PIP Mandatory Reconsideration success

sombra

Hi everyone, I posted back in December pretty distraught about my enhanced daily and standard mobility pip being reviewed and then assessed as all 0 across every activity thus removing my award entirely.

After 6 weeks of hell and stress, with my partner phoning them every day, speaking to 3 case managers: one marked the case as urgent which appeared to make no difference, the second called us to discuss the MR and this did not make a difference, and finally after more calls for a week and a half and my partner speaking to one very helpful person who got irritated by the previous case managers for not handling the case and arranged a case manager to call for a decision over the phone, he spoke to a third case manager who asked the same questions the health assessor did, I was finally awarded enhanced daily and standard mobility back.

We are on legacy benefits and my partner told me when he spoke to income support that they had said "youre very lucky, most people don't get it back in time to not trigger a move to UC". 

I'm waiting for the letter to arrive to see where I've scored points and how long the award is, but if they've given me a short award im tempted to go to tribunal anyway because my difficulties are chronic due to autism, anxiety and pain from Fibromyalgia and aren't likely to change and ive already been receiving pip for 6 years (2 awards, this is my 3rd) at the same rate and I absolutely do not want to go through this hell again in 2 years. 

janer1967

Thanks for sharing and fingers crossed it's a longer award 

sombra

janer1967 said:

Thanks for sharing and fingers crossed it's a longer award 

Thank you, I wanted to share to show you can have some success at MR but my gosh you have to be persistent and have nerves of steel. My partner spoke to some really awful people at DWP who were so deliberately unhelpful. It took 6 weeks of calling every day throughout December and january to finally speak to someone who moved the case along to the decision stage. It wouldn't have been so urgent had we not been on legacy benefits and he'd explained that to them, we were facing all of our household income being cancelled mid January. Its been very stressful 

janer1967

I can imagine your stress just try and relax now it's all over 

Tori_Scope

I'm sorry you've had such a stressful experience @sombra. As Jane has said, try and relax until you've heard back, and then you can plot out your next steps, should you need to challenge the decision. Please do keep us updated! 

How have you been getting on otherwise? 

sombra

I've had the letter and they've only awarded it for 2 and a half years to April 2023. I feel so defeated. Ive been claiming pip since 2014 and this just feels deliberately cheeky. I cant go through this stress again in 12 to 18 months. I'm going to appeal. I'm in bed with a pain flare up before this letter even came and now the stress is making my body feel like its burning. 

Ross_Scope

I'm sorry that the award length isn't as long as you'd hoped for @sombra. Please try your best to relax, it's a good thing that you have received the award and you did great to fight for it. If you do go to appeal for the length then I wish you the best of luck.