Pip telephone assessment

afells

Hi

My wife has received a letter regarding a telephone assessment in a couple of weeks time. She suffers anxiety disorder, panic disorder and agoraphobia. She also struggles to interact with people face to face or on the phone. She is unable to have the telephone assessment as this will cause her psychological distress. We have already explained this on recent forms etc she doesn't own a mobile phone either. Last time she got a paper assessment and I'm wondering why she hasn't this time when they know her illness. Does anyone know what happens if she physically cant do the telephone assessment? What next? Many thanks 

janer1967

Hi there 

You need to contact them and explain you normally need her gp to write a letter to confirm 

Dont just leave it or her claim will be closed 

Have you thought of becoming her appointee you would then be allowed to speak on her behalf and deal with all her communication 

poppy123456

HI,

Yes, you definitely need to ring the number on the letter and tell them this. Sometimes it's not always possible to do a paper based assessment because they may not have enough of information, if this happens then a telephone assessment will be needed.

As she has mental health problems then becoming her appointee maybe the answer here, although i'm unsure of the process involved now because of Covid, as it's unlikely they will make any home visits like they usually do for this process. For this you will need to ring DWP.

https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

Tori_Scope

Hi @afells How are you and your wife doing? 

Have you been able to take a look at the advice above? 

afells

Hi, I rang the number on the letter and they were very helpful. They said they will still carry out the telephone call, either she can tell them she can't do it and they will send her back to the dwp to see what they say or I can answer all questions for her, as long as she gives permission, which is looking the best option. What type of things will they ask? How should I prepare for this? Many thanks 

poppy123456

The questions they ask will depend on how her conditions affect her. Part of the assessment will be to verfiy what was written in the form, so if you kept a copy have a read before the assessment. The other part will be to gather any other information needed.

You can also put the phone onto loud speaker so you'll both be able to hear what is said.

Good luck.