don’t agree with and write my reasons on the page and send it with a covering letter. Can I use quotes from the descriptors? Also, would I put what I would mark myself or leave it?

abigail71

Hi, how did you receive it so quickly??
Can they tell you what you've scores over the phone? Confused, I've been waiting since september.
I was told to give pip my UC unfit for work assesment thing though, I just printed off the pdf they put in my journal, I know they are different but I got told to put mine in

poppy123456

abigail71 said:

Can they tell you what you've scores over the phone? Confused, I've been waiting since september.
I was told to give pip my UC unfit for work assesment thing though, I just printed off the pdf they put in my journal, I know they are different but I got told to put mine in

No, they won't tell you what score is recommended in the report when you ring to request it. When you receive the report you'll need to use the PIP descriptors to add up the points that maybe recommended.

Leighann111

Abigail71, I don’t know why I got it so fast, I called today and they said my claim is with the DM and. The lady on the phone wouldn’t tell me how many points I had, just that there were some