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PIP report suggests 0 points in some areas. What should I do next? I'm already struggling with money

Daisy12

Hi, I just received my report back from my pip review, I have mental health problems and scored no points on how it affects me, I am unable to go out alone due to panic attacks I also can't manage budgeting tasks without help but I received 0 points for this. I told the assessor I couldn't do these things but she's lied on the report saying I told her I had no problem going out. I never said this, and because I no longer have help from the mental health team and been referred back to my doctor's as I won't get better and mental health team can't help me the assessor now says I need no help so no points. So now will lose a lot of money which I already struggle with. I now feel even more depressed as don't know what I can do to get these points back as I don't agree with what the assessor said. Disgusting how they lie and then now they'll get away with it. Please could someone advise me what to do next. I've already taken DWP to tribunal twice and won and don't know if I can face it again also I have fibromyalgia so in a lot of pain. Sorry for the long post!!

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poppy123456

HI,

The HCP is not there to write what you say verbatim, it's to gather more information to support your claim. Once the assessment is done the HCP will write a report based on their opinion and is a recommendation. The decision maker has been known to go against the report. Although there's nothing stopping you contacting the decision maker to put your point across before the decision's made, unless of course it's already been made. Once the decision's made, if you don't agree you can request the MR.

Cher_Alumni

Hi @Daisy12 How are you today?

I'm sorry the assessors report showed less points than you believe you deserve. As @poppy123456 said, this doesn't mean the decision maker will necessarily go ahead with the recommendations put forward, but I appreciate it can be frustrating and upsetting to read. If it's the case that you don't receive the PIP award expected then you can get help from a welfare representative so the pressure is less on you and you get the specialist input needed. To access this, visit the Advice Local website, entering your postcode and 'Welfare benefits' from the drop down list, which will then bring up the details of free, independent organisations on the next screen.

Also, I'm sorry reading the report has impacted your mood. Are you in regular contact with your GP about managing this, and do you have support from anyone around going out? Please consider speaking with your doctor about your depression if you've noticed a worsening so they can be there to lean on and guide you through this difficult patch.

If you have any other questions or we can help in any way, do let us know. Take care and I hope the week ahead treats you well.

Daisy12

Thank you for the good advice I have received. How do I contact the decision maker please. I had the phone assessment last Monday and assessor said I attended the assessment on my own? So I can go out on my own. ( You just couldn't make it up). I will keep fighting and will never give in to evil DWP.

poppy123456

It's DWP/PIP you'll need to ring and ask for the decision maker to contact you. Telephone: 0800 121 4433 Either that or put it in writing and send it to DWP but doing it this way the decision maybe made before the letter reaches them because of the postal backlogs.

I see that you've already been to Tribunal twice so it's likely that you haven't gone into enough of detail with your claim pack. (the actual form)

Daisy12

I have usually had citizens advice help fill my form out in the past but this time I had to struggle myself because cab not doing face to face appointments at the minute but they did email me and tell me what to put. There has been no change to my mental health from last time. But because I've been discharged back to my doctor's the assessor decided herself that I am now better because I've been discharged back to my doctor's even though they have all this information about the problems I have and nothings changed. I wrote no change on my form. And they still ignored this also she lied, I told her I still have the same problems and she's wrote I said I didn't have any. Disgusting really how they lie and get away with it. If I've been discharged from mental health team how am I supposed to get evidence to say they can't help me as they can do no more for me?

poppy123456

Daisy12 said:

I wrote no change on my form. And they still ignored this

This would be your problem . What you're saying is there was no change to a decision that was made by DWP in previous claims, despite having been to Tribunal twice. You should never assume they have all the information and all claims should be treated as new claims.

The best evidence you can send is your anecdotal evidence, 2 real life examples of what happened the last time you attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to you.

Daisy12

So all these pip review forms are a con then as they ask if there's been no change. I answered this truthful. So what else am I supposed to say or do, they've got pages of evidence I sent this time and all my doctor's notes I sent this time so all new evidence so if that's not enough then what is. No wonder they want discharge letters so they can take points off you and then make out you're now better when you're not.

MarkM88

Your mean to treat it as a new claim basically.

poppy123456

I don't see any con in the forms. Yes, they ask if there's been any change but it also asks you how you manage that acitivy now. The problem here is your claim pack.

There's no point sending huge amounts of evidence if it doesn't state exactly how your conditions affect you. You should look through it all before sending it and ask yourself will this be useful.

Daisy12

Yes I did check all this paperwork before I sent it. I'm not just going to send a load of paperwork thats not relevent. I'm commenting no more on here.

poppy123456

Daisy12 said:

I'm commenting no more on here.

I'm sorry you feel that way but i'm only trying to help. If i advised you that it was ok to just put "no change" that wouldn't be right. I'm here to help others, not give them incorrect advice.

I had my review a few months ago and returned my forms in June. The only "medical" evidence i sent was my repeat prescription list. The rest was my anecdotal evidence, which was one A4 side of paper with 2 real world examples. I had a paper based assessment and the decision was my award stayed the same.

carlea68

Hi Daisy, I also put no change to my whole form, I didn't have to see an assessor and nothing has changed. I still receive the exact same amount of money. I have not seen a doctor in over a year as I put on my form the last time that the doctor told me I just had to get on with it. (Which they did). Do as Poppy says and contact PIP tell them what the mental health team has said and if you lose money put in that appeal. Don't let them win. You can do this you are stronger than you think. Good luck

onebigvoice

poppy123456 said:

HI,

The HCP is not there to write what you say verbatim, it's to gather more information to support your claim. Once the assessment is done the HCP will write a report based on their opinion and is a recommendation. The decision maker has been known to go against the report. Although there's nothing stopping you contacting the decision maker to put your point across before the decision's made, unless of course it's already been made. Once the decision's made, if you don't agree you can request the MR.

