I dont understand how on earth i qualify for the higher rate of daily living but not for mobility

Debz101

I have just joined this forum today.  I have several issues I have spinabifida and scoliosis along with oestoarthritis, depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.  

Life can be hard sometimes and pain levels mean i struggle a lot.  I get PIP but i cannot get the higher rate of mobility, even though I struggle to walk very far and have special parking permission and restrictions at work.  I dont understand how on earth i qualify for the higher rate of daily living but not for mobility, what do i do???

poppy123456

Lots of people qualify for Enhanced daily living and standard mobility. In the same way some people only qualify for daily living or mobility.

Special parking permission at work doesn't automatically qualify you for Enhanced mobility.

If you think you qualify for Enhanced mobility and the decision on your current award was less than 13 months ago you can challenge that decision by requesting the Mandatory Reconsideration. (MR) If you're outside of the 1 month deadline you will need to give a reason why you're late requesting the MR.

Tori_Scope

Hi @debz101 I hope that poppy123456 has cleared that up for you.

When did you receive your PIP award decision? 

Debz101

Thanks, apologies I didnt mean that i thought i would qualify because i have special parking permission at work.  I just couldnt understand the decision when i can only walk about 20 feet without severe pain.  Thanks for clearing that up for me.  I have a doctors appointment on thursday for a new issue, she used a long name to describe the condition but basically its a inflammatory condition of my hip and lower back area, probably related to my condition.

I will ensure that i will look at challenging the decision as i wasnt sure i could do that.  thanks all

Cartini

Debz101 said:

I will ensure that i will look at challenging the decision as i wasnt sure i could do that.  thanks all

Hi,

Good luck with your challenge. 

I only gained 4 points for mobility even though I was very specific with the details; I gave them an example of trying to walk to a shop which is 79m away from my back door.  I gave them distances when the pain started, where I had to stop, what I had to do in the shop if there was a queue and what I had to do on the way back to my house.  Following the "award" of 4 points I submitted a Mandatory Reconsideration, the result of which was "no change" to mobility points.

I was expecting that, but what I wasn`t expecting was the reason for my MR to stay the same: "Because your asthma is well controlled, I`ve decided that you can walk 200m"   This despite me saying I`m breathless after the walk (I can actually get breathless on the phone if I have to talk too much).

Needless to say, that result was followed up with a request for a tribunal - and no surprises that DWP hasn`t responded by the date given them, which was yesterday, the 8th August.

Andy

Debz101

Hi Andy,

Thats terrible, mine is because i work and i can drive and follow a route, no consideration for the fact if i do have to drive the pain is excrutiating and the fibrofog can cause me to not know how i got somewhere and then i start to panic and my anxiety levels go through the roof, but according to them thats ok.

Cartini

Debz101 said:

Hi Andy,

Thats terrible, mine is because i work and i can drive and follow a route, no consideration for the fact if i do have to drive the pain is excrutiating and the fibrofog can cause me to not know how i got somewhere and then i start to panic and my anxiety levels go through the roof, but according to them thats ok.

Hi Debz101,

My award was based on a paper review, so I haven`t had the "pleasure" of "tangoing" (for want of an expression) with a Health Care Professional.

I too work and drive, but that didn`t hinder my application in any way whatsoever.

I see many people, both on here and Benefits & Work, slate the HCPs when they get their results; surely if it`s that widespread it must be the system itself is at fault which means those further up the ladder are responsible.  I`m not sticking up for HCPs, just looking at it holistically.

If you don`t already use Benefits & Work, I would highly recommend them.  A combination of the excellent & detailed advice given here and the advice given on B&W will set you on the right path for your MR. 

I wish you well and hope your MR is successful.

Andy

Debz101

Thanks Andy,  I dont blame the HCPs at all its a hard job for them to do and i am sure that the system at the DWP doesnt always take their reports as they are intended.  I will have a look at the Benefits and Work site and see what they can advise.

Sue_Alumni

Good morning @Debz101

The DWP seem to have a thing about driving and seem to assume that if you are able to drive then you cannot have anxiety or other mental health issues.  Obviously, if you followed that logic through our roads would be virtually empty. 

Did you score any points in respect of the planning and following journeys descriptor ? If you scored points for needing prompting  to engage with people face to face due to your anxiety you can show that it follows  that you need prompting before you are able to undertake a journey as otherwise you would experience overwhelming psychological distress. That said the two descriptors are not linked and even if you have not scored points under this descriptor you can still say you need prompting in the planning and following journeys descriptor.  Your work is a prompt for you to leave the house and you need to go to work. If you go out other than work do you rely on someone to prompt and encourage you ? How would you feel if you didn't have that encouragement ? Would you suffer overwhelming psychological distress - panic attacks, difficulty breathing?

You also need to explain that your route to work is a familiar one.  If you cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without someone to accompany you to support you and to keep you calm  the DWP should take this into account.  You should also give examples from your everyday life.

