Unprofessional call from dwp help

needhelp120

Hello. I am in the process of my first pip application and have submitted my forms and evidence. After a big fight I managed to get a paper-based assessment despite them wanting to do a face-to-face one which was completely inappropriate. Despite them knowing I can't answer calls and that my mum has become my official appointee they keep spam calling me. My mum called the number back and it was a man saying he was from the dwp just shouting profusely. He refused to believe she is the appointee for me, despite someone from the dwp visiting her in person to make it official last week. He flat out said she was lying about ever even going through the process of becoming my appointee and that there is no evidence someone from the dwp came to her house. He said that he can't see any evidence of 'this or that' about my conditions and life despite sending in vast amounts of letters from doctors, psychologists and social workers stating what I suffer with and how it affects my life. He refused to acknowledge them at all. For the next 10 minutes he then ranted about how he has had ptsd for the past 3 years and is managing fine and can cope and doesn't need to apply for pip and therefore it is absurd that I am applying for pip as if he can cope, I should be able to. Is this not completely unprofessional? Why is he trauma dumping about his life to my mum and using his experience of a different disorder to asses me? I don't even have PTSD? I have EUPD and mixed depression and anxiety disorder. Is this worth reporting? It seems so unprofessional, if so, how would my mum go about reporting this? Is there a phone number? Secondly, the people that call always say they are from the DWP, but I assume as my assessment is still undergoing it is still with the assessment centre? Do they also call themselves the DWP? 

poppy123456

If the home visit was only last week to put the appointee in place then he could be correct that the details haven't yet been uploaded onto the computer because it can take a few weeks for them to do this.

However, i'm very surprised that a home visit was made because i thought they had stopped doing this.

If the appointee is now official then your mum should have receieved a letter in the post saying it's now completed.

Yes, you can put in a complaint if your mums knows the name of the person they spoke to. Full details here. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/complaints-procedure

needhelp120

@poppy123456 Hi thanks for your reply. She did not get his name but he did call from a personal mobile number, so would that be enough if she was to give that? Also it did seem so strange that she had to have an in person visit just to become my appointee, seemed so unnecessary. 

poppy123456

DWP never ring from a mobile number it’s always a landline number.
Are you sure it was someone from DWP? 
They used to make calls for the appointee process before the pandemic but not since then. I wasnt aware that these have started back up.

calcotti

needhelp120 said:..Also it did seem so strange that she had to have an in person visit just to become my appointee, seemed so unnecessary. 

It's an important protection for you so that the person who attends can check both that you are in need of an appointee and to assess whether the proposed appointee is a suitable person to act in this role.

needhelp120

@poppy123456 It was a number starting in 07929, I just assumed this is mobile? Maybe it is landline? Either way when my mum called back the number it went directly to the guy and he did say he was from the DWP regarding my pip claim and he knew all my information. 

poppy123456

That is indeed a mobile number but it wouldn't have been someone from DWP. Potentially someone from the health assessment providers. Are you sure they completed a paper based assessment?

needhelp120

The assessment is still in progress as I've not received anything to say it's been passed to the DWP. I'm sure it is someone from the assessment providers however they always say they are from the DWP, which is why it was confusing. 

poppy123456

Thinking about it more, if it was someone from the assessment providers (very likely) then they may not be aware that your mum is your appointee. They won't know unless DWP send them confirmation of this.

Complaints should be made to the health assessment providers for this, not DWP.

madquasimodo

A home assessment can be every bit as bad as going to the assessment centre, they are only human, and can have off days, or just be nasty people, my partner had come out of hospital and was recovering from a brain operation, the assessment person phoned to get instruction as to where we were, I got my partner up out of bed and she was lying on the settee, the woman was the same one I saw and had failed my assessment, the whole report was full of lies, she could not get up after the operation (balance issues from surgery) she passed a range of motion (never having moved) we did the MR and then tribunal.

I failed with the same assessor, she asked me to hold a pencil, then pick it up, I rolled it to the edge and picked up the over-hanging end, passed full range of motion, regardless of the accident at work which has damaged the ulnar nerve and stopped my hand from working as it did. Sadly assessors can be hit or miss, due to the nature of their role they should be better and more compassionate.

Cher_Alumni

@needhelp120 I'm sorry you and your mum went through this. It is unacceptable conduct from the assessor to both use profanity and weaponise their own experiences against you. I can only imagine how upsetting that was at the time and I really hope you're feeling better about it now.

I'd recommend making a complaint via the relevant assessment provider's website:

• Capita
• Independent Assessment Services

Please keep us posted and know that you did absolutely nothing to warrant this kind of attitude 

Take care and good luck with the outcome of your PIP claim.

needhelp120

Thanks for your comments @Cher_Scope and @madquasimodo. It is just so weird because these aren't official assessments or anything, this is like the 4th time they have called just to be aggressive and shout random things at my mum. I've never heard of the assessment centres just calling so much and yelling random things about how I shouldn't apply for PIP. The first time it was to say they didn't have any evidence of my capability to carry out tasks, to which my mum pointed them to the evidence we had sent, which they tried to refuse to look at for the entirety of the call and only at the end accepted the evidence was there. The 2nd call  was to say they didn't accept my evidence because they don't know the doctors personally, to quote 'we don't know who these people are' despite them being official letters from the NHS mental health team I am under. The 3rd time was to insist I go see my new mental health team (I moved borough recently) so that they can call them after to get new information as they don't accept my old NHS team for someone reason or any information from the NHS psychologist I've been having treatment with for 2 years. This 4th time was to shout at my mum that I shouldn't be applying for pip because 'he (the caller from the assessment centre) deals with his ptsd just fine and therefore I should be the same as him despite not having the same diagnosis/experience. I feel like it is kind of just getting wild now, and my mum feels very bullied by these phone calls. I can't imagine having to go through it myself and I feel incredible guilt that my mum is going through this on my behalf and the stress of it is making it hard to function. I really want to end my claim at this point as it is becoming very stressful for everyone involved. 

poppy123456

madquasimodo said:

A home assessment can be every bit as bad as going to the assessment centre, they are only human, and can have off days, or just be nasty people,

They no longer do home assessments and haven't since the start of the pandemic. Assessments now take place either by phone, video call or face to face at an assessment centre.

durhamjaide2001

I have done one assessment at an assessment centre 

L_Volunteer

Thanks for sharing your experience with us @durhamjaide2001. How did the assessment at an assessment center go for you? 

nasturtium

Just to add to everyone's replies. If you have the telephone number of the caller then what I personally would do is I would ask your mother to request a itemised phone bill and this should list all of the sent and received calls if you are on landline. If it is a mobile contract then contact your mobile provider and ask for a itemised list of all calls received. This will give evidence of the constant calls from the number you mentioned. Then I would ask your mum to write a detailed letter of complain to the Assessment providers and also send the letter of complaint about your treatment at assesment phase and the whole process of your PIP claim and the distress it is causing your mum and you to your local MP (Copy your local MP into your letter or CC your MP in your letter. How to do that here https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-address-letter-to-multiple-people ) including the list of telephone numbers and the times and days you received them. Then send 2 copies of the same letter and evidence, one to the assesment provider and one to your MP that you CC in your letter. You can get proof of posting for both letters from the post office and this is free or you can send them both recorded signed for delivery and then this will give you proof that the letter was sent and revieved by both parties. 

Just a few ideas that "might" be of help.

Take care.

L_Volunteer

Thanks for sharing your advice with us @nasturtium. I am sure your advice will be invaluable for anyone needing help with this