Will PIP end if review process takes too long?

Siobhan123

Good morning

My husband and I are looking for some advice regarding his PIP claim. He was awarded PIP three years ago. It was a short award and was due to be reviewed last year during lockdown. He recieved a letter saying the award had been extended until December 2021.

In April I helped him with the review form that was sent out. We sent it back in time for the deadline which was the end of June. I know it has been recieved because in August we moved to a more accessible home and when I called to notify DWP of the change of address I asked if needed to contact any assessment provider too. I was told that the case hadn't been passed to an assessment provider yet but they have recieved the form.

The award is due to end soon and we have still not heard anything. I do appreciate that there are delays. I'm wondering if they will extend the award again? If it hasn't been reviewed through no fault of our own will they still end the award? Do we need to do anything?

One thing that I think may delay things is that my husband is unable to speak on the phone so we specifically requested a face to face appointment if possible. Could that be an issue at the moment? 

Many thanks 

Edit- just to add. There was no change on his ability to carry out any activity since the initial form. If that makes any difference to the process?

I still filled the form in, giving examples etc. But he hasn't got better or worse. When I went through his papers for evidence, most of the nhs letters we have just said his treatments are paused due to covid.

poppy123456

Hi,

I think only DWP can answer that question about the PIP award being extended again but don't be surprised if it isn't. I'd advise you to ring them Monday morning when they open.

Face to face assessments have started back for some people but telephone assessments still continue. There are huge backlogs for PIP claims at the moment and a 10 month wait isn't unusual.

Siobhan123

Thank you for replying I will call them on Monday. I read on another site that I should start a new claim before this one ends, but as this one is already being reviewed I got confused. If nothing can be done when I call on Monday, do you know if there would be anything to lose by starting a new claim? As that seems like it would take just as long. Also if the PIP ends before they do the review, do they still do it? I hope that makes sense. Thank you and sorry for so many questions.

calcotti

There is no point starting a new claim if the existing one is being reviewed. Indeed I don't think you would be permitted to make a new claim while you have an existing claim.

_witchcore

Thanks for your reply @calcotti. The Citizens advice Website says that if ones PIP has ended as it ran out "You can start a new claim even if your PIP award hasn’t finished yet - as long as it will finish in the next 6 months. It can take the DWP a long time to process a new claim, so it’s a good idea to make your new claim before your old one ends." Which is why I'm really confused now. Before today, I was under the same impression as yourself. My point is that if they take so long it goes past the end date of the award, then there is no "current" claim to review, so would they bother to finish the review on a claim that has already ended? Because if not, I may as well get the ball rolling with a new claim. I hope that makes sense. I don't know how to word things properly.

_witchcore

So this is what happened to my account  :Dsorry for the confusion. I couldn't login at first but now using another device and it must have saved the details! I am Siobhan123

janer1967

They will continue with the review as it started before the claim ended and will be due to backlogs why it hasn't yet been completed 

The delay is not down to you so the review will continue 

As suggested you need to contact them and express your concerns and request the current award is extended till the review is finished

If the award does end before once the review is complete any award will be backdated to when other ended 

poppy123456

_witchcore said:

Thanks for your reply @calcotti. The Citizens advice Website says that if ones PIP has ended as it ran out "You can start a new claim even if your PIP award hasn’t finished yet - as long as it will finish in the next 6 months

Yes but you have already sent the review form off so the advice on that website doesn't apply to you. As advised, you'll need to ring DWP Monday to ask about the existing claim ending.

_witchcore

Thank you so much @poppy123456and @janer1967

I called this morning and the award end date is now on as April next year. It had already been extended again, but we weren't aware as the person I spoke to about our new address recently didn't change the address or even make a note of the call. I do remember they seemed a bit off and like they couldn't be bothered. We didn't get the letter. I was told that if the review isn't done before the end date and it isn't our fault, they will just extend it again. Not sure if that's true though as I got the impression the person I asked was unsure. I feel better anyway, it feels like next year's problem now.