PIP Home Assessment - Page 2 — Scope | Disability forum
Please read our updated community house rules and community guidelines.

PIP Home Assessment

24

Comments

  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    @chasnbons I will look into this a bit further for you. Please could you email me at the helpline so I can get some more information from you? helpline@scope.org.uk mark it for me and add your community name so I know who you are.

    Many thanks 
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    edited December 2016
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    So today I get an email from my MP saying that he tried to ring Capita this morning but couldn't be put through to Customer Relations as they were TOO BUSY!  But the person on the phone apparently told him that a response letter was done on 05.09.16 and has been sent out and it should arrive by tomorrow.  Not sure as yet if the response is to the MP or to my complaint, but have asked which.  The person also said that someone from Customer Relations had tried to ring me yesterday (My Landlords phone as I find it too stressful to speak to them) but the line was engaged.  Coincidence or another lie?..... You guessed it ANOTHER BLATANT LIE! My Landlord had NO calls from ANYONE yesterday, therefore it is impossible that his phone was engaged.  My anger and frustration with these B@????DS has now reached new heights, while my mood and the feeling of worthlessness has dropped to an all time low.  I will update again when I get a copy of the response letter.
  • tesco47
    tesco47 Community member Posts: 16 Courageous
    They r taking mobility cars off of our Paralympic athletes preventing them from training DISGUSTING !! 
  • tesco47
    tesco47 Community member Posts: 16 Courageous
    So today I ring my docs as not heard , they haven't got letter sorted and now won't be done till Monday my assessment Wednesday, feel like everything against me . All I can think about is how will I cope without my car. Not sleeping had enough and not even got to seeing their so called doc yet . 
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    @jokipokemon I know exactly how you feel. Had a response from Capita which basically just dismisses each part of my complaint and says they can't uphold any of it, no surprise there then!  So we are requesting that it be reviewed as they have not looked into all parts of it and not taken into consideration the TWO letters from my GP, only the initial claim form.  It's just wrong on every level that they are allowed to get away with this kind of treatment.  I will pass the letter on to my MP and advise/update when I hear something from someone.  Just when you think you can't get any lower you discover that you can, and it sure makes the other 'options' look more appealing as time goes on. Everyone has their breaking point and I feel mine if much closer now than I dare to admit.  What is wrong with these people do they have no compassion what so ever?  I wonder if they would treat their own families in the same way.... I bet not!
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    Further update I had a reply last week from Capita saying that they couldn't uphold any part of my complaint and giving VERY vague and unconvincing reasons so the outcome. They actually only addressed 3 points which were to do with the procedure they use and the letter itself was really just a bog standard one, when in fact there were a lot more things which I'd asked for answers to regarding the way their employees work and the things they try and get away with telling claimants, things which are both untrue and against what they should be doing to adhere to the DWP guidelines they should be working within.  The letter states that I have the right to ask for it to be looked at again by a more senior member that the person who first looked at it.  So Safina Ahmed was emailed again requesting this, and that she needs to look at this herself.  Today I have received an acknowledgement letter, which is again from a standard 'Complaints Handler' and not from someone more senior as promised, and definitely not from Safina Ahmed, who I have asked to get involved!  What is it with these people, who the hell do they think they are????  I now have to wait ANOTHER 20 DAYS for the result of the latest response from them.  Which is apparently a 'final look' this matter.  Well I'm sorry but if they/she doesn't answer ALL my questions regarding their conduct, then this certainly ISN'T their last response, as I'm sure me (well my Landlord as I couldn't face it) going to the papers and news channels will get some more answers.

    I also had a text today from DWP saying that they have accepted my reasons for not attending the assessment center and that they will 'contact me again if they still need to see me'  What this actually means apart from I'm presuming at the moment they won't be penalizing me for 'non attendance' is anyone's guess, and I suppose I just have to wait AGAIN till someone contacts me!  This is beyond ridiculous now and I have lost just about all hope of this ever being sorted, at least for it to be sorted in a fair way and in my favour.  I have yet more days/weeks/MONTHS by the looks of things, of no sleep, constant worrying and my life (for what little it's worth) going even further down the toilet.  Is it any wonder people get to the point where enough is enough and they do the unthinkable?  On a daily basis it looks a more appealing option to me rather than having to carry on like this.  Sorry but that's truly how they make you feel.

