Hello, I'm hoping to get some advice on wether to ask for a mandatory reconsideration.

AmberLily28
AmberLily28 Online Community Member Posts: 19 Connected
in PIP, DLA, ADP and AA
I suffer from depression and anxiety aswell as agoraphobia. I also have a chronic brain condition that causes me to suffer very intense headaches and vision problems, aswell as other issues however due to my agoraphobia I have been unable to keep up with medical appointments as I cannot leave the house alone and even with someone (family member) I still find difficulty leaving the house more times than not.

I was advised to apply for PIP. It took me 3 years to do so due to my anxiety interacting with others. In January I started my claim, I had a telephone assessment on the 19th of May and received a text messages on friday last week saying I had been awarded. I telephoned today to ask for a copy of the assesors report to be sent just for my records and was told I had been awarded for the mobility at the standard rate. 

After looking at the points they award online I feel that this is incorrect. And have been scored wrongly. Of course I still need to receive the decision letter and assessment report to see exactly what points I was awarded however I am wondering if anyone can give me advice on wether I should ask for a reconsideration or not. And also any advice on what to say if I do ask for a reconsideration. 

I suffer everyday with my mental health I struggle to even get out of bed most days and my agoraphobia is so severe that I cannot even visit family members. I have never been able to work as I simply cannot leave the house alone. I struggle even speaking on the phone to people or leaving the house to put my bins out. I need someone to answer the door to get my food shop. And due to anxiety I haven't been able to keep up with my very important medical appointments for my brain condition. I told all this and more to my medical assessor and I'm feeling very hopeless after hearing the award and unsure where to go from here.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    May i ask if it's just the standard mobility you've been awarded and nothing for daily living?
  • AmberLily28
    AmberLily28 Online Community Member Posts: 19 Connected
    edited June 2022
    poppy123456 said:
    May i ask if it's just the standard mobility you've been awarded and nothing for daily living?

    From what he said on the phone nothing for daily living. 
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    Once you receive the decision letter you'll know exactly what the award is and where you scored those points. If you're not happy then yes you can challenge the decision by requesting the Mandatory Reconsideration. (MR) You should put this in writing stating where and why you think you should have scored those points.
    The most likely outcome of the MR will be the decision stays the same. 36% of people have the decision changed at this stage but that number is falling.
    If the decision doesn't change then it's Tribunal.
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    poppy123456 said:
    The most likely outcome of the MR will be the decision stays the same. 36% of people have the decision changed at this stage but that number is falling. 
    Down to 29% on latest release.
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    Biblioklept said:
    Is there a reason it is going down so much?
    It’s gone back to where it used to be (I realise that isn’t an explanation).
  • AmberLily28
    AmberLily28 Online Community Member Posts: 19 Connected
    poppy123456 said:
    Once you receive the decision letter you'll know exactly what the award is and where you scored those points. If you're not happy then yes you can challenge the decision by requesting the Mandatory Reconsideration. (MR) You should put this in writing stating where and why you think you should have scored those points.
    The most likely outcome of the MR will be the decision stays the same. 36% of people have the decision changed at this stage but that number is falling.
    If the decision doesn't change then it's Tribunal.
    Thanks for your reply Poppy. Would it be useful to ask my doctor to write a letter to go along with the MR, or at this point have they seen enough medical evidence as i allowed permission for them to contact my GP and consultants or is it just a case of me saying where I feel points should of been scored? Also If it gets to a tribunal is that in person? And are you allowed someone to attend with you? Thanks for any help you can give. 
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    edited June 2022
    AmberLily28 said: Would it be useful to ask my doctor to write a letter to go along with the MR, or at this point have they seen enough medical evidence ..
    A letter from a GP, which you will likely have to pay for, is unlikely to help. Your medical conditions are unlikely to be in dispute and your GP doesn’t see you carrying out the PIP activities so can’t comment on your difficulties doing them.
    AmberLily28 said:..as i allowed permission for them to contact my GP and consultants 
    Although they ask for your consent they rarely contact anybody.
    AmberLily28 said:..or is it just a case of me saying where I feel points should of been scored? 
    That’s the key thing to do.
    AmberLily28 said: Also If it gets to a tribunal is that in person? And are you allowed someone to attend with you? 
    Most are now done by phone or video. Yes you can have somebody with you.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    AmberLily28 said:
    poppy123456 said:
    Once you receive the decision letter you'll know exactly what the award is and where you scored those points. If you're not happy then yes you can challenge the decision by requesting the Mandatory Reconsideration. (MR) You should put this in writing stating where and why you think you should have scored those points.
    The most likely outcome of the MR will be the decision stays the same. 36% of people have the decision changed at this stage but that number is falling.
    If the decision doesn't change then it's Tribunal.
      or at this point have they seen enough medical evidence as i allowed permission for them to contact my GP and consultants

    They very rarely contact anyone for any evidence. Just because they ask for details of them, doesn't mean they would have been contacted.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    calcotti said:
    poppy123456 said:
    The most likely outcome of the MR will be the decision stays the same. 36% of people have the decision changed at this stage but that number is falling. 
    Down to 29% on latest release.

    Thanks calcotti, that's good to know.
  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,468 Championing
    Hi @AmberLily28 :) Welcome to the community! 

    I can see that you've already received some replies about your PIP claim. I hope that they've been helpful. Please feel free to ask if you have any further questions, and be sure to keep us updated! 

    I'm sorry to hear that you've been struggling with your mental health lately. Are you receiving enough support to help you manage your mental health conditions at the moment, such as from a mental health team or from loved ones? 

