TIPS ON PIP APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT

LIVEDANDLEARNED

I had an awful experience applying for PIP, but I have it now and after a hard battle I feel it’s only right for me to pass on what I’ve learned from the experience to help others. 

GETTING STARTED:

Firstly before you do anything you will need to see and understand the way the assessors and DWP work out your eligibility and how they award you points. 

On the Citizen’s Advice website you can download the table of questions and  points, I’ve added it here too: 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf 

You can print it too, if you like. 

POINTS NEEDED:

These are the questions you’ll be asked and the points you get for each answer. It’s split into two parts: 

Daily living allowance 

Mobility allowance

You will need a minimum cumulative amount of 8 points for the questions relating to Daily Living to get the basic rate, or 12+ points for the advanced. 

You will need a minimum cumulative amount of 8 points for the questions relating to Mobility to get the basic rate, or 12+ points for the advanced. 

Note: They will not necessarily ask you the questions in that order or phrase them in the way they are written, so be aware and prepared for that. 

When you fill in your form, look at this points system and answer the questions with them in mind. You must explain why it is that you’re unable to do something and how often that happens. 

If it’s under 50% of the time they are unlikely to award it to you, keep that in mind throughout the whole process from start to finish. Remember what you write in your form needs to be in line with everything else you say throughout the process, so be open, detailed and get evidence. 

MEDICAL EVIDENCE: 

I cannot stress this enough. I know health professionals and specialists are so busy, but their input can make a huge difference. I printed out the PIP questions and points system and sent it to my specialists. I put circles around the ones I felt I was eligible for and asked if they could provide my medical evidence needed to back it up. 

IMPORTANT- it won’t help you just to have a medical professional say what your condition is, they need to explain how that affects you day to day and prevents you from doing xyz and how often this happens. Make this clear when asking for their help. Remember under 50% of the time is unlikely to mean any points are given. 

During my 1st assessment my assessor didn’t use my medical evidence and when I complained it was the medical evidence that saved me, so try your best to get it. Also if you’ve ended up in hospital as a result of your condition; for instance a fall etc, include that too.

RECORD YOUR ASSESSMENT:

You can call PIP in advance to say you’ll be recording the call. This is the number: 

0800 121 4433

This is to warn them you will be recording it and you can ask them to also.

I don’t want to scare anyone but my first assessor totally lied & changed what I said. When I read the report I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I called the assessment centre after I saw it  and asked for a recording and they said there wasn’t one. Don’t make that mistake. Record it for your own protection, but do warn them you plan to record at the start of the call as well as in advance. You also have to promise not to use it on social media. 

ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS ON ASSESSMENT DAY:

You can use your table of points above to write down answers in advance. I explained that when I get stressed my mind goes blank. So I didn’t want to miss anything out, I prepared it in advance. As well as sending in my medical evidence, I also read it out again during the assessment (my second one after I was burnt in the first) when it was relevant  to a question, to back up what I was saying. 

Don’t involve yourself in chit chat with the assessor. Keep focussed. Sometimes questions are designed to trip you up and disguised in a ‘chit chat’ conversation, so don’t go off on a tangent. You can be polite without going down a rabbit hole. 

At every stage, remember the points system, be specific, you can say your condition fluctuates (if it really does) but bear in mind how often you deal with it usually, because they will be looking for over and under 50% scenarios to mark you.  

If you’re nervous you can have a friend, family member with you. 

Be strong in your truth, in the conviction of what you’re saying. Some, not all, but some assessors talk to you in a way to demean what you’re saying or making out that can’t be right, you must stand up for yourself. They may say “well if you can do this, why can’t you do that?”. Talk with conviction.

AFTERWARDS/ COMPLAINTS: 

I was so upset with how my assessment went and was not given anything. My report contradicted everything I said and they didn’t use the medical evidence. 

I actually contacted my local MP who was amazing and complained to the assessment agency. They ran an investigation and said the assessor had not used my medical evidence and in the end I had another and got the full amount. An MP can help you if you have a complaint after and it’s also good for them to have feedback of your experiences. If you need to contact your local MP you can find who you local one is and their contact details here:

https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

MENTAL HEALTH:
Also, if you have mental health issues, try to get medical evidence. Especially if you’re not on medication, because that can be used against you, so have a medical professional, GP, counsellor, psychologist write up something for you to say how it affects you. MIND, the charity is also there for you and can give you tips. 

https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/campaigns/benefits/

The whole process what awful for me, but this won’t always be the case. I just hope these tips can be beneficial to even one person. 

X 

Ross_Alumni

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, experience and insight @LIVEDANDLEARNED, I really appreciate you taking the time. Also, welcome to the community   Congratulations on being awarded PIP eventually  

This is a very supportive and welcoming site to be a part of so I’m hopeful that you’ll find it to be a positive outlet. Feel free to have a look around and get involved wherever you’d like 😊 I have included below a few of the pages I’d recommend having a look through to get used to things:

• The virtual coffee lounge which is one of our categories, in which we play games and talk about general subjects such as hobbies and interests
• The recent discussions page, which shows an overview of everything happening across the community
• The categories page, which shows a full list of discussion groups on the community

If you have any questions at all then don’t hesitate to ask.

LIVEDANDLEARNED

Thank you Ross. I’m not sure if I posted this in the correct category for people to see who are about to, or have applied for PIP, but I hope it will be beneficial to someone. I wish I’d known some of this before I applied, I was given misinformation which didn’t help, so I hope this can help someone. Thanks again. 

woodbine

Just one comment a doctor or specialist will usually not know how your condition affects you as an individual on a daily basis.

However @LIVEDANDLEARNED good evening and a warm welcome to scope.

LIVEDANDLEARNED

Well if you’ve been to see them previously and have told them, or if you’re taking medication for one of those issues then they can prove that. I’m just passing on my experience, if it wasn’t for the medical evidence I gained I just wouldn’t have got PIP. The assessors will often make out you can do things, even if you can’t and without medical evidence it’s hard to prove. I’m just passing on what happened to me and people can use the information or not as they choose.