PIP Video Assessment

teezee

I wish I'd known about this forum before today.
Has anyone else had a video assessment? I've got one at 11 today and I'm so nervous. I hate video chats at the best of times and avoid them. I don't know what to expect and feel like crying as my anxiety levels are through the roof.
I applied for PIP back in December. Has anyone else had a video call and if so, what can I expect please?

poppy123456

Hi,

The video assessments are fairly new and i personally haven't had any experience with one. Though i have had face to face and telephone assessments and there's not much difference between them.

They will ask you questions about your conditions and how they affect you. Try to avoid answering with a simple yes or no. Give as much information as possible. If you kept a copy of the form you returned then have a read of that before the assessment.

Have a drink next to you, just incase it's needed and make sure your phone is fully charged.

They may not ring exactly on time so be aware of that too. Assessment time can be anything from 20-120 minutes.

I must admit that your timescale so far has been extremely quick, we have members here that are still waiting for an assessment several months after returning the form.

Once the report has been returned a decision can take between 2-12 weeks.

teezee

Thank you. My anxiety levels are crazy. I'll just be glad when it's over x

poppy123456

It's perfectly normal to feel very anxious, even if you've had assessments before.

teezee

Well, they finally called at 11:05 to say they were going to have to rearrange as the person I was meant to talk to had 'become unavailable'. All the stress and anxiety, lack of sleep last night through worrying and several trips to the bathroom as anxiety always affects me that way, were for nothing. Not impressed. 
The appointment has been moved to Thursday at 8.30 🙄

Nicetomeetyou22

@teezee hello and welcome to the forum I hope your OK and that your interview went well 😀 

Nicetomeetyou22

@teezee sorry just read your comment that it's been moved to Thursday 

L_Volunteer

Hi @teezee

Welcome to Scope's forum. It is great to see you have joined us. I am sorry to hear you are feeling anxious. Though, it is understandable to hear you are feeling anxious.

I am glad to see you find us a beneficial space though. I think we are a supportive and friendly community and I hope you will find the same. We are all here to support each other through difficult times and celebrate successes.

I can hear how difficult the uncertainty is in waiting for a video assessment. All I can say is we are wishing you the best of luck. Please let us know if we can do anything to help, you want to talk through it further with us, or your updates if you wish! 

Alex_Alumni

Hello @teezee and welcome to the community, thanks for joining today!

Please feel free to use the forum to help wind down, the coffee lounge is a great place for casual chat and games.

I'm sorry your video assessment has been postponed, but at least you know exactly when for, and it's not too delayed. 

It's frustrating that you've used your energy preparing, only to have plans changed but hopefully you can use the rest of the day to do something you enjoy, or something that helps you relax for a bit.

If you do have any questions in the meantime, or would like to chat, please let us know

Alex

teezee

Hi all

Thank you for your lovely comments. Just thought I'd update as had the video assessment this morning.

I think it went ok, though did feel she was trying to catch me out at times. I was on the call for about 1hr 15 minutes and have been told I should have my decision within 8 weeks.

There are a couple of things I've thought of this evening which I wish I'd mentioned but I was so anxious they went out of my head completely.

I guess time will tell how the assessment went. I'm just hoping I don't have to appeal and go through another video call as I detest seeing myself on screen 😬

Much love to you all xx

Tori_Scope

Thanks for the update @teezee 🙂 I'm glad that it wasn't too bad!

My understanding is that you'd usually receive a phone call, rather than a video call, if they needed to discuss anything with you after submitting a mandatory reconsideration. Best wishes for a positive result!

teezee

Morning all. Having waited for what seems an eternity, I bit the bullet and rang for an update.
Apparently they sent a letter on 7th April to tell me I'd not been successful. I asked for a copy of the report, (I actually think that should automatically be sent to the client anyway), & have been told it will be another 7-10 days before I receive it.

