PIP RENEWAL AWARD?!?! Still waiting

markwilliams12345

Dos the government not realise that making someone wait for such a big thing like benefits, make their mental &  physical health worse than it already is I find this whole situation really bad ………….they do not have a clue how this effects people they should stop this now get it sorted out and stop messing with peoples lives. 

anth22

I think they do know the effect 🤔 pushing people to the edge they don't care.

nasturtium

markwilliams12345 said:

Dos the government not realise that making someone wait for such a big thing like benefits, make their mental &  physical health worse than it already is I find this whole situation really bad ………….they do not have a clue how this effects people they should stop this now get it sorted out and stop messing with peoples lives. 

To be fair there has been a massive increase in new PIP allications. It had doubled in 2022 and has increased further in 2023. This as well as the backlog in PIP Renewals has increased the waiting time for both new applications and PIP Reviews. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/number-new-pip-claimants-has-doubled-year

This might answer why there are more appeals and the increased waiting times for claimants waiting for appeal.

Nasturtium

poppy123456

nasturtium said:

markwilliams12345 said:

Dos the government not realise that making someone wait for such a big thing like benefits, make their mental &  physical health worse than it already is I find this whole situation really bad ………….they do not have a clue how this effects people they should stop this now get it sorted out and stop messing with peoples lives. 

To be fair there has been a massive increase in new PIP allications. It had doubled in 2022 and has increased further in 2023. This as well as the backlog in PIP Renewals has increased the waiting time for both new applications and PIP Reviews. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/number-new-pip-claimants-has-doubled-year

This might answer why there are more appeals and the increased waiting times for claimants waiting for appeal.

Nasturtium

Wow, i knew it was a lot but didn't think it was as much as 30,000 new claims a month! I can see why backlogs for reviews are so long!

Annatt

Thank you

Annatt

Thank you

deelee

Hello everyone  I just wanted to update about my review and to ask a few questions. I received a text message from "Independent Assessment Services" who do the assessments for the DWP saying that they were letting me know that they were managing my PIP assessment and will be looking at my information and will contact me if they need to see me and arrange an appointment, which I expect they may, as my condition has worsened. 

I wanted to know if anyone else who was waiting for a review had heard from them too, especially recently, and if anyone knows how long it will take to get a date from them or to hear back from them with any news after assessing my case. 

Also What happens if I am unable to attend a face to face in person? Can I request to do it online or over the phone? 

Any advice as to prepare for this would be greatly appreciated from any of you out there...

Thank you 

I am so nervous about it all and on tender hooks. 
thanks Deblee

chiarieds

Hi @deelee - as you may have read above in this thread, that there are backlogs, especially with reviews, as the DWP are prioritising new claims. You can indeed request a phone assessment, & most are still being done this way anyway.

Once your assessment report has been returned to the DWP, it can take anything from 2-12 weeks to get your actual decision letter.

I'd suggest you come back once you have a date for your assessment, when I'm sure our members will advise. For now, this is well worth reading through: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

Albus_Scope

Heya @deelee, firstly, try not to panic! 

My review period kicked in back in February and the last I heard from anyone was July, saying they'd not forgotten about me, but I may still need an assessment.  It's a generic message they send to everyone in the hopes we all stop calling them to check we've not fallen through the cracks. 

As for the face to face assessment, once you receive the next steps by letter, it'll usually have information on accessibility, so you should be able to request am appointment via phone.  It's not 100% guaranteed that they will allow it, but it's always worth asking. 

It's totally ok to be nervous, but remember we're all here to support one another. You got this.  

deelee

Heya Albus_Scope, thank you for the support 

deelee

Hello everyone, yesterday I  received a text message informing me that my PIP review is taking place on the 28 November 2023 - in 2 weeks time roughly.  I have had to cancel my bladder scan as it was on the same day, which was a shame as both are important. I have a lot of new changes that I had to let them know about so I expected that they wanted to see me. My partner is going with me.
 It will be face to face and I am very nervous about it. Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

ella1992

When  did u put your reivw fourm in 

poppy123456

deelee said:

Hello everyone, yesterday I  received a text message informing me that my PIP review is taking place on the 28 November 2023 - in 2 weeks time roughly.  I have had to cancel my bladder scan as it was on the same day, which was a shame as both are important. I have a lot of new changes that I had to let them know about so I expected that they wanted to see me. My partner is going with me.
 It will be face to face and I am very nervous about it. Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

If you hadn't cancelled an assessment previously then you could have cancelled that and kept the other appointment, too late now i know but good to know for the future.

