Finally got my renewal assessment...

jimdave19832

So after sending back renewal forms in December and delay after delay, I finally have an assessment date - next Wednesday and it’s via telephone…? 

Couple issues given I struggle to speak on the phone, my Mum is working so cannot be with me to assist and I am worried sick to death given how can they do an assessment over the phone?! I am adamant they will interpret things completely different and/or make stuff up as per their last assessment.

I just can’t get my head around having a phone appointment for something so important and personal. 

Cher_Scope

Hi @jimdave19832

I understand your apprehension at the thought of having an assessment over phone.  The prospect of one face to face can be equally daunting and these are difficult circumstances we are all having to adjust to.

Many of our members have had telephone assessments and described them being okay and not as bad as feared.  We also have some Success stories that might give you added hope.  

Make sure to inform the assessor upfront that you find it difficult speaking on the phone so they are aware.  I have my fingers crossed for you, please keep us updated.  

male45

@jimdave19832
@Cher_Scope has given you some great advice and a link to success stories. Please take time to read through them and I hope they might help put your mind at ease for your assessment. 
I had mine back in mar and to be honest I had same thoughts and apprehensions as yourself,  but on the day the lady who phoned me was polite, pleasant and not at all rude unlike the first one when it was face to face..if given the choice I'd rather have a phone assessment. 
Good luck with yours and please do post back with an update of how it went.
Best wishes

poppy123456

Hi,

Face to face assessments are still suspended and there's no indication of when they are going to resume again.

I understand just how scary a phone assessment is as a lot of people can't speak on the phone. Although your fear about contradictions and not being fairly assessed will always be a worry for everyone, even for face to face assessments.

However, the telephone assessments are going extremely well and even more people are being successfully awarded than before Covid and that's a very good thing.

As always, wait a week after the assessment and ring DWP to request a copy of the assessment report to be sent to you, If you live in the UK. This will give you some idea what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the report.

janer1967

Hi @jimdave19832 I am glad you have now got a date for your assessment but understand your anxious about the call.

Follow the advice given above and fingers crossed you will be fine. 

Try and put it out of your mind but make sure you are prepared as said above have a read through your form before so you remember what you put 

Good luck  fingers crossed for you

jimdave19832

Thanks for your messages guys.

Just finished my telephone renewal assessment. 1 hour 34 minutes long so quite exhausted!

Seemed to go well and pleasent enough.

Didn't ask me if I could walk between certain amount of meters but assume that would have been covered within other answers I gave about mobility.

Here's hoping

ernie2009

hopefully all has gone well for you . i have my assessment next wed 8am.

jimdave19832

ernie2009 said:

hopefully all has gone well for you . i have my assessment next wed 8am.

Good luck chap. 

janer1967

Glad it went ok just the wait now for the decision, dont forget you can request your report after about 7 days to gier some indication what the assessor has recommended

jimdave19832

janer1967 said:

Glad it went ok just the wait now for the decision, dont forget you can request your report after about 7 days to gier some indication what the assessor has recommended

Thank you! I think I'm just going to wait it out as prob get worked up if report is wrong 

janer1967

I can understand that fingers crossed and let us know the outcome

ernie2009

jimdave19832 said:

ernie2009 said:

hopefully all has gone well for you . i have my assessment next wed 8am.

Good luck chap. 

thanks so much jim

Cher_Scope

@jimdave19832 I'm glad you have had your telephone assessment and it wasn't as bad as feared.  Lots of luck for the outcome and for now try to relax and make sure to talk to us if you have any worries.

jasperbear

Hi just had a telephone assessment about my pip renewal completely out of the blue, no appointment,  you were lucky they let you know in advance.  It's set my anxiety of big time 

jimdave19832

jasperbear said:

Hi just had a telephone assessment about my pip renewal completely out of the blue, no appointment,  you were lucky they let you know in advance.  It's set my anxiety of big time 

Jesus that's not good. Sorry to hear as that must have been so hard for you being unprepared and also not mentally prepared.

Cress

That is scary...I thought they had to at least give a little notice...hope it turns out well for you.

Cher_Scope

@jasperbear Oh heck, that isn't good.  I'm sorry that got sprung on you.  How did you find the assessment?  

poppy123456

jasperbear said:

Hi just had a telephone assessment about my pip renewal completely out of the blue, no appointment,  you were lucky they let you know in advance.  It's set my anxiety of big time 

Did you receive a review form to fill out and return for this? If you gave a mobile number on the form then usually they send you texts to remind you of the assessment date/time. Didn't you receive anything at all?

jasperbear

It was a bit scary, asking what medication I am on and who prescribed it, do I go shopping and what aids do I use. All things that we put in the renewal form. I was so unprepared and by myself 

ernie2009

hopefully the end result will all be worth it.

Cher_Scope

@jasperbear It sounds like you were caught completely off-guard.  I'm not surprised it made you anxious.  Well done for getting through it.  Try to relax now and I wish you the very best of luck with the outcome.  Keep us updated.  

mikehughescq

They can’t do assessments with zero notice. It’s not allowed. That suggests messages have gone awol; been disregarded or it wasn’t an assessment at all but a clarification call on a few key points. The thing to remember is that it’s your time. If someone rings out of the blue you can simply ask them to reschedule at a time more convenient for you. Nothing terrible happens when you say no. Any report in consequence of such a call will near automatically carry less weight because of the impact it will have had in your mental state. 

jimdave19832

So just after 2 days, had a text to say DWP have got my written report. Half tempted to request it 

poppy123456

If you live in the UK they will send it before a decision's been made. Mostly they go with the report, it's rare to go against it, although it can happen. Of course you'll still need to wait for the decision to be made but at least you'll have some idea.