To say I'm hacked off is an understatement. I'm in so much pain. I'm 58 and have worked and paid into the system since the age of 16, yet when I need them they don't want to know.

Have any of you appealed before and, if so, were you successful?

poppy123456

Unfortunately paying into the system has nothing to do with entitlement to PIP.
What matters is exactly how your conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities. If you don’t meet the descriptors you won’t score the points needed for an award. I’m not saying you’re not entitled because I have no idea exactly how your conditions affect you.
The first step is to request the mandatory reconsideration. (MR) The assessment report is not needed for this. If it gets to Tribunal you will receive this in the bundle.
You should put the MR in writing stating where and why you think you should have scored those points.
The most likely outcome of the MR is the decision will remain the same but we do have members that have had the decision changed at the stage.

Tori_Scope

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get the outcome you were hoping for @teezee. It's understandable that you'd feel hacked off. You're certainly not the only one to feel this way!

Are you confident in what you need to include in your MR? 

teezee

Tori_Scope said:

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get the outcome you were hoping for @teezee. It's understandable that you'd feel hacked off. You're certainly not the only one to feel this way!

Are you confident in what you need to include in your MR? 

Hi Tori

Honestly, I'm really struggling to walk. I'm in constant agony, frequently waking several times a night when I go to turn over and ending up in tears during the day where is dragging me down so much.
Apparently they decided I can walk between 50 and 200 metres .. I told the woman I struggle to walk to the dustbin at the end of my garden path, (10 steps). They also said that because I drive a manual car I can't be that bad. I don't even remember mentioning the type of car I have but I did stress that I rarely use it and rely on online shopping. I tend only to use the car to go to medical appointments (doctor's is a 5 minute drive away) and if I need to grab milk or something I've forgotten to order, (2 minutes to both local shop and Morrisons), and my daughter will come with me and go and get what we need while I sit in the car. 
I use a walking stick which I hate but can't manage without it. Oh, and I can touch my lower limbs .. I already told them I'm hypermobile. My party trick was always to not just touch my toes, but to do so with palms flat on the floor and elbows bent. Of course I can touch my lower limbs! It doesn't take away from the constant pain from stage 4 arthritis in my knees, lipoedema which affects my legs causing pain and an excess build up of fat deposits which change the gait causing instability, and tendonitis in my feet. 
I'm fortunate that I have an amazing lady who works at my housing association. She's coming around next Friday to help me write the letter for the mandatory review. 
I've also done a couple of test sheets for ADHD which my doctor said I've scored highly on but there's a two to three year wait for the assessment. My daughter was recently diagnosed and I had to sit in on the assessment to answer questions from her childhood. I actually answered yes to more questions that she did. I'm certain it explains the heighten anxiety, depression and such that I've suffered with since a child. I'm 58 now and back then children tended to be labelled as naughty or daydreamers who didn't apply themselves. I was definitely the latter, finding it difficult to concentrate with my brain always elsewhere, and never really fitting in but learning to mask my behaviour as I hit my late teens, on order to be accepted. 
The other thing she asked was about social situations. I don't socialise. I told her that but the report states I do 🤷‍♀️
Sorry for going off on a tangent 😬 Really do appreciate you getting back to me. Any advice would be gratefully received x

racyguy

teezee said:

Hi all

Thank you for your lovely comments. Just thought I'd update as had the video assessment this morning.

I think it went ok, though did feel she was trying to catch me out at times. I was on the call for about 1hr 15 minutes and have been told I should have my decision within 8 weeks.

There are a couple of things I've thought of this evening which I wish I'd mentioned but I was so anxious they went out of my head completely.

I guess time will tell how the assessment went. I'm just hoping I don't have to appeal and go through another video call as I detest seeing myself on screen 😬

Much love to you all xx

The advantages of a video call over a telephone one are that physical observations and watching body language (eye movement and other expressions) tell quite a lot. 
As for not bringing matters up, this is where good preparation pre the assessment is vital. 

