Help with appeal

Roy1122
Roy1122 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener
in PIP, DLA, ADP and AA

Hi all i was awarded pip in September and received 10pts in daily living and 10 points in mobility, I have agoraphobia and anxiety which started a couple of years ago after a particularly traumatic experience, this led to me losing my job about a year ago as i couldnt travel, i applied for pip in may and was awarded standard daily and standard mobility, I asked for a mandatory reconsideration on the mobility aspect as i cannot undergo any journey unless accompanied by my wife or daughter as i suffer from dizziness and disorientation basically feel like im spinning, I have spoken to the assesor today and she pointed out they had awarded me 10 pts based on (e ) cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. she said this was based on me having only gone out 5 times in last 8 months as per my report, I explained that when i have to go anywhere eg doctors etc one of them has to accompany me otherwise i cant go, she explained to upgrade me to (f ) 12 points i would need to be going out everyday , I have read through the definitions of (f) and believe what its guidance is that if you need to be accompanied when needing to go out , rather than you need to go out everyday and be accompanied, i argued this with her but she wouldnt budge saying its for people who go out everyday, can anyone help with the true definition of this

Kind Regards Roy

Comments

  • whufcjay
    whufcjay Online Community Member Posts: 25 Listener

    this worries me as I have something similar but I don’t leave the house at all because of my condition so I’m under the impression I’d get maximum points for mobility but are they saying you need to go out every day and struggle to get maximum points ? Rather than being too ill to even leave the house

  • Roy1122
    Roy1122 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

    hi whufcjay thanks for your reply i am under the impression that the accessor has read her guidelines wrong as it doesnt make sense, I intend to appeal as believe this would be a ridiculous set of circumstances to expect, i read it as on days you go out you need to be accompanied, not every day i need to be accompanied

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 5,490 Championing

    Hi,

    The assessor is correct in this case.

    The first test is whether you can go out on the majority of days - that means more than half of the days in a week or month.

    If the answer to that question is NO, then you cannot score any more than 10 points for this descriptor.

    You MUST be able to go out on more than half of days AND always need another person to accompany you to score 12 points.

    It does sound silly initially, but the reason is that someone who rarely goes out doesn't have to pay so much in transport costs and carer/support costs compared to someone who goes out regularly.

    Sorry but the assessor is correct in this case. Not all assessors understand this descriptor, so you may find some people who were awarded 12 points in this circumstance, but the assessor was wrong in those cases, not yours.

  • Roy1122
    Roy1122 Online Community Member Posts: 3 Listener

    Hi OverlyAnxious thank you for your reply and explanation, I did stress to the accessor that in order for me to go out more and to try and improve and overcome my situation i would need additional funding to contribute towards these costs , seems like a catch 22 really, if she had explained it as you have i could have understood it and could have progressed the conversation further but she was adamant about it being every day and repeated it at least 3 times

  • Trevor_PIP
    Trevor_PIP Online Community Member Posts: 1,225 Championing

    @Roy1122 OverlyAnxious is correct. Just a reply to agree with what he has said.

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