Telephone consultation? Applying for PIP

Un7even

Looking to here from someone regarding phone consultation applying for pip and how it went. 

Alex_Alumni

Hello @Un7even, welcome to the forum I've marked your post as answered to help people find it and share their experiences. 

Are you looking to find about more about telephone assessments for PIP, just to make sure I've got it right?

chiarieds

Hi again @Un7even -  about phone assessments:

 - If you have kept a copy of your initial claim form, 'How your disability affects you,' have a read through it. Ideally you should have given 1 or 2 recent, detailed examples of the difficulty you face doing/attempting each applicable activity/descriptor that is looked at with PIP, i.e. when exactly did this occur, where, what exactly happened, why did you have difficulty, did anyone else see this, & were there any consequences to this. if applicable?

 - have a look at the PIP descriptors again in this link I previously gave, & read the notes at the end. The word 'reliably,' which is so important, isn't mentioned, but it's if you can't do an activity safely, to an acceptable standard, if you can't repeat it as often as would normally be expected, or if it takes you longer than a person without your disability. If you can't do an activity 'reliably,' say so, explaining why. Please see: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/Personal-Independence-Payment-Descriptors-and-Scores-April-2021.pdf

 - now, look back at the above 2 points. Identify those gaps where you didn't give detailed examples as to the difficulty you've faced in relation to the PIP activities/descriptors in your claim form. Your assessment is an opportunity to redress that, if this is the case.

 - you may be asked questions which you feel don't directly address the PIP descriptors, yet they will, sometimes looking across a few, e.g. do you drive, do you have a pet, what is your accommodation like?

- if you're unsure about any question, just ask for it to be repeated. Take your time in answering, & don't just answer yes or no.

- make sure your phone is fully charged, & if you'd like someone there to support you, put your phone on speaker phone so they can listen in. Good luck.