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Help please do I give up before tribunal date??

Kewiix2

Hey, so I have had my response pack from Dwp regarding my PIP (at tribunal stage awaiting a date)... Anyways first I was refused because I am a single mum and I apparently didn't have mental health support however I did explain it was all done via telephone and emails not letters anymore so since then I have managed to pay for a letter from Gp to explain I have had and currently do have MH support for my ongoing mental health. But now DWP have looked again and are now saying that they are refusing my PIP because I get carers alowence for my mum?... How can they do this? Do I just give up now because I have for months suffered worse now with my MH because of DWP and their excuses... Surely me caring for my mum on the odd occasion does not effect me and weather I am entitled to pip for my mental health. Please help or let me no if I should just give up... In floods of tears right now and scared about the actual tribunal.
Thank you so much in advance.

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poppy123456

It's perfectly normal for DWP to disagree with everything you say and to even oppose the appeal because they don't think you're entitled to it because you were refused.

Sometimes being a carer for someone can affect your claim if your caring duties contradict the reasons why you're claiming PIP. Though there are lots of people that care for others and claim a disability benefit, myself included.

It seems like you're concentrating on their evidence, rather than your own. I'm saddened to hear you had to pay for a letter from your GP just to tell the Tribunal that you have ongoing mental health issues. Refusal a PIP claim based on no evidence of mental health support/issues is a common copy and paste reason that DWP like to use a lot. You should ignore this.

What you need to do is concentrate on the weaknesses in your evidence and not the strength of DWPs evidence. A letter from a GP isn't the best evidence to send because they rarely know exactly how your conditons affect you against the PIP descriptors. They don't spend any time with you to know how you manage dressing/washing/preparing a meal/budgeting/engaging with others etc etc.

What you need to do is give a couple of real world incidents of exactly what happened the last time you attempted each descriptor that applies to you.

Adding detailed information such as where you were, what exacetly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were. You should aim for at least half an A4 side of paper per descriptor that applies.

Success rate of Tribunal is around 70%, slightly higher if you have representation from an advice agency. These figures are for those that appear in person/telephone hearing. Paper based hearings have a much less success rate of around 5-8%.

During your hearing it will be your chance to tell them exactly how your conditions affect you in your own words.

No one can tell you what to do but in my opinion, you've come this far so don't give up now. You can also get some exper advice from an agency near you. Start here. https://advicelocal.uk/

racyguy

Kewiix2 said:

Anyways first I was refused because I am a single mum and I apparently didn't have mental health support But now DWP have looked again and are now saying that they are refusing my PIP because I get carers allowance for my mum?...

Surely me caring for my mum on the odd occasion does not effect me and weather I am entitled to pip for my mental health.

As poppy has said, the DWP have a huge library of stock reasons that they use to refuse a claim.
Driving a car can be used to show that you have no difficulty with the physical fact of driving (arms, legs etc) also you would have no mental health problems otherwise you could not drive.
If you only see the GP for your medical issues - the DWP would say that is not good enough as if you are ill you would be seeing a consultant.
Yes receiving carers allowance indicates that you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone - being able to do that probably means that you yourself cannot be disabled.

On that point you mention that the caring is only for the odd occasion - does the DWP (Carers Unit) know this?

Kewiix2

Thank you both so much for your replies,, I really do want to fight it but I'm not sure how I can or what else to do... I use to care for my mum alot when I lived litrally 2 minutes away from her however since November 2021 that care has reduced alot due to now living further away,, my mental health has become worse so rarely leave the house and if I need to help mum like wash hair ect she sometimes comes here (as she drives)... No carers does not know this as I still do some care stuff like batch cook her food when I can and little brother collects it ect, I still message her or ring her on a Sunday to get either herself or my little brother to re organise the medication pot... I have considered not claiming carers alowence because some days this is a huge strain on my mental health however my mum is ummm let's say not very happy about it because I assume me getting carers helps her because it deffinatly does not benefit me at all... Hope this helps x

poppy123456

You claiming carers for your mum doesn't benefit her in the way you may think it does. If you're not caring for her for at least 35 hours per week then you really should contact them to cancel your claim. However, caring for someone doesn't mean this has to be physically caring for them. It can be anything from phone calls for general support but you mention only ringing her once a week, which can't be 35 hours. The batch cooking as you mentioned is also looking after her and washing her hair when she drives to yours but i don't know how often you do either of those.

