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How long is too long? (Sorry long post)

collyettey

Ok so for a quick timeline (and yes I understand COVID has caused issues)

March 2019 - applied for PIP - sent a stack of evidence from 2 medical professionals plus my completed for

April 2019 - assessment at my home, assessor fabricated/guessed at lots - such as stating I maintained eye contact throughout and then 2 pages later, he couldn’t see my eye as I was wearing dark glasses and had my head in my hands, or that I answered every question, when I fact my husband answered probably 95%

End May 2019 - received discussion - rejected

June 2019 - sent request for Mandatory Reconsideration (inc more evidence which included audio recording of assessment as I was questioning the info in the report and was providing evidence to support he entered details incorrectly)

October 2019 - called to chase up MR to be told it had been ‘incorrectly filed as a request for notes’ (which never came), spent an hour on the phone waiting for them to change it from a notes request to a MR

November 2019 - MR decision - original rejection upheld

December 2019 - Appeal filed - more evidence sent to tribunal (stuff that happened between the requesting an MR and the appeal date plus another copy of the audio from the assessment)

July 2020 - received a letter stating paper tribunal was held but postponed/suspended as they want a telephone tribunal plus more details from GP

August 2020 - Requested documents from GP sent and received (sent by a signed service) plus more evidence from a second medical professional

May 2021 - called them on 1st for update - can’t tell me anything and I have to wait

my question is - how long is too long???

It feels like it’s been forever and I’m being ignored!!

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Comments

janer1967

Hi there

It does seem an awful long time but not unheard of

I presume it is the phone tribunal you are waiting for ?

Have you been in touch with the court or was it dwp

Maybe try and get your local mp involved though often it doesn't make much difference

Might also be worth lodging a complaint about the waiting time

calcotti

Also worth pointing out that “stuff that happened between the requesting an MR and the appeal date” may have no relevance as the appeal is about whether the original decision was correct with respect to how your health impacted you at the time of that decision. Any deterioration resulting in greater difficulties since that date is not relevant.

calcotti

Username_removed said:… I was busy watching the football.

It’s important to prioritise!

Quite understand you can’t cover everything and you know far more about tribunal procedures than I do but that just jumped out at me as I read the opening post.

collyettey

calcotti said:

Also worth pointing out that “stuff that happened between the requesting an MR and the appeal date” may have no relevance as the appeal is about whether the original decision was correct with respect to how your health impacted you at the time of that decision. Any deterioration resulting in greater difficulties since that date is not relevant.

There was a hospital admission due to my disability - is that not relevant? As well as the standard tick box for each question on the form I did give examples, many of which were backed up by evidence because it would often result in a visit to the GP or A&E

janer1967

Hi there

As above the tribunal is only concerned about how your condition was at the time of the decision as that is the decision YOU are appealing

Any hospital admissions after that are not relevant as they hadn't happened when the decision was made

Also even if if was prior to decision did the hospital admission cause a worsening in your daily living?

You could use it as an example on your claim if it was prior to your claim and was down to you completing one of the tasks covered in the descriptors

collyettey

janer1967 said:

Hi there

As above the tribunal is only concerned about how your condition was at the time of the decision as that is the decision YOU are appealing

Any hospital admissions after that are not relevant as they hadn't happened when the decision was made

Also even if if was prior to decision did the hospital admission cause a worsening in your daily living?

You could use it as an example on your claim if it was prior to your claim and was down to you completing one of the tasks covered in the descriptors

I do understand that but DWP are using evidence from my Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment which took place AFTER the MR rejection so the disability service who’s helping me said if they can use evidence from after the decision to back up their decision then I should show more evidence to support my side that happened after the decision. My GP has also sent a sternly worded letter as he has never heard of a PIP claim/appeal from start to finish being over 2 years. While the appeal is still classed as ‘in progress’ I can’t get the adaptions required to my home. I’m in catch 22 that the length of time is actually causing me more distress and issues in my daily life because my already life limiting disability is being made worse.

janer1967

Hi again

I get your point I am only advising from my own experience

From my tribunal b4 I went in the clerk said they ats only looking at how you were at time of decision

Then when I went in that's first thing judge said too

Maybe due to length time your has taken they might but mine took 14 months

Is the disability service going to represent you at tribunal ?

collyettey

Username_removed said:

Evidence from stuff that happened after the decision is fine provided that it relates to the period of the decision. A hospital admission casts what light exactly on how you were on your date of claim? Please refer back to my previous post about excess and unfocused evidence.

Your GP clearly doesn’t do a lot with PIP. Plenty of cases take a long long time to resolve. In this instance I’ve already highlighted what will have caused the delays and exactly what you can do about it.

The hospital admission was for a fall related to my disability, which i have had many of in the years before my claim and since the initial refusal so yes it does show its not a one time issue. AS for your post regarding excess and unfocused evidence, the form itself states to send medical letters and reports - which is what the evidence sent was, AND THEN the tribunal asked for further medical evidence from a GP from 3 years BEFORE the claim to the date of the suspended tribunal so tell where where I have sent evidence which was unfocused, unrelated or in excess when it is exactly what they asked for? My GP is the one who pushed for me to claim PIP, he has lots of successful applicants on his books and as already stated the delays have no started to impact my daily life even more, as I can't file a new claim because I have an open appeal and I can't claim the adaptations needed to make my life easier because i don't have a decision and sadly becasue I'm not made of money i can't afford them myself.

Cher_Alumni

@collyettey I'm sorry that the PIP process hasn't gone smoothly for you. Our members have given you lots of excellent advice on this thread and as suggested, getting support going forwards would be a wise move. To find support, you can visit the Advice Local website - entering your postcode and selecting 'Welfare benefits' from the drop down list - which will then bring up a list of local independent advice organisations on the next page.

Although I understand your frustration, I'd just like to remind you of our house rules around keeping it friendly which state:

We want our community to be a safe and supportive place.
Please make sure your messages respect others’ views and suggestions, even if you do not agree with them.

Therefore, when responding to others please bear this in mind and avoid capitalising entire words as this can be perceived as shouting.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.