    As you struggle to leave the house, I also wanted to check whether you're able to get all of the essential items you need in, such as food and medicine? 
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    Username_removed said:
    Yup, was reading that late this afternoon. Pretty stark, as was the stuff on award lengths.
    Yes, the stuff on award lengths was very alarming. Apart from the issue that many claimants are almost certainly being put forward for reassessment too soon with all the associated stress etc., if award lengths are predominantly short I don’t see how they will ever catch up with the backlog of assessments. 

  • AmberLily28
    AmberLily28 Online Community Member Posts: 19 Connected
    Thank you for all your comments they've been very informative. I shall wait and see what the decision letter says I have scored points for and decide where to go from there. Although the MR process does sound very unlikely to be successful and cause me further stress and anxiety so probably not worth doing. 
  • calcotti
    calcotti Online Community Member Posts: 10,001 Championing
    AmberLily28 said:..the MR process does sound very unlikely to be successful and cause me further stress and anxiety so probably not worth doing. 
    But has to be gone through in order to be able to appeal to the tribunal service where success rates are much higher, over 70% (haven’t got the latest figure to hand).
  • AmberLily28
    AmberLily28 Online Community Member Posts: 19 Connected
    calcotti said:
    AmberLily28 said:..the MR process does sound very unlikely to be successful and cause me further stress and anxiety so probably not worth doing. 
    But has to be gone through in order to be able to appeal to the tribunal service where success rates are much higher, over 70% (haven’t got the latest figure to hand).
    My only worry is if it reached the point of tribunal, if that is done in person face to face, I would more than likely not be able to attend due to my agoraphobia. Currently I have a family member who normally  i will give permission to speak on my behalf in person and on the phone due to the stress it causes me. Would this be allowed in the case of tribunal?
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,463 Championing
    You will need to speak for yourself during the hearing, unless you have an appointee. You would only have an appointee if you’re unable to manage your claim yourself because you’re mentally incapable or severely disabled.
    https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits
  • nasturtium
    nasturtium Online Community Member Posts: 390 Empowering
    edited June 2022
    Hello Amberlily

    Just a thought. You could ask a friend or family member or someone who sees you often to write you a supporting letter about the problems you have with daily living activities and why you cannot complete those activities Reliably To complete an activity relaibly you need to do them safely, repeatedly, in a reasonable time period and to an acceptable standard. If one or more of those critearias affect you when doing one of the daily living activities then you cannot do that activity and you should score points. So if you can get a family member of a friend to write you a supporting letter explaining why you cannot do daily living activities according to the descriptors then that will help your MR. You can find good info on the PIPinfo website https://pipinfo.net/#activities

    Also you could write a daily diary explaining all of the problems you suffer according to the PIP activities and the descriptors. A 7 to 10 day diary should be enough. It does not have to be anything special just the date, year and day then an explination of the troubles you had for that day.

    Edit: Just to add that if you have a tribunal you can request it to be a telephone tribunal because you would not be able to do a face to face tribunal because of your agoraphobia.

    Hope that helps.
  • AmberLily28
    AmberLily28 Online Community Member Posts: 19 Connected
    nasturtium said:
    Hello Amberlily

    Just a thought. You could ask a friend or family member or someone who sees you often to write you a supporting letter about the problems you have with daily living activities and why you cannot complete those activities Reliably To complete an activity relaibly you need to do them safely, repeatedly, in a reasonable time period and to an acceptable standard. If one or more of those critearias affect you when doing one of the daily living activities then you cannot do that activity and you should score points. So if you can get a family member of a friend to write you a supporting letter explaining why you cannot do daily living activities according to the descriptors then that will help your MR. You can find good info on the PIPinfo website https://pipinfo.net/#activities

    Also you could write a daily diary explaining all of the problems you suffer according to the PIP activities and the descriptors. A 7 to 10 day diary should be enough. It does not have to be anything special just the date, year and day then an explination of the troubles you had for that day.

    Edit: Just to add that if you have a tribunal you can request it to be a telephone tribunal because you would not be able to do a face to face tribunal because of your agoraphobia.

    Hope that helps.
    Thank you for your response this is extremely helpful, I will definitely ask a family member to do this for me, I had my family member added to my telephone assessment to help me answer questions and she did also speak on how she sees me struggle day to day and also how it's impacted her and the rest of my family. So I'm sure she would also write a letter. 


    The diary sounds like a very good idea, I will also do this! 

    And also thank you for the information on requesting a telephone tribunal. 
  • AmberLily28
    AmberLily28 Online Community Member Posts: 19 Connected

    Hi Tori, 
    Yes the replies have been very helpful, I've not really had anyone to talk to about the whole process, and at times have found it quite stressful. So it's nice to finally have a place to speak to people who can help with my questions.

    At the current moment I'm not receiving any help for mental health, due to not being able to attend my appointments even if someone comes with me for support. My GP also stopped my repeat prescription in 2020 because I was unable to get someone to collect my prescription for me during lockdown, and I have been scared to start taking any medication since as as It was a very unpleasant experience as the medication I was on the dose should have been lowered slowly over time.  My family and boyfriend do try to support me as best they can, although it can get very stressful and frustrating for them too and has at times caused strains in my relationships with them. I also have alot of guilt for being this way and how I feel i impact others lives so find it hard asking for help  but usually if I ask  they do try to be there for me especially my mum. 


    I do struggle with getting my essential items, for example I can only get my food and essentials delivered but need someone to deal with the delivery person at the door, there has been times where my partner has been stuck in traffic and the delivery has arrived and I've not been able to open the door and the order gets returned to store and cancelled, its very stressful for not only me but my partner too. 

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