PIP Advice

Luchia

Hello Everyone!

After many helpful replies on my last post I decided to take the advice and apply for PIP.
Back in June I filled in the form about how my disability effects me.
On the 30th Of June I got a text to let me know they had my form and would be in touch.
After waiting a few weeks I had my Phone Assesmenf on August 18th.
I was quite nervous on the call but the lady I spoke to seemed very kind and didn’t rush me at all, she did ask some very personal questions but I expected this.
At the start of the call she explained she was a Mentor and asked if it was ok if a new member of staff could listen in on the call so she could learn how it works which I was hesitant but agreed to.
The call lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes and she didn’t rush me at any point and allowed me plenty of time to compose myself.
At the end of the call she said she would sent the report she had done straight away and to await further instructions text but this part could take 10-15 days.
This morning(20th) I got a text to explain that the form had been completed and was awaiting a decision maker to decide the outcome.
I have phoned and requested a copy of the report which they said will arrive in 5-7 days.

My anxiety has gone through the roof at how fast the report has come back as she said it would be roughly 12 days but mine has come back the next day so I’m thinking it will definitely be a negative result

my claim is for Spinal Stenosis, Depression and Anxiety.
Really just looking for some advice and info as I am really worried that the report coming back so quickly will be an automatic full set of 0s

Cher_Inactive

Hello @Luchia and well done you for applying.  The benefit is there to help people such as yourself who face additional costs because of their impairment so you did the right thing.

A few people on the board have had a quick turnaround with their report and it does not necessarily mean it's negative news so try not to worry (easier said than done).  I'll have everything crossed for you.  Please keep us updated 

poppy123456

HI,

The report being returned 2 days after your assessment means nothing at all other than it's been returned. Some reports are returned the same day as the assessment. Once the report has been written, there's no reason to hold onto it any longer than they need to. At this point it's impossible to predict anything.

It's also worth remembering that PIP isn't awarded based on a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect your ability to carry out daily activity based on the PIP descriptors.

If you live in the UK you can now ring DWP to request a copy of the report to be sent to you. Once you receive this you should look at the descriptors online to add up the recommended points in the report (they are not added up in this report) from that you'll have some idea what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the report. Although you'll still need to wait for the decision to be made and there's no timescales.

Once the decision's made if you're not happy you'll have 1 month from that date to request the Mandatory Reconsideration.

Luchia

From what I have read online I’m not holding much hope for a positive response.
A lot of people have said the assessor has lied or neglected to input the information which was given to them during assessment which has made me rather paranoid as they seem so kind on the phone.
I have phoned and requested a copy of the report which they are sending but takes 5-7 days.

Really hoping since she had a new staff member on the call for training that she was one of the honest ones 

file28

Not all the assessors are devious and the time frame doesn't really have a bearing on the outcome 
It is all about how your disability affects you 
Good luck with your claim and keep us posted 

poppy123456

Luchia said:

From what I have read online I’m not holding much hope for a positive response.

This ^^ reading all the negative stories on an internet forum will only make you feel worse. It's only natural that people post on a forum only when they've had a decision they're not happy with. If they're happy with the decision they have no questions to answer so we don't hear their story.

My advice is not to read the stories.

Luchia

One thing that was rather weird during the assessment.
she asked if I have any pets and seemed quite disappointed that I said I only have a cat.
she even said “Do you not have a dog”?

poppy123456

Perfectly normal to ask the question about pets because it can tell them a lot of things. Remember they are trying to get the full picture of how your conditions affect you.

Luchia

Was just odd that even after answering she asked if I had a dog.
She seemed very disappointed I only have a cat 

poppy123456

I know it's very difficult but please try to relax, there's nothing more you can do now until a decision's been made.

Luchia

Thank you
I shall try and keep my anxiety under control as much as possible just really difficult at times.
just hoping the assessor was honest and put down what I said, I know I made myself worse reading the posts about people having an assessor lying in the assessment forms 

wilko

To Luchia and others applying for PIP, the benefit is awarded on your abilities to preform, manage and Cope doing the PIP descriptors safely, repeatedly and in a timely manner. It is not awarded on a disability, diagnosis or the amount of medications you have prescribed. So when filling in your application form give as much information about your health conditions and the reasons why you are unable to manage, cope dozing the descriptor you are writing about, use extra paper if needed and remember to put your name and National insurance number on each page.

Luchia

wilko said:

To Luchia and others applying for PIP, the benefit is awarded on your abilities to preform, manage and Cope doing the PIP descriptors safely, repeatedly and in a timely manner. It is not awarded on a disability, diagnosis or the amount of medications you have prescribed. So when filling in your application form give as much information about your health conditions and the reasons why you are unable to manage, cope dozing the descriptor you are writing about, use extra paper if needed and remember to put your name and National insurance number on each page.

That’s what I did on my form and phone assessment I explained about my daily life and the struggles I have with everyday tasks.
My own faulty for reading about people’s bad experiences with Assessors lying or not putting everything they are told during assessment so it’s made me quite paranoid 

poppy123456

Lots of people claim PIP successfully first time without any problems at all. Infact, since Covid19 more people have successfully claimed it first time than ever before.

poppy123456

@mikehughescq -coughs- and what's wrong with a cat?

poppy123456

Haha, funny. Thanks for the laugh! Anyway, back on topic and sorry for going off topic on someone's thread.

Luchia

My Cat would like to open a discrimination case against the Assessor lol.
although that does answer why she sounded so disappointed I didn’t have a dog

Luchia

mikehughescq said:

Luchia said:

Was just odd that even after answering she asked if I had a dog.
She seemed very disappointed I only have a cat 

If you have a dog, that automatically leads onto obvious questions about bending to feed it; bending to pick up after it; about walking distances; about what type of dog and whether it jumps up and you can handle that physically (which speaks to strength and balance) about how you hoover the hair up; whether you can see the hair (if you have a VI); how you get a tin of dog food open; whether you can physically carry a bag of heavy dog biscuits; whether you can clip their claws etc. (manual dexterity and fine detail).

This is basically what happens when you read too much on the internet and other people’s stories. The default position becomes that everything a HCP does is dubious or tricky or manipulative or “odd” or they’re all liars or it’s a disgrace they’re not medically qualified and so on. 

The reality is that it’s a brilliant question that saves a lot of time in a time-limited assessment and potentially cuts across at least 4 PIP activities. Frankly if I was a HCP I’d be genuinely disappointed if someone had a cat too.

Now you have explained it that is an incredibly smart question to use.
no wonder she was disappointed at the lack of a canine companion.

Luchia

mikehughescq said:

Bringing it back on topic HCPs are bound to be disappointed if you’ve a cat because you can’t really take cats for walks (unless you’re a little weird); a cat is unlikely to jump up and knock you over; only a vet (or an idiot) is likely to address the claws of a cat and cats don’t consume great big bags of biscuits. 

Quite a sneaky but genius question really.
I thought it was a little weird she asked about not having a dog but makes sense now