Moderator note: This post contains opinions that may give others an incorrect impression of how assessment processes work. You should always refer to trusted sources when presenting your thoughts on such a sensitive subject, even if what you say is just your opinion.

Hi poppy123456,
Just a few points of my opinion,
1. The HCP is there to write a report on behalf od the DWP and gather information for the Decision Maker,
2. The Decision Maker will sometimes rubber stamp what the Assessors says, since the Decision Maker has no medical background, that is why the assessment company is being used , " Form their Medical Expertise. " yes its not a " medical examination " but the information you send in may and normally is not able to be read by people with no medical background.
3. This is why when sending medical information, support letters from people that treat you and your prescription list would require some medical knowlege as to the interaction of drugs you take and their long term effects, of either a " fix " or other issues that may arrise from prolonged use.
4. This is why reviews of your prescription list are required for your benefit and to see if the dosage is correct for you.
5. Since the report is based on their own opinion it has to be justified even to the Decision Maker as he may rely on this report not to suport your claim but reduce your benefits or stop and remove benefits because you are now managing on your treatment now.
6. Since the assessor is being paid for the report to be given about you, it no long becomes an opinion, and unless they forefill the DWP contract of supplying supporting evidence when it is used to increase or reduce your claim it should not be used.
7. It remains an opinion even after all this since any report written about you " medically " must be entered into your medical files. Yes I have stated that its not a medical but an access to benefits interview, but this only applys to the DWP NOT the assessment company, since if they were qualified to understand and report on the things that you send in then they also come under the " duty of care " and are being PAID by the DWP/PIP's or ESA for their expertise, which allows you to see the report, which never happens unless you ask for a M R, because in receiving the report it bares no resemblence to you or the interview you had.
Sorry its still my opinion and has been used by me since 2002.when its was DLA. Mistakes are still being made and receiving yet again a SARS request of over 1000 Pages of medical information sent by me to them and they say they lost, (at a cost of £68 ) this says different, They have attached an appology letter and offered money for their poor standards to me, when all I originally wanted was for them to show their supporting evidence when they removed my benefits.
Instead ( shown in the bundle ) when they say they lost or did not receive 2 recorded delivery letter, an interdepartmental email please remove all medical files before this date ( date shown ) from his files as they were sent to the wrong files and person. 17 years of medical files removed to complement their decision to stop benefits but they should have realised I have the originals.

cristobal

@onebigvoice - I've always been a firm believer in keeping things concise and relevant. This makes it easier for whoever reads your application - whether for benefits, a job application, or anything else - to give you what you want.

I'm sorry that they've lost the 1000 pages of medical evidence, and gald that they've apologised to you.

I'm curious to know - did you think anyone would read all of your submission? I don't believe that I would if I were one of the decision makers..

Good luck....

Ross_Alumni

Hi @onebigvoice

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experience, and I'm sorry to hear that they lost your information. I acknowledge that you claim all of what you say to be your opinion on the subject rather than fact, however we must be careful not to let opinion potentially give others incorrect information or the wrong impression of how the process works. For example, this page states that the DWP will not charge people for accessing the data that they hold on them. If you were charged, that shouldn't have happened.

Furthermore, regarding your thoughts on HCPs - they do not require any medical knowledge as part of the assessment, and do not write up any reports in the way you imply in your post. Additionally, the HCP's report will not be placed into anybody's medical records. I'm not sure what caused you to be of the opinion that they were carried out in this way, but please remember where possible to include sources (or other kinds of evidence) for any assertions that you make that could potentially come across as misinformation to others, even if you are just sharing your opinion on the topic as you state.

[Deleted User]

I'm sorry this has happened to you @Daisy12 I had the same sort of problem but only I did get points but not for my mental health problems, everything was switched to being about my physical health for some odd reason and my award was dropped.

My review was poorly handled from start to finish (I won't go into that but I made complaints), I ended up having to appeal where it was overturned (without having to have the appeal), I was awarded for another 5 years.

Daisy12

@Amathyst, I'm going to do a mandatory reconsideration as I'm not happy with the assessor thinking I'm now better as been discharged from mental health team, I am going to write and say my mental health isn't better just because I've been discharged back to my doctor's as nothing more can be done and I've lost a lot of points, also she lied on her report, I don't think my assessment was handled very well but I don't want to go back to tribunal again but I don't believe that the assessor or decision maker should be allowed to get away with not putting correct information as I said nothing has changed on my review and I believe it should mean just that.

poppy123456

If you're not happy with the deicison then yes request the MR but you shouildn't concentrate on the report because this isn't going to get you a PIP award.

Cress

@Daisy12
Everyone gets discharged from the mental health team at some point...they're there to assess, recommend treatment and/or therapy and then you're referred back to your gp.
I was under the mental health team for about 18 months then again for about 2 years.
My last appointment I was told I wasn't going to get any better, prescribed diazapam along with my other meds and told to ring the crisis line if needed.
Also to contact mind to see how much longer I might have to wait for councelling.

It certainly doesn't mean you no longer have any problems.
Good luck..

Daisy12

I've never done a pip review before. I put no change for some questions so maybe I should've put more information as the assessor had read my previous assesment and then compared it with this new assessment and kept saying I have now been discharged back to my doctor's which she's scored me less points and thinks I no longer need any help for some things I previously got more points so now been awarded lower points for my whole award. I've been to tribunal for pip a couple of years ago as I got no points but went to tribunal and won also had same with ESA and again got awarded at tribunal.