I wasn't awarded the mobility component of PIP. Can anyone help with a mandatory reconsideration?

mummyof9

Hi, I've just had my pip letter stating that I've been awarded standard rate daily living and no mobility, even though I have osteoarthritis, lymphodema, hyper mobility. I'm in pain 24/7 can hardly walk and my husband is basically my carer. I want to appeal but I'm scared if they don't give me what I'm entitled to, is there anyone who can help me, thanks

georgie123

Hi mummy.I was in ure shoes and lost my mobility and I can tell u that you must appeal.I did and got the maximum on both. (Removed by moderator, profanity)

janer1967

@georgie123

Thankyou for your input however your offensive language is not acceptable and against the community guidelines 

Admin will remove these comments in the morning 

chiarieds

Hi @mummyof9 - I'm sorry that you didn't receive the mobility component you expected. I hope it's OK to say that an understanding of the PIP activities/descriptors might help, if you haven't seen them. Please see: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/Personal-Independence-Payment-Descriptors-and-Scores-April-2021.pdf   reading through to the notes towards the end about 'reliability,' i.e. can you do a mobility activity safely, in a reasonable amount of time, so does it take you more than twice the time it would take someone without your disability? Does attempting or doing such an activity have an effect such as it would leave you exhausted, & therefore unable to repeat as often as it would be reasonable to expect this?

You can go for a Mandatory Reconsideration, (MR) i.e. asking another decision maker to look at your claim again. This is best put in writing, saying why you feel you should be awarded points for mobility. The emphasis should not be upon your diagnoses, rather how your mobility is impaired considering the descriptors. PIP is about the functional problems you have. If you decide to go for a MR, try & give a couple of recent detailed examples as to how you were at the time of your assessment. So, what happened, when, did anyone witness it, what exactly happened, & what, if any, was the consequence of attempting/doing this activity?

Whilst most results with a MR stay the same, it's incredibly rare for any award to then be lowered. Please don't be scared; a MR is worth considering, hoping you take onboard the comments above.

Cher_Alumni

Hello @mummyof9

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get the mobility component you expected to be awarded 

As @chiarieds advised, it's important to identify which points in the mobility component you believe you should have received, and work on evidencing why in a mandatory reconsideration (MR) if you choose to go down that route.

If you feel that advice from someone specialist trained in Welfare would be helpful, you can find a free organisation close to where you live via the Advice Local website.  Just enter your postcode, select 'Welfare benefits' and scroll down the next page to find those local to you.

Now you've had time to think about it, do you think you will be pursuing a MR?

Just to let you know, I've tweaked the title of your thread to help others anticipate what your question is about.  I hope you're keeping well.  Take care and please let us know how you get on.

mummyof9

Hi, thanks everyone for the advice, firstly, the pip form I put in, let's just say, I didn't understand it at all, I wasn't sure what questions to answer that related to me. Also when I had the telephone assessment, I panicked and just answered quickly not realising what I was saying. The assessor wrote a very blunt letter about me saying I shouldn't get mobility because I can walk 50 to 200 metres, I can only manage 20 because of the pain. I also told her I can't plan a journey on my own, which is true, my husband does 90 % of the driving.  The assessor said it can't be true because I haven't  got a learning disability or diagnosed with mental health issues. I am going to send in for the MR statements about 4 pages long, from my husband, myself and our 2 daughters, backing me up about my health condition and how it affects my life. I have osteoarthritis and lymphodema.