First time applicant

hannabethxx

Hi, my names Hannah and I’m 20. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease September 2021 after months of being unwell. I’ve had the symptoms since I was about 4 but nobody ever knew what it was. 

I have a lot of symptoms including many from arthritis and lupus. I use crutches to walk as well as insoles in my shoes to align my legs. I also have anxiety and depression as well as asthma and I’m waiting for an autism assessment date. 

I applied for pip at the start of July and had my assessment (phone) in the middle of September. It lasted over an hour. She seemed nice. We spoke a lot about the daily living parts which I can’t really do much of (thankfully my mum is amazing) but she never really said anything about mobility. Mobility is really hard for me currently and I’m in extreme pain after even 4 steps. Is it normal to not be asked about one area? Should I worry? 

I’m going to try and get a copy of the assessment sent tomorrow but they didn’t have it the last time I called and I’ve been in hospital since then. I now have had the text. For some reason capita took 2 weeks to send the write up through. 

I’ll appreciate any advice, words of encouragement, anything honestly. I’m kind of terrified, especially after being off work again and getting sick pay. 

bg844

They might not of needed any information about your mobility after talking in-depth about your Daily Living activities, please don’t worry about this. As for the 2 week wait after assessment for the report to be returned your report was most likely in audit. Again, this is nothing to worry about and simply means the assessment provider was checking the quality of your report before sending it back.

You can now of course request the copy of your assessment report although I am just making you aware that it can potentially cause unneeded anxiety, what the assessor says is a recommendation only and ultimately the decision is down to the DWP.  

hannabethxx

bg844 said:

They might not of needed any information about your mobility after talking in-depth about your Daily Living activities, please don’t worry about this. As for the 2 week wait after assessment for the report to be returned your report was most likely in audit. Again, this is nothing to worry about and simply means the assessment provider was checking the quality of your report before sending it back.

You can now of course request the copy of your assessment report although I am just making you aware that it can potentially cause unneeded anxiety, what the assessor says is a recommendation only and ultimately the decision is down to the DWP.  

Thank you for your reply. It makes me feel better that they can sometimes take the daily living section into consideration for mobility. Hopefully that’s what happened here. I wasn’t too concerned about the 2 week wait until I phoned up for the assessment copy and the lady said that it was unusual. I phoned again today and it’s been sent out. I think for me it will be a relief to have it to see if they successfully understood what I said. 

bg844

When the report has made it’s way to you use this link to see what has been recommended:
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/pip-test-form

hannabethxx

I just got the assessment report and everything is completely wrong. Apparently I play piano. I have never ever played piano. I can also apparently get dressed by myself and walk 100m which I cannot do. I can’t even walk 20m with crutches. I’m not sure who she was talking to but it wasn’t me if she got this information  

bg844

I’m so sorry to hear this. You do have a very short window to write to the DM and you can explain the inconsistencies in further detail before they make a decision. They might ignore this letter but at least you will of got your message to them, you can also complain to the assessment provider too.

The step after decision is a Mandatory Reconsideration.