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Has my PIP advisor messed up my claim?

Saffy

I'm moving from DLA to PIP. I contacted a Disability Support Centre for help with form filling. He didn't ask about how my fibromyalgia affected me, in fact he didn't seem to ask much generally.
When I commented on it he said he filled in loads of these forms every day and he was just giving them the necessary as they never read them anyway. He posted the form for me and gave me a copy and said I'd probably go for a face to face assessment.
Now I have looked at the copy and am scared he may have messed it up for me as the info he has written is very brief and in no way gives the amount of detail requested.
Do you think I need to worry? The help centre was recommended to me by a friend so I had no reason not to trust him.

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Saffy

@poppy123456
I'm really glad you got everything sorted for your daughter. It's bad enough when you're trying to do your best for yourself, but it's so much more important to get it right for those you care about.

Saffy

cristobal said:

@safyy - try not to worry - you can't change anything now.

If you have to go for a F2F then prepare to give some examples of how your condition affects you.

Thanks, I think that's a good idea. I can try and make a note in pencil on the copy the advisor made for me, and say what difficulties I had doing those things like bathing etc.
The one thing I'm really angry about is that I have a real problem with using the toilet. I told him it was a huge problem for me and affected my being able to go out. I was expecting him to write loads about that but he's virtually ignored me.
Do you think they will accept the additional info at a f2f if I explain my advisor let me down.

CockneyRebel

If I may make a suggestion, Send a copy of any further relevant information asap. Copies to DWP and assessment provider, you might be lucky and have it accepted before your f2f. Always keeps copies of anything you submit

cristobal

@saffy - personally I don't believe that there's any need to 'write loads' just give a couple of examples of what you have difficulty and why. As @cockneyrebel says you are best sending the info in beforehand - I gave the assessor some additional stuff and she never read it.

I found it helpful to look at the PIP descriptors so that I knew exactly what I was applying for.

There are some 'anomalies' such as Preparing Food - which doesn't include using an oven and, if I remember correctly, bathing doesn't consider drying yourself. So don't bother with these!

Bear in mind also that you have to be able to do anything 'reliably' - which means safely, repeatably, in a reasonable time, and to an acceptable standard.

Search DWP PIP assessment guidelines...

Good luck..

Pipquestions2

ilovecats said:

cristobal said:

poppy123456 said:

"I've learnt my lesson now and will never ask anyone for help filling out any form because we are the only people that know how our conditions affect us, no one else"

I agree ....also one of the reasons why people sometimes get help filling a form in seems to be that an adviser 'knows what to write'.

This may, or may not be the case, but the problem is that when you have a F2F interview they'll be asking about what is effectively someone else's application!!

This often manifests as the claimant not knowing what areas they have claimed restrictions in and it stand out a mile when assessing

Do you think that's why so many people have to go to appeal also?

This forum ( @poppy123456 especially) helped a lot for me and now when I have to fill my review form and next ESA medical form out I'll have an idea of what to write whereas before I sent them back almost blank. The content in my Mr/appeal compares to my original form was night and day thanks to this forum, if only I had known about it in the first place.

As poppy said the best person that can explain your disability is yourself or someone that sees you often and can see the difficulties you have.

The hard part is understanding the descriptors imo, because they're so cut clear but at the same time they're vague as to what they actually mean.

For ESA I have always just sent my form back almost blank, the assessor always comments on how little is wrote on it. However after face to face I've always been kept on in the support group, generally for 3 years. My problems are very noticeable when seeing me in person and because of this I never really looked into it further, the assessors done their job fine as far as I was concerned and I had no reason to look into it.

For PIP I assumed it would be the same as ESA hence sending my original form back with next to nothing. But that was a mistake so I turned to Google and found scope in a quest to find out more information because I didn't think my report was accurate and thanks to poppy and others I have some understanding of the descriptors and on review i will be able to explain my problems better in ways that satisfy the descriptors and hopefully won't have to go to appeal.

poppy123456

@Pipquestions2,

It was my pleasure to help you and i'm very happy you got the right decision!!

You mention the descriptors and hit the nail on the head. So many people don't understand what they mean. They look at them and think "ah yes, i can't do that" and think they should score points for that activity or they should score highly for a descriptor. When infact, they may not be able to score as high as they think they can score, if they understood it properly.

I've said this before but i'll say it again, the PIP self test is the worst thing ever because it gives a false impression of what someone "could" score, for those that don't understand what the descriptors mean.

You can have a disability and not be entitled to PIP because if you don't meet the descriptors you won't score the points for an award.

For those reading this, have a look at this guide https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

I know there's a lot to read but it's definitely worth reading.

[Deleted User]

It's nice to have knowledgeable people like Poppy, Mike and CR. I know that I can ask a question on here and one of those three people will answer it honestly and correctly.

Saffy

I've got a home f2f next week. As expected, my fibro has gone into overdrive at the prospect and I'm sure I will be like a rag doll when the assessor visits. How on earth am I going to cope if I'm like this, I just can't afford to annoy her/him if I seem unable to talk sensibly. I haven't got anyone to ask to be with me.
Do you think it would be ok to give them some extra A4 sheets I filled in with more complete answers to the pip form questions? My benefits advisor wrote very scant answers when he 'helped' me with the form and I don't feel he represented me very well and wrote misleading answers.

poppy123456

You can try handing in the A4 sheets but whether they'll be accepted or not is an entirely different matter. Sometimes they refuse to accept anything on the day, especially with home assessments.

Just do the best you can, is really all i can advise. Do be aware though that you'll be watched from the minute they arrive.

Good luck.

April2018mom

Saffy said:

I've got a home f2f next week. As expected, my fibro has gone into overdrive at the prospect and I'm sure I will be like a rag doll when the assessor visits. How on earth am I going to cope if I'm like this, I just can't afford to annoy her/him if I seem unable to talk sensibly. I haven't got anyone to ask to be with me.
Do you think it would be ok to give them some extra A4 sheets I filled in with more complete answers to the pip form questions? My benefits advisor wrote very scant answers when he 'helped' me with the form and I don't feel he represented me very well and wrote misleading answers.

Do you have anyone willing to take you or not? All you can do is be honest with them. Take extra evidence but please remember they don’t always look at it.

cristobal

@saffy - I believe the rules are that they will not take any extra information with them for reasons of 'confidentiality'.

They're supposed to read what you give them and take it into account. My assessor didn't - I think that if it was important enough I might consider reading it to them myself....

Good luck....

Saffy

@poppy123456 God that's scary, watching me from the start. What are they looking for? I haven't even got anywhere for them to sit. It's so tiny in here, just my recliner and a single bed to use.
I'll give honest answers but if they base questions on the answers on my form that's a problem as they are my 'advisors' answers. i.e. he mentioned fibro fog and I'd never heard of it until I asked him to explain. It's not a term I would ever use. He also states I wear wrist supports and it's painful to grip my walking stick. Not true. I wear them because my wrists are weak and it hurts to twist them, as in wringing out a face flannel, or open jars.

poppy123456

Watching you is all part of the assessment process. They will ask you questions based on your disability and how it affects you. Yes, you'll need verify what's written on the form too.

I've had help many times with form filling and there's never been much information put down, although they have been filled in honestly. It's never gone against me thankfully. I only filled in the last 2 forms myself having realised that it's not always a great idea to have help with the forms because the only person that knows how your conditions affect you, is yourself.

I do believe that what @cristobal says is correct, for security they won't be able to take anything with them. I totally forgot about that.

All you can do is do your best. Once it's done, wait a week and request the assessment report from DWP, if you live in the UK. This will tell you what the decision is likely to be because they mostly go with the report.