DLA to PIP

nikki29 · July 2020

I am looking for advice for my 16 year old son. He had DLA for life due to his disabilities, and I was told that he had to change to PIP so I applied for it, for the first time and it was denied, with 0 points for each question. I then appealed the decision and re applied using the same form and a added letter from his support teacher, and have just been denied it again. He was given 0 points for everything again, and when reading their decision it was said that because he lives at home and he has his parents to do the tasks that he can’t manage..

I feel that this is just ridiculous, and we can only appeal the decision one more time, so I am really concerned about filling the form out again, because they will obviously look at the perilous form, so it’s not like I can completely change the answers as his problems are still the same. So I left wondering if their is anyone I can contact to help me fill out this form who can make the answers worded to help us, or maybe a advocate that could stand and help him so it’s not being done by ourselves, as if the denied again then what are we meant to do. Would there be any other benefits that he could apply for, as he is starting a supported college course in September, and he needs money for this, which his pip was going to be used for this.

any help or advice would be amazing, as I am complete stressed out by this, I also have some disabilities and get pip myself, and I find filling out the form difficult due to this so and help would gratefully received.

poppy123456 · July 2020

Hi and welcome,

You say you appealed the decision. Do you mean you requested the MR or you took it to Tribunal and he was still denighed? If you just requested the Mandatory Reconsideration, which the decision didn't change (most don't) and then you reapplied, was there any reason why you didn't take it to Tribunal?]

To constantly reapply, using the same evidence you previously used, will very likely see a constant refusal. My advice is to always take it to Tribunal for the best chance of an award.

I'm not sure what you mean by "you can only appeal the decision one more time"

What you need to do is tell them exactly how your son's conditions affect him. You stated that you do the things he can't do BUT why can't he does those tasks? For example.... preparing a simple meal.. can he do this? If not, why not? If it's because he's never learned how to do it then he won't score any points for this. Would he be able to comnplete the task with an aid? or does he need assistance to be able to do something? You need to explain why and give a couple of real life examples of what happened the last time he attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to him.

Dressing/undressing.. can he does this? if not, why not? Does he need physical help to dress or doesn't he need guidence of what he should wear for the type of whether? Explain in as much detail why he can't complete that task regualrly and reliably.

You can try to contact and agency near you for help, support and advice but it maybe very difficult for the to offer an appointment at the moment. Start here by putting in your post code to see what's local to you. https://advicelocal.uk/

Also to add, there's no specific wording you need to use, just tell it how it is and add those real life examples.

janer1967 · July 2020

Hi and welcome ti the community and I hope the advice you have been given is useful.

Also remember PIP is very different to DLA and has different criteria .

Good luck with your claim and keeo us updated

Luciferous · August 2020

It sounds like a tough situation for you, & I'm sorry you are going through this.

Poppy's advice above is good for a start!

I know court can sound scary, and I hope that maybe my story might show you that even when it's clear in our eyes and our doctors eyes.. Theres often more to contend with due to the dishonest nature of many of these assessors and the companies they work for.

I too was denied any points (I'd had neurosurgery for a tumour, which left me with 25 illnesses & various disabilities stemming from these)
It's important to bear in mind, that sometimes you are doing nothing wrong with your forms.. You've just been unfortunate enough to be assessed by an unprofessional member of staff, who is more interested in the bonus they receive for lying & denying your claim.

I had to take my claim to court so that actual medical professionals (not a basic nurse with no specialisms or knowledge of my illnesses whatsoever), plus disability experts & a judge could decide (with all the same information that this so called nurse had originally).
After the court reviewed the documents from myself & my specialists, the judge apologised that I'd even been asked to go to court, & the panel unanimously awarded me full points (from 0 given initially).. And Atos were told they were not to contact me for at least 5 years.

I wish I could tell you the woman's name (can I?!) just in case she's still out there ruining people's lives. She should be sacked of course, but I'm sure she's still being paid to do this to many other disabled people every week.

If you know you're right.. Then keep on fighting! The long battle with Atos was very stressful, & the whole process took a year, but was totally worth it in the end. These people are criminals, & not particularly the companies.. Imo, it's equally the individuals who take a wage and allow it to continue, & their lies that fuel it. These people should value people's lives over their bonuses, and many simply don't.

poppy123456 · August 2020

It's worth remembering here that a Tribunal is definitely not a court and it's nothing at all like it. You are not on trial at a Tribunal.

The HCPs are not paid any bonus's for not recommending any points. They do not need to have any knowledge for any medical conditions because PIP isn't awarded based on a diagnosis. It's how your conditions affect your ability to carry out daily activity based on the PIP descriptors.

The majority of people that claim PIP are awarded successfully without any problems at all. In fact, since Covid19 the success rate has actually increased and that's even better.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to give the name of the HCP that assessed you because they are not here to defend their self. It is against scope's rules to give personal information here on the forums.

DLA to PIP

Comments

Brightness

Categories

Do you need advice on your energy costs?