MR declined

Cardiff_Central1

Hi, I posted a vent on here over the weekend but asked for it to be removed because I was worried that it might interfere with my MR as I have no doubt this forum probably gets monitored but anyway, I'm beyond caring now.

I've just phoned to get an update on my MR, its been rejected, I haven't had the letter yet so I have no idea on what grounds but they've obviously dismissed my dr and specialist letters and obviously feel my symptoms are either made up or doesn't really hinder my day to day life. weirdly I was at the oncology hospital yesterday who have referred my to psycho oncology because I'm not handling my diagnosis and all the ongoing tests & findings too well and my anxiety is through the roof giving me constant high blood pressure, also the specialist is now concerned about my breathing and has booked me in for an ultra sound on my chest & heart..the breathing that the pip assessor says I don't have a problem with! 

Next step is tribunal of which I have no idea what to expect from that, it all sounds horribly daunting, I have booked an appointment with cab as I'm going to need help for this next stage and perhaps might think about looking into legal help. All I can say is I feel claiming pip (or trying to) has been the worst thing I've done, I feel like its made my anxiety go through the roof, its so wrong that they put people through all this who are already struggling with health issues

bg844

Hi @Cardiff_Central1

I am going through the same as you, I lost my lifetime DLA in January (half a payment too), now I am £600 worse off every month. I put my MR request in January and got an extension till 10th March which I did comply and sent my whole medical record to them again after I got a letter saying 'We can't use your previous DLA record as we have lost it'. That was when I knew I was going to loose as them records contained multiple consultants letters in which I never even had to have a DLA assessment with because the DWP admitted I'd be too unwell to. That soon changed when I got swapped on to this PIP system. 0 points and they had the audacity to say I do not attend any clinics even though I sent them appointment letters and consultation reports. The thing I find the funniest about their pathetic MR reply is that they said 'we have evidence you see a new clinician so consider reapplying'. I have seen this certain clinician since 2010 and the letter I gave them was dated August 2020 when my assessment was in November.

I am in the same boat with the tribunal. I have submitted my appeal this morning in which I received an email saying the DWP have till the 27th May to reply. I am considering asking an organisation for help which I can do by calling the appeal teams number to get them added on. I'm so disgusted that people like me and you have to put up with this. They have looked over all of our evidence.

Good luck mate and let me know how you get on.

Cardiff_Central1

Hi @bg844 I'm sorry to hear you're going through the same process too, its hard having the energy and mental strength to deal with all this added unwanted pressure isn't it....its nothing more then cruel and demoralising, I genuinely feel like going to the papers, not that they'd be interested, its an old story now

Ross_Alumni

Hi @Cardiff_Central1

I'm sorry to hear that your MR was turned down, hopefully the letter arrives soon so that you can read the reasons and take it from there. 

I'm sorry to hear that your anxiety is through the roof as you say, does your specialist or GP know about that aspect being difficult at the minute? Please ensure you take note of any coping techniques they have given you in the past and utilise those, alternatively you can find some helpful anxiety  self-care tips from Mind here.

I'm glad that you've booked an appintment with CAB, they will be able to advise you on what to expect in the tribunal phase and I hope everything goes well for you.

janer1967

Hi @Cardiff_Central1 sorry your Mr wasn't successful the success rate at tribunal is a lot higher 


I would wait till you get your letter and then go get some expert advice from welfare rights before submitting your appeal 

Cardiff_Central1

Thanks @janer1967 & @Ross_Scope My MR has been going on since Feb so I'm assuming they've taken time to make the rejection as water tight as they can so their rejection letter should be interesting but at the end of the day they can't dispute facts so in some ways I'm looking forward to the tribunal, it'll be interesting if nothing else....i wish the pip assessor was actually right and that I am really in fine health, if I die in the meantime would my next of kin get the back payments??

calcotti

Cardiff_Central1 said:

Thanks @janer1967 & @Ross_Scope My MR has been going on since Feb so I'm assuming they've taken time to make the rejection as water tight as they can..

No - just means they haven't got around to looking at it.

wilko

Hello, this is a warning to every one about keeping making copies of medical evidence and keeping it safe. As for@bg844 he could ask the DWP for a copy of all the information they have on him reference DLA and PIP under the freedom of information act. If you proceed you will receive every bit of information except telephone conversations but details of date and times are lodged. It’s a lot of paperwork to sort through but when I did mine I had all previous medical records and letters fro consultants ect.

Cardiff_Central1

thanks @wilko I only sent them copies and I kept the originals, this has been my first time attempting to claim pip so I'm very naïve to it all but I'm not going to sit back and let them tell me I'm fine when I'm evidently not, I think my only option is to find a solicitor as I'm not too confident in cab, although I may feel differently after my appointment with them. I've still not received my rejection letter yet so I'm still oblivious to their reasons to deny me 

calcotti

wilko said:

Hello, this is a warning to every one about keeping making copies of medical evidence and keeping it safe. 

You should only send copies and retain the originals yourself.

Cardiff_Central1

Username_removed said:

calcotti said:

wilko said:

Hello, this is a warning to every one about keeping making copies of medical evidence and keeping it safe. 

You should only send copies and retain the originals yourself.

That's a great theory but requires some lateral thinking nowadays. 

Printer poverty is "a thing" in my view. People who have a smart phone, laptop or tablet but generally little need (or money for) a printer and thus don't have one. So, no copying at home. 

Awareness of print shops or even local newsagents with copiers is low. 

If either of the above are an issue then, sadly, you are best sending originals but taking very clear photos (or scans using a scanner app) using a phone or tablet. 

What I did was take a photo of the paperwork on my phone then email it to a family member with a printer to print the document(s) off for me, cab seemed to think that would be ok...bare in mind I still haven't had it in writing yet as to why I lost my MR but hopefully its not because of the way i got my 'evidence' to them 

Cardiff_Central1

Username_removed said:

It absolutely won't be because of that. 

I'm pretty sure it won't be either, it's going to be interesting to find out their reasoning

calcotti

Username_removed said:

calcotti said:

wilko said:

Hello, this is a warning to every one about keeping making copies of medical evidence and keeping it safe. 

You should only send copies and retain the originals yourself.

That's a great theory but requires some lateral thinking nowadays. 

Printer poverty is "a thing" in my view. People who have a smart phone, laptop or tablet but generally little need (or money for) a printer and thus don't have one. So, no copying at home. 

Awareness of print shops or even local newsagents with copiers is low. 

If either of the above are an issue then, sadly, you are best sending originals but taking very clear photos (or scans using a scanner app) using a phone or tablet. 

Fair point.
What infuriates me is having original documents as digital copies and having to print them out knowing that DWP are simply going to scan them to turn them back into digital documents and throw the paper copies away!