What other benefits do you claim?

Kewiix2

Ohhhh no I call her atleast 5 times a day every day specially in the evenings,, I just ment my main call to her that I have to do is a Sunday which is most important because its about her meds and having them re done for the week... I get income support, carers allowance, child tax and child benefit x
My daughter is disabled so her dla also goes in my bank however I transfer to her bank if she doesn't need anything x

poppy123456

Ah then that's completely different. As i said, caring for someone doesn't need to be physically caring for them. I claim carers allowance for my daughter but i don't do anything physical for her because she's abled bodied and can do all of that herself.

Kewiix2

Okey thank you, I got really worried then aha... I don't even want to claim carers because I am not doing as much as I was before now that I don't live close and my mental health most of the time I can not get out of my bed but feel kinda stuck as she is my mum and I don't want her to be upset... I mean I will still ring her like I do and help wear I can x

calcotti

racyguy said:
Yes receiving carers allowance indicates that you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone - being able to do that probably means that you yourself cannot be disabled.

It doesn’t. Many people qualify for both CA and PIP.

poppy123456

I was meant to have replied to this earlier today but after trying to help the OP i completely forgot.

racyguy said:

Yes receiving carers allowance indicates that you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone - being able to do that probably means that you yourself cannot be disabled.

That's complete nonsense. Lots of people claim CA and a disability benefit without any issues. As i mentioned above, you do not need to be "physically" caring for the person to be entitled to CA.

I've claimed CA for my daughter since 2017 and also claim PIP myself since 2013. My conditions are physical, my daughters isn't. She needs prompting, assistance and guidance in everything she does. My caring duties do not contradict the reasons why i claim PIP in any way.

Alex_Alumni

Hello there @Kewiix2 and welcome to the community, thanks for reaching out and sharing what's been happening. All this stress and anxiety must be really difficult to manage, so I'm sorry to hear that you're having a tough time.

Have you spoken to your GP or a loved one about the impact this is having on your mental health, and how to get the support you need?

If we can help with anything else PIP related in the meantime, please don't hesitate to ask, we're here to support you

Alex

Kewiix2

@Alex_Scope thank you so much for your reply, today is a difficult day with my MH so this message was lovely to see.

I have not spoken to anyone regarding how this is impacting me at all because I just don't think any one will understand as I did tell a friend at the beginning of the tribunal thing and all she said was well don't do I tribunal just do the whole form again.

There is alot going on here at home at the minute too which is not helping.

I'm just so confused and want this tribunal to be over and done with now, the wait is the worst. I don't actually know what else to send in to help my case at all because the MH support I am getting is still delayed so I have nothing more.

Thank you so much
Kerry

Alex_Alumni

That's okay @Kewiix2 if you need to use the community for support today, you are more than welcome. I hope you know that you're not alone in this, and you are worthy of support

I'm sorry to hear your friend wasn't the most supportive. I know it can be pretty scary reaching out for help, so well done for posting here. Sometimes just talking about how things are making you feel can help in the short term.

I wonder can you tell me if you've reached out to places like Citizens Advice for professional advice, support, or advocacy during your Tribunal? A good place to search for professional advisers local to you is Advice Local. That might help to take some of the stress and weight off your shoulders.

I'm also sorry to hear that your mental health support is delayed, has anyone let you know when it might be fully put in place?

If you need someone to listen or just to vent to, there are plenty of support organisations you can chat to, including Samaritans, who you can call on 116 123. You don't need to be at crisis point to talk about how things are making you feel. Equally, if you'd rather communicate by text, you can text "SHOUT" to 85258 for support at any time.

As mentioned, keep us updated with how things go with the Tribunal, and ask if you need anything.