Adrian_Scope

Did you decide whether you'll request a copy @jimdave19832? I know some people choose not to and others prefer having it as soon as possible. 

jimdave19832

Adrian_Scope said:

Did you decide whether you'll request a copy @jimdave19832? I know some people choose not to and others prefer having it as soon as possible. 

HI Adrian,

Decided I'm just going to wait it out as no doubt my anxiety will go through the roof waiting for the report. IF my renewal claim gets awarded I'll request purely out of curiosity

Adrian_Scope

That's understandable @jimdave19832. Will be keeping my fingers crossed that you receive a decision quickly. Let us know how you get on.

jimdave19832

So I was curious so got a copy of my report that arrived today.

Going from it, I scored 8 points and then 10. Assuming DWP go with report, my claim stays the same.

But, a few things in there have annoyed me. I have a medicine sorting box to store and manage my meds and I also have someone come over twice a day to ensure I take them as with my mental health issues I wouldn't bother to take them and in the past I have overdosed. Scored 0 points - stated no indication from current meds that would effect my mental health and I'm capable to take unaided with no previous history of OD'ing.

But on another page it states claimant has overdosed in the past. So what is it?!

But in the grand scheme of things I'm unsure to challenge it as happy and the extra 2 points wouldn't actually get me anywhere. Guess it's just the principal 

poppy123456

Usually they do go with the report but it has been known for them to go against it but this is rare.

You're right about the extra points for that activity, it wouldn't score you enough for Enhanced daily living. Requesting the MR then Tribunal for those extra points when you wouldn't score enough for a higher award is completely pointless, even out of prinicipal.

jimdave19832

poppy123456 said:

Usually they do go with the report but it has been known for them to go against it but this is rare.

You're right about the extra points for that activity, it wouldn't score you enough for Enhanced daily living. Requesting the MR then Tribunal for those extra points when you wouldn't score enough for a higher award is completely pointless, even out of prinicipal.

I've also and despite advising my mother has control over my finances as due to my mental health issues and levels of debt rising, I have no ability to control myself and she pays bills etc.

Awarded 0 points with same reason as above - stated no indication from current meds that would effect my mental health and I'm capable of making budgeting decisions. 

4 points missed out on when should have been awarded 4 and that would take me up to higher rate

poppy123456

It's entirely your decision whether you request the MR but before doing this i'd advise you to get some expert advice. For this, start here. https://advicelocal.uk/

lisab12

Eny one help me please  my pip is ends  in dec 2020 what do I need to do I so worried  and making me I'll eny one no please 

poppy123456

lisab12 said:

Eny one help me please  my pip is ends  in dec 2020 what do I need to do I so worried  and making me I'll eny one no please 

HI,

Were you awarded by DWP or a Tribunal? If you were awarded by DWP then your award should have been extended for 6 months because of Covid19. I would advise you to ring DWP tomorrow and ask them if your award has been extended and they will tell you. They extended mine until April 2021 from October 2020 but they didn't write and tell me this, i had to ring them a couple of weeks ago.

The number to ring is 0800 121 4433 this is PIP, part of DWP. Hope this helps.

Beanie71

Hi All 
I have a telephone meeting with the DWP tomorrow i presume regarding Universal Credit would this be used for my PIP application too does anyone know?  
Thank you

chiarieds

Hi @Beanie71 - as they are two separate benefits, a claim to one doesn't affect the other.

cat2320

Hi I'm new to this site I have just received my pip from and I have never managed to fill the out in the past as its so overwhelming. I really want to apply for pip but I'm not sure if I'd get it i have mental health issues and severe anxiety also im in constant pain as i have sevre osteoarthritis already had 2 ops told need new knee my right knee has been baring the weight and is now showing signs off wear along with my hip. I also got addicted to opiates and alcohol to self medicate. I'm on a lot of meds that make me drowsy. I don't have a cpn just my gp but I'm not sure if that's enough to get pip also can I get help to fill it out I'm not sure who to ask '? Thank you 

poppy123456

Beanie71 said:

Hi All 
I have a telephone meeting with the DWP tomorrow i presume regarding Universal Credit would this be used for my PIP application too does anyone know?  
Thank you

If it's with DWP then it's not a work capability assessment, it will be a work focused interview. If it's a work capability assessment then it will be with the health assessmenr advisory service.

Beanie71

Thank you for your messages xx

chiarieds

Hi @cat2320 - & welcome to the community. The PIP claim form can appear a bit overwhelming. It doesn't matter what your diagnoses are, but rather how these may impact on your daily living activities &/mobility. Any info from your GP, or any other Dr., is not as important as your own individual input, as Drs would rarely know the difficulties you might face dressing, bathing, eating, etc.

Please have a look at this list of descriptors/activities & read the notes at the end too: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/Scores-for-PIP-Descriptors-2020.pdf

For any descriptor that you feel may apply to yourself then give a couple of detailed examples you faced when you recently attempted the activity. What happened, what difficulties did you face, why, what happened afterwards, for example. Also say if you could not attempt the activity reliably, i.e. could you do it safely, could you repeat it again as often as you'd like, did it take you longer than someone without your disability, & could you do it to an acceptable standard.

This links also helps complete a PIP form for those who have mental health issues: https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form/

So, take your time, & look at both links, which will hopefully help you in completing your PIP claim form. Just do a bit each day, & if you need more time ring the DWP to ask for this. They will usually say you can have another couple of weeks. Hope this helps, but do ask if you have any further questions.