Can I get some advice please? This is a long one

mummabear123

Hi all,
I am awaiting a decision for first time PIP claim and was hoping some of you lovely people may have had a similar experience and can offer some reassurance. 

I called to start claim on the 5th July,
Recieved my forms on the 13th and returned them on the 19th.

I was aware the wait times are longer due to pandemic so didn't chase until the 29th October when I was told I had been booked with the assessor on the 13th of November....here is where is gets interesting.
I had recieved no communication regarding this appointment and they had not recieved my pip2 forms or the evidence I sent in. I was sent ANOTHER pip 2 form on the 2nd November to fill in again and return. Luckily I had copies of the first form so I filled it in and returned it within 3 days.
Assessment went ahead on the 13th Nov (40 minutes late) but she did not have a copy of the PIP2 form or evidence so I was trying to explain my conditions to her, how they impact me daily, the medication I take and treatment recieved. It was so rushed I was only on the phone 20 minutes! My partner had helped me prepare for it by writing a timeline of injuries, medication and treatment as I was so anxious I knew I would miss something out. She was very dismissive, quite abrupt and told me that clearly my medication did not have the side effects I had stated (drowsiness, lethargy, brain fog, memory issues etc) as I recalled everything in order. I explained my partner helped me prepare and I had it written down and I was told he should not have done so as it does not give an accurate summary of how I manage. Surely this proves without help I would not have been able to provide the information asked for? He was there with me and when he tried to step in and explain how I struggle daily she asked him not to interrupt as his perspective was biased?

Less than an hour after the call I get the text from dwp stating they have recieved the assessment report. I left it 48 hours and called and asked for a copy which arrived 4 days later. Surprise I scored 0 in every category, a lot of information was not correctly recorded and had information missing as well as bits I hadn't even said. 

I phoned a week later to confirm they had recieved my second pip2 form and again nothing recieved but case was now with the decision maker?! I queried how a decision could be made without my form or evidence and how unhappy I was with the inaccuracies in the report and was lucky enough to be put through to a lovely manager who listened to my concerns and gave me an email address to send the copies of the pip2 form and evidence I had kept and was told it could take up to 10 days for them to go through it and upload it to my file. This was done on the same day by my partner (He's truly an angel). 

I left it another 2 weeks and called again (Now 6th December) to be told they do not have an email address, I shouldn't of been given one and I should of posted the evidence with no excuses! I explained the situation and after a lot of tutting and huffing she said my email was recieved and the documents were there but not yet uploaded and I should call back in 48 hours and was hung up on.

I called again Friday just gone (10th) and was told they have all the evidence and it is with a DM at the moment but they have gone back to the assessor for more information/clarification on several points based on my form and the evidence I provided.

Is that a good thing? My anxiety is through the roof and this seems loads messier then some of the other other journeys I've seen on here. I am grateful for any advice or support you lovely people have to offer and would be interested to know your timelines.

Happy Saturday,

Lu

MarkM88

The first thing to bear in mind is the assessor is not there to record what you say, they form their own judgement of your functional ability and report this. 

The decision maker will look at everything that they have, so your form, the assessors report and additional evidence you submitted to make a decision. 

Asking for clarification does not really mean anything, it’s just asking for more information so the decision maker can make their decision. 

woodbine

I'm afraid all you can do now is sit back and wait for the decision (not easy I know).
If the decision is not to ward PIP then you need to come back here and ask for advice on doing an MR (manatory reconsideration).

mummabear123

Thank you both, I guess the stress is making me overtime the whole thing

poppy123456

Hi,

No one here can tell you whether the report being returned the AP is a good or bad thing, it does happen sometimes but not often.

All you can do now is wait for the decision. Once it's made if you're not happy you can request the Mandatory Reconsideration. (MR)

mikehughescq

I suspect your anxiety is driving the issue and then suffering as a consequence of it.

If you were booked with an HCP then they definitely had your original PIP 2 but it perhaps hadn’t been properly passed from DWP to the AP. It’s likely that if you have  to pursue the claim beyond claim then both PIP 2s will come into play. My concern would be that it’s likely you will have to pursue this further as you describe a focus on injuries, medications and treatments rather than a focus on whether you can perform the 12 activities reliably and have real world examples of that. The phrase “timeline” alone would be enough to be concerned. A time line would be relevant to an Industrial Injuries Disablement claim. It has no relevance to a PIP claim.The HCP was also quite right in this instance to keep your partner out of it and it may Suso have been damaging as the HCP won’t have been able to witness your issues with memory. 

What you construe as abrupt was someone trying to steer you into the right territory. 

I would guess the HCP will have undoubtedly written some stuff incorrectly given that they were faced with a claimant focused on the wrong things and with limited time to get you talking about the right things. 

All of this of course made worse by requesting a copy of the report which would, regardless of contents, only ever heighten your anxiety. One thing to remember for the future. You’ll struggle to find a welfare rights adviser who recommends you get a copy of the report. Other than fuelling anxiety it serves no purpose. 

With regard to how they can make a decision without a PIP 2, that’s straightforward. The call you make to start a PIP claim is “the claim”. The PIP 2 is merely an opportunity for you to provide some supporting evidence in a fixed format. It’s just a piece of evidence like the HCP is just a piece of evidence. As long as they have some evidence from some source then they can make a decision whether you like the outcome or not.

mummabear123

@mikehughescq Thank you, I (mistakenly went on my GP'S advice and have clearly pushed the wrong information. I have had had the decision back and it had been denied for both elements so now need to do a MR. What would be your advice when writing this? I provided examples of what I can/cannot do in my PIP2 form and what happened when I last tried to it...was this the right thing to do?

I appreciate you taking the time to reply and am grateful for your advice

mikehughescq

Yes, it’s that simple. Real world detailed anecdotes which relate directly to each descriptor. No more complex than that. 

L_Volunteer

Hi @mummabear123

Please try not to worry. We hear and understand you are stressed. It can be a stressful time navigating what you are experiencing. How are you feeling now that our wonderful community has clarified things for you though? Thanks all! Do you have any more questions for us or need anything to be further clarified?

mummabear123

@L_Volunteer I feel better knowing I now have the correct support and information now. I am just unsure what else I can put in the MR as I used real world examples in the initial PIP2 form. I will repeat what I stated in that and try to get more supporting information from my pain management specialist. Although to be honest it will again be a repeat of the PIP2 form. 

We shall see!