If you prefer telephone assessment then you can also ring the assessment providers and ask for that.

During the assessment make sure you do not answer any questions with just a yes or no. Try to go into as much detail as possible. Some find it helpful to make some notes before the assessment and take them with you, though i prefer not to do that.

What they will ask you will depend on how your conditions affect you. The assessment can last anywhere from 20 to 120 minutes, sometimes longer.

Once the report is written and returned a decision can take up to 12 weeks.

deelee

Thanks  @poppy123456 for that useful information 

deelee

Good morning to all you good people....I had my PIP Review yesterday. It did not go as well at all.
 A few days before I began to stress about it that it was face to face and how far I had to travel a few days before hand. They usually do these face to face reviews closer to my home. When I did realise it, was too late. I could not afford a taxi, my partner, took me on the bus ( 2 hours on the bus - should have been 50 mins as we were delayed in traffic.)  Just made it in time and stressed out.

The waiting area had a light that was like strobe lighting going off and they staff said it only just happened. There was loud noise from above as there is a gym above. Very stressful environment. 
We went into the interview room very stressed, 20 mins after arriving.
No one looked at my new info. My review was done on what I had said 3 years ago and  My condition worsened in the last 6 months due to having an rare biological allergic reaction to a new medication to treat me, for Dupuytren's disease.
This allergic reaction severely affected my immune system.I have ME/CFS which has worsened from the allergic reaction. I can hardly eat foods I could before and even greater energy issues. I now have memory issues and struggle to speak. Not that I cant but am very slow and at times become anxious where I will blurt out stuff that doesn't make sense with the question, which is why my partner came with me. We had spent 2 weeks getting ready and thought I was ready. It is like I had severe panic take over as a bad headache from the stress of travelling and awful lighting in the waiting room and almost not making the appointment.  When I was able to speak the wrong words came out. I can hardly recall it, I kind of freaked out in panic and struggled to find my words and would forget the questions. It was a disaster. The young lady who conducted it said my partner could speak for me but then she would draw me back in and I struggled. It lasted 2 hours and I struggled and was in pain. She didnt end up doing a physical exam in the end. There is no way I did well and fully expect I will be getting bad news and I will need to appeal. Not doing great, but wanted to reach out to you all. 

Luna51

Morning all.. 
My daughter's PIP review form was delivered this morning (using RM's guaranteed next day delivery) here's a screen shot of it being delivered this morning.
Now imagine that many forms being delivered several times a day, no wonder there's a huge backlog! 😳

Welshlad90

Can someone tell me if you request a telephone assessment you'll need a doctor's letting for this to happen?

My partner is registered as my carer and she works Monday to Friday but she needs to take me to the assessment due to my anxiety and depression

Albus_Scope

Hi @Welshlad90 you can ask for a telephone assessment, you don't need a doctors letter to do so. 

poppy123456

Luna51 said:

Morning all.. 
My daughter's PIP review form was delivered this morning (using RM's guaranteed next day delivery) here's a screen shot of it being delivered this morning.
Now imagine that many forms being delivered several times a day, no wonder there's a huge backlog! 😳

That pile is all the proof that’s needed to say that when you send anything to DWP as signed for it will be signed by someone from Royal Mail sorting office, not someone from DWP. 

It will now be somewhere in the sorting office building waiting to be added to the system. It’s not classed as arriving until this has been done. 

Certificate of posting is all that’s needed, which is free from any post office. I returned my review form this morning and this is what I did. I used the free 2nd class envelope to return it. 

Luna51

It's just the way I've always returned these forms, if I know it's arrived (wherever it may be!) then my anxiety about it all tends to drop off a little. 

Good advice though Poppy!

Best wishes to everyone here going through the process.. 🤞