With regards to the moving around descriptor you should give examples of how you can walk before you experience significant pain and you have to stop because of the pain. Are you able to repeat the walking and how long do you have to rest. How long does it tale you to walk from where you park your car to your office ? Are you exhausted afterwards.  You need to spell all this out to the DWP, 

Good luck and please keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

Cartini

Sue_Scope said:

With regards to the moving around descriptor you should give examples of how you can walk before you experience significant pain and you have to stop because of the pain. Are you able to repeat the walking and how long do you have to rest. How long does it tale you to walk from where you park your car to your office ? Are you exhausted afterwards.  You need to spell all this out to the DWP, 

I did exactly this in my PIP2, but it was rewarded with 4 points.  I then reiterated it in the MR, being very specific about distances, times taken and the effect on me during & after walking; completely ignored.

And now they`ve missed the date deadline to respond to my request for a tribunal.

Sue_Alumni

Good morning @Cartini
Unfortunately I can only give information on what the rules say the DWP should do - not what they will do ! The DWP should send its response to your notice of appeal within 28 days of receiving your appeal.  I do understand from other forums that there are significant delays in the DWP sending out appeal responses and appeal bundles.  If  the DWP is  late you can ask the tribunal to make a direction to require the DWP to submit its response within say, 14 days or whatever timescale the tribunal considers reasonable - this is done at the discretion of the tribunal - you can't insist the Tribunal does this. For obvious reasons, tribunals are reluctant to proceed without a response from the DWP. I understand that where possible the tribunal service are still listing cases for hearing even where the DWP has not responded to requests from the tribunal to send a response. However, with regards to PIP this is problematic as the whole history of the decision making process is likely to be relevant and needs to be considered by the tribunal. 

Cartini

Hello @Sue_Scope,

I hope my comment didn`t come across as criticism of your advice, it certainly wasn`t meant as such.

Your latest comment has cleared something up for me; after reading so many comments on here and B&W, I had it in my mind that the tribunal service would automatically remind DWP about the deadline.  Thank you for correcting that for me.

To be honest, I`m in no rush and I know they are very busy - it`s my "impatience streak" coming out

Sue_Alumni

No I didn't take it as criticism and thankyou for taking the time and posting your comments 

Rue601

I hope this helps any of you. I did my PiP application last year February and was rejected. Followed up with an MR which the also rejected, their main points where

1) Driving as I have an automatic car I can not be having the pain am describing.
2) They spoke about my mental health to which I didn't mention anything just the medication I take for my depression 
3) Was OT involved and what adaptations I have.
4) What medication I'm on the strength of them.

I took my case to Tribunal and I won last week. You need to be prepared to fight and have all the evidence to prove that is what you have. You need to also described how all the medical issues affect your day to day. With DWP responding within 28 days, they don't usually do so and the Tribunal will give them a reminder. You will only be given a court day when DWP responds.

Cartini

Sue_Scope said:

No I didn't take it as criticism and thankyou for taking the time and posting your comments 

wilko

For many of us applying for PIP we are honest and give accurate information of our abilities. But the accessors then assumes that because you or I can use an automatic car or mobility scooters we have or must be able to do the daily living activities. I spoke recently to a scooter user who said they only get low rate for both daily living and mobility. One reason she lost out when asked do you get out much . She takes her two dogs out using the mobility scooter then added that she volunteers for two charities. So straight away the assessor assumed that she was fit and able to engage with the public in doing charity work. To much information can be a bad thing.

Cartini

wilko said:

To much information can be a bad thing.

Hi,

This is true, but your friend was honest.

When asking for help from the state, there is a fine line between, to use your comment, "too much information can be a bad thing" and not being honest, thus fraudulently claiming for a benefit (please note, I`m not saying your friend is/was fraudulently claiming):

"Do you take your dogs for a walk?"

"No"

"We`ve received information that you do"

Your friend can, regardless of award she received, sleep peacefully knowing that she was honest and received an award commensurate with her answers.

AndrewHall

Too much importance is given to what DWP thinks. Obviously it is nice to be awarded by the DWP first time but as they don't normally follow the law, I don’t take that corrupt organisation seriously. 
There was a time I got a call from DWP trying to explain their decision to me and asking me to give reasons for my appeal.  I said my reasons is simply that I don’t like the sound of his voice and I don't trust him. I won at the Tribunal as usual. 

L_Volunteer

Thanks everyone for being supportive. It is people like you who make our community the supportive and friendly space it is.

@Debz101 How have things been since you last posted on this thread? I appreciate it has been a little while since you last posted on this thread now. Please don't hesitate to let us know if we can do anything to support you 

Debz101

Hi, I am now awaiting an xray and review on my hips and lower back as i am getting a lot more pain and less mobile because of it.  I am going to wait and see what the outcome of this is, my doctor thinks its something called Bursitis but wants to be sure.  once i have a diagnosis on this i will contact the DWP again due to change in circumstances and see where i go from there, if i dont agree with their decision i will appeal this as although i had seen that you could challenge the decision i never have.

Alex_Alumni

Hi @Debz101 please do let us know how your review and xray goes, I hope it's not too long to wait?

If you're finding that you are less mobile, you can request a change of circumstances, and do be sure to evidence this with some clear examples exactly how your condition is now impacting you against the PIP descriptors. 

If you need help at any stage, please do ask, and we'll support you as best we can  

Alex