Help constructing a pip mandatory reconsideration letter

davepsnr

Shelll said:

I wrote a letter for MR I was scored 0 on my original assessment. I was awarded standard daily living by MR. I sourced a draft letter online

Can you remember where you sourced it?

calcotti

There is a tool here
https://www.advicenow.org.uk/pip-tool
I've never used it so can't comment on how helpful is.

L_Volunteer

Thanks for sharing the tool Calcotti. I can imagine this being helpful for many!

Also thanks to everyone else for contributing to making this a supportive and friendly space. It makes the world of difference 

davepsnr

Cartini said:

davepsnr said:

nasturtium said:

davepsnr said:

But doesnt medically reasonable mean it has to be prescribed not just bought by me? I could buyone because I think I need it and it helps, however a doctor might say i dont need one?

Anything can be an aid if it replaces a function lost because of disability. An aid does not need to be prescribed for it to be classed as an aid. It is upto you to describe why that aid is important for you to complete the PIP activity "Relaibly" that is either safely, repeatedly, in a timely manor or to an acceptable standard. https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably Doing the activity reliably counts for every PIP activity and if you cannot do the activity relaibly then you should score points but you need to explain according to the descriptors why you cannot do the activity reliably. The key is understanding what the activity is and what the descriptors mean. See here https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably#activities and here https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form-pip/

So it is upto you to explain why you use those aids, what would happen if you did not have those aids, how those aids help you with your disability or medical condition, would there be a safety issue if you did not have and use that aid, would you be in pain if you did not use that aid (would mean that you woud not be able to do the activity to an acceptable standard but you would need to describe in detail the type of pain etc)

Hope that helps

That info is great thank you.  really does help.   In writing a mandatory reconsideration letter, is there a specified length? Does it matter how long or short it is etc?

To add to the very good advice from nasturtium......

I no longer have a bath - it`s dangerous for me to sit down for, and stand up after, a bath (this is compounded by memories I have as a 5 year old when I slipped in the bath and cracked just under my left eye on the bath side.  I can still see the bath covered in blood).

I use a grab bar when I have a shower, without this I wouldn`t be safe.

I have a grab bar in the toilet to help me sit on the toilet and to stand up after I`ve finished.

I have to hold on to the bathroom sink when cleaning my teeth to steady myself.

I use a dining chair, when needed, to prepare vegetables because of lumbar pain.

I use a litter picker to pick clothes off the floor when I get dressed because I have "challenges" bending down.

When my spondylosis / stenosis is really bad, when I move round I hold on to the radiators, door handles, banister to steady myself.

These are all aids to me.

Andy

Thanks Andy.  Thats a real help 

Maggiefv

I was one of the lucky 27% who got a raise with my mandatory reconsideration letter. To be honest I wound myself up about it, burst into tears in front of my neighbour, and she very quickly called her legal advisor friend who very kindly came round, assessed me and helped me write the letter - I could never have done it myself. One thing you can do is phone up and ask for a copy of the assessors notes from interview - you don’t get a recording but you can get the notes. We did this and it helped a lot because we could see where the assessor had got things wrong. You can also get a book with guidelines on how to work out your mandatory reconsideration letter too - have a look on Amazon. TBC my legal help person was surprised we didn’t have to take it to a tribunal, but I think his help probably scared the bejesus out of them and decided to give in ( plus it was really obviously wrong). One thing I will remember is can you do something reliably? If you can walk 100 mtrs, but it would cause you so much pain you couldn’t do it the next day or in fact you couldn’t be sure when you could do it next, - that’s not reliably being able to walk 100 mtrs. For some weird reason, if you have a 7 day tablet box, this counts as one point I think - don’t know why but it does - Of course they never ask if you have one! 

Cartini

Maggiefv said:

I was one of the lucky 27% who got a raise with my mandatory reconsideration letter. To be honest I wound myself up about it, burst into tears in front of my neighbour, and she very quickly called her legal advisor friend who very kindly came round, assessed me and helped me write the letter - I could never have done it myself. One thing you can do is phone up and ask for a copy of the assessors notes from interview - you don’t get a recording but you can get the notes. We did this and it helped a lot because we could see where the assessor had got things wrong. You can also get a book with guidelines on how to work out your mandatory reconsideration letter too - have a look on Amazon. TBC my legal help person was surprised we didn’t have to take it to a tribunal, but I think his help probably scared the bejesus out of them and decided to give in ( plus it was really obviously wrong). One thing I will remember is can you do something reliably? If you can walk 100 mtrs, but it would cause you so much pain you couldn’t do it the next day or in fact you couldn’t be sure when you could do it next, - that’s not reliably being able to walk 100 mtrs. For some weird reason, if you have a 7 day tablet box, this counts as one point I think - don’t know why but it does - Of course they never ask if you have one! 

I use dosette boxes too; these are classed as an aid for taking medication.  I used my phone to set alarms to remind me to use my dosette box - my phone is an aid.