Pip turned down

Penny93

I had my telephone assessment on 15 of February and just called them to find out I scored 0 points. 

I have agoraphobia, depression and anxiety. 

I spoke about how I dont leave the house to take the bins out, my partner helps me with everything 
he helps me brush my hair, he tells me when to take my meds because i can’t remember. 
I cannot physically engage with people I work from home doing the bare minimum because going to the office is too much
ive been like this for about 2 years

the assessor said that because I take anti depressants it means I am okay and managing. I am not okay and my life is hell. We told her about it and gave her many examples. 

She also asked if I can walk without pain I said if I had to leave the house maybe 5/10min would start feeling pain BUT I DONT LEAVE THE HOUSE. I even told her about 2 recent incidents where I didnt show up for very needed blood tests

scoring 0 points is like making fun of me and telling me essentially she doesnt believe me. 

My partner is now raising this for MR and will go to tribunal if needed but I am now having a panic attack and crying my eyes outs because I was essentially not believed. 

This ruins mental health instead of helping

Penny93

I am sorry it it is long and if it has many typos
Im just so so sooo sad

Penny93

Hi Teddy 
we have asked for the transcript of the call but I definitely gave a lot of examples. 

Daily examples of how it affects me, what happens when i wake up (for example my anxiety is so bad i im sick every morning)
when talking about agoraphobia i gave examples of not going in for the doctors, not going out for groceries basically having my partner doing it. 

I definitely did. 

And when I called them, the gentleman on the phone said verbatim “she put here you take over tje counter medication? So you can manage it”. Im very confused

poppy123456

Assessments are only recorded if you ask them to do this before the day of the assessment. The assessment process is not there for them to write what you said verbatim. It's for them to gather more evidence to support your claim. They then write the report which is their opinion based on everything you wrote in the form and what you said during the assessment.

Concentrating on this will not get you a PIP award. For the MR what you need to do is go through the descriptors and state where and why you think you should have scored those points. Giving a couple of real world incidents of exactly what happened the last time you attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies. Include information such as where you were, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were.

You mention you already gave some examples but were they assertions? A lot of people confuse them with anecdotal evidence and there's a big difference between the 2.

There's some very good examples of anecdotal evidence in this link here https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/87932/pip-tribunal-representation/p1 although it's about a Tribunal, you can use this for the MR just to have an idea. Please take note of MIke's advice through out that link.

Penny93

Thank you @poppy123456

i have read the assertion and anecdotal evidence and I can say I was definitely assertive with my condition and how it affects me so im lost for words as to what I need to do

also i asked for the assessment to be recorded so they should be able to give me a transcript. I need to call them to request that

poppy123456

Penny93 said:

also i asked for the assessment to be recorded so they should be able to give me a transcript. I need to call them to request that

That will not get you a PIP award. If it gets to Tribunal stage you won't be able to use the recording unless it's professionally transcribed.

Being assertive doesn't mean you didn't confuse anecdotal with assertions.

Penny93

Hi poppy, im really sorry for my next silly question (english isnt my first language so I get really confused)

should I be giving them anecdotal evidence or assertions?

poppy123456

Penny93 said:

Hi poppy, im really for my next silly question (english isnt my first language so I get really confused)

should I be giving them anecdotal evidence or assertions?

It should be anecdotal. These are otherwise known as real world incidents. An assertion would be something like .. i can't do X because of Y.

If you haven't read that link i posted i really do advise you to do that because it will definitely help you.

Penny93

Thank you so much 
i have my partner helping me and explaining and will ask him
to read the link

i was just confused. 

Tysm 

poppy123456

You're welcome.

Ross_Alumni

Hi @Penny93

Thank you for posting about your experience, but I'm sorry to read that you received 0 points. I can imagine that it feels quite upsetting and frustrating given how much you put into it. 

If you do believe that you are entitled to PIP, I would encourage you to keep fighting so that you can get what you feel you deserve. It's a stressful process, but if you do get there in the end I'm sure it will be worth it. It's good that you have a supportive partner too.

Once you receive the decision letter that confirms the points, that will contain details of how you can request the MR, and you'll have one month to do so. This page on the CAB website contains some useful information about carrying out the MR and includes a link to a form you can use as a template for requesting it. 

Regarding your mental health, it's a shame to read of the impact all of this has had on you, and thank you for providing details about how it impacts you on a daily basis. Is your mental health something that your GP is aware of and supporting you to manage?

Do you have coping techniques in place to manage your anxiety and panic attacks? This page on the Mind website contains some useful tips that can help you  in the moment when you feel as though you are struggling, and they also have another page which goes into further detail about general coping techniques to manage your mental health.

Anninja

it's so hard to prove someone your mental problems as it seems they think we just pretend.
for this reason I'm also scared to apply for PIP. 

Tori_Scope

Hi @penny93 I just wanted to check in with how you're doing today. How have things been since you last posted on the community?