Nicetomeetyou22

Goodluck @teezee thinking of you fingers crossed you get good news x

chiarieds

As this thread is about PIP assessments, I'll stick to that. @teezee - I appreciate some of the difficulties you face, as I'm also hypermobile....I can still also place the palms of my hand in front of my feet whilst keeping my knees straight with ease, but, as you know, in some circumstances, hypermobility can lead to osteoarthrosis & much subsequent pain.

It's good you have someone going to help you in putting your Mandatory Reconsideration in writing. Please put your assessment report behind you once you receive it; they do often contain 'inaccuracies,' but concentrating on these is not the way forward, rather, if you didn't already do so in your claim form, give a couple of real life examples of the difficulty you faced for each applicable activity/descriptor. For example, what exactly happened, when, why, & were there any consequences in attempting/doing such an activity? You should also say whether you can do an activity 'reliably' or not, i.e. whether you can repeat it as often as would normally be expected, can you do it safely, does it take you longer than someone without your disability, etc.?

Please see Mike's advice given here, which is also relevant with a Mandatory Reconsideration: https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/56365/pip-form-filling

@Robint - I'm unsure if your comments are about PIP. May I ask why you say, 'these forms are loaded with dirty tricks designed to catch you out by asking similar questions in different ways but leading you to contradict yourself?' Also about occupational therapists/agency saying they're 'quacks who get a diploma after a 7 week course, etc.' Would be interested in seeing links that back up your comments, thank you.

racyguy

Robint said:

BTW, I am acutely aware of how much these wonderful IT systems are constructed to disenfranchise the rights of a claimant.  Can anyone tell me if the claimant has the ability to record a videocon directly on PC? Have you got to get the permission of the instigator to do so ( I seem to recall this being the case with Zoom). BTW its positively made very difficult to make screen video recordings yourself because the film industry was very afraid of piracy. You have to set up your own video cam to make a screen grab.  Notice also that you cannot by industry restriction make a direct recording of an audio conversation on your phone (I think this was enabled some years back but has been disabled since and is not allowable in law as evidence (viz Linda Tripp tapes and the Lewinsky scandal with Clinton).  YET how many times have you heard the automatic response " we are recording this conversation for staff training purposes and to deliver a better service to you.  So its alright for some then

You may find it difficult to record conversations on your smart phones. I blieve I phone has a system ( i dont have) Android had asystem but its patchy and may have been lost in an update. The latest Android 11 may have a system dont know if it works in your favour.  Govs dont want Joe public making recordings of their officials making you life a misery.  Someone please help here with something youve actually tried and know it works for you - for me its work in progress.  We really need a simple system thats  helps us protect ourselves.

All of Robint's posts give me the distinct impression that he/she actually believes that 'Reds exist under their bed'!
Video conferencing in my opinion is far better at getting a better 'picture' of someone over a telephone conversation. Are we to believe that a PIP assessor who will write a report based on just a verbal conversation? Some people are very shy when on the telephone replying to questions with umms and ahhs? Although a face to face assessment is the best but as a substitute video must be the way forward.

People would be surprised how much can be gleamed from watching body language during an interview - that's why the police insist on face to face questioning! 

Nicetomeetyou22

@racyguy I totally agree with you on this 👏 👌  you can tell alot from a person's body language years ago I went through this and I had to go to a assessment centre I was sick on the way there my anxiety was through roof sometimes in life we just have to take the bull by the horns and get on with things 😀 

Nicetomeetyou22

@Robint I find the comment about life long scroungers very unhelpful I could claim pip if I wanted 2 as I have depression anxiety/social anxiety a cyst on the brain and severe osteoarthritis stomach problems oh and autism I also have 6 children 3 who r registered as disabled 1 who is waiting for assessments but I choose not to claim pip for me although I can I don't want to face assessments etc I'm a very emotional person and scared of other people but there is lots of people out there who get pip that shouldn't!