Ironic PIP assessment.

Prior to retiring, my wife was a Social Worker and came to almost specialise in assisting clients with Benefits claims. She would not do anyone she thought did not deserve the Benefits being claimed and as such her reports were given a lot of credibilty by the DWP. It was them that informed her, unofficially, at one particular training session.

When I received notification of my assessment date she went into 'professional' mode. I tend towards trying to be light hearted about things and was threatened with separation from my breath if I even hinted at any kind of joke. We went through the forms thoroughly, impressing the more important debilities. No lies were told but stressing the worst situation and debility.

Came the day and a friendly lady came to do the assessment. She was friendly but firmly professional and listened carefully before writing anything down. From start to finish took roughly an hour and we had no complaint regarding her behaviour and manner during the interview.

Then came the result. After hearing all the horror stories it was with some trepidation I asked my wife to open and read the letter. To find the Tories had shot themselves in the foot! Not only did I keep my Benefits but we had been given a near 50% rise! We burst out laughing with relief and disbelief! We had not been claiming Carers Allowances for my wife due to being scared of losing the higher DLA and had been under claiming for years!

My main point is that people MUST get help with the forms, whether you are good with forms or not. How many people don't actually realise the whole process starts with the first telephone call? Get someone to help and have them alongside you at the assessment interview. I would have messed up had my wife not been there to help me, and I am not stupid! DON'T try and be clever and do it by yourself, you are setting yourself up to fail. Use every piece of ammunition you can. They are not there to help, they are there acting for the DWP, who are looking to save money at our expense.

I wish everyone the very best of luck and just wish I could be here to help others in their fight to live reasonably well. My apologies for the long letter. If you think it is long you should hear my story telling!!??