    Will most likely update again when I have more to tell.  Thanks for reading.
  • Philip
    Philip Community member Posts: 34 Courageous
    I know how you feel Chansons,  I worked for the DWP at Wear View House,  Sunderland & towards the end of my career there I was harassed, bullied & discriminated against because of my physical & mental disabilities. I made an attempt on my life due to the treatment I received from two managers, when I told them what I tried to do, they laughed. In the end I left the DWP,  they won! That's the sort of people we deal with when we deal with the DWP, all they care about is ramming the work, doesn't matter if it's right or wrong it won't affect them, they still get paid at the end of the month!
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    @Philip Sorry to hear of the grief you had and I hope you feel better about things now.  Where I come from we have a word for these sorts of people, unfortunately I can't put it on here as it would be removed and most likely me along with it ;)
  • Philip
    Philip Community member Posts: 34 Courageous
    Chasnbons I really do feel much better, I've thought of a few words as well
  • don4u2001
    don4u2001 Community member Posts: 17 Listener
    It's sad what I am hearing my mum had a home visit by a lady specialist she was skinny and tall and she asked my mums career everything and showed her all the medications and the careers letter and GP letter and they still cut of my mums benefit my mother suffers from fibromyalgia and epilepsy how cruel are they and I have asked for the mandatory reconsideration 
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    It's been a bad few weeks so I haven't posted anything for a bit.  I eventually got a home assessment which took place yesterday and I still haven't recovered from it.  1 hour and 40 minutes of torture.  The woman was very pleasant but I still felt that all the questions were very pointed and that there was an undercurrent of her not believing what she was being told.  Anyway after much stress and upset we got through the questions and it came to her getting me to do the 'movements'.  Some I could do with extra pain, some I couldn't do at all and then on the last one (bending forward and sliding your hands down your legs as far as you can) my knee gave way and I ended up on the floor in agony as I twisted my back nastily.  Strangely she ended the assessment immediately afterwards and left.  In fact it was like she couldn't get out quick enough.  So now I have even more pain than usual as I seem to have pulled something under my ribs :(  

    Oh and I got the results of my MRI on Monday which she was told about, it has shown that I have a lateral tear of something in my hip and also 2 discs which are 'bulging forwards'.  My Landlord was given the info over the phone and couldn't remember what exactly is torn so I will have to wait and see what the Doctor says when I go see her.  She's actually been very good and rang Steve with the results like she promised (to stop me worrying about it being cancer) and also so she could arrange an appointment for me to see her before her surgery starts so there will be hardly anyone about when I go, so this might ease the stress a little of me being in a public place.  I will keep updating when I know more about anything.

    Also it was day 20 yesterday for Capita to get back to us about the complaint and you guessed it...... not a word from them since the acknowledgement letter!  But I DID get a letter from DWP saying that I can have a copy of the telephone conversations Steve made to Capita if I filled the enclosed form in, so that's been done and I now have to wait for a CD to arrive with the calls on it.
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @chasnbons,

    It's lovely to have you back, I'm really glad that you've posted. I know the last time we spoke you were in bad place. I hope things have gotten better over the past couple of weeks?

    Thanks for telling us about your home assessment, it sounds really in-depth and thorough. Did you find it exhausting? Lots of people I speak to feel exhausted once it's over. So much anxiety is felt in the run up to the assessments and then all the arranging that goes into it as well. We only need to look at all the problems you've had just trying to get a home assessment. It's really hard work and takes up a lot of time. I really appreciate how detailed you've been and I'm know others appreciate it too. It helps so much to hear about people's experiences. People feel supported knowing that others are going through the same things and have the same worries. It's good to hear that your Doctor has been so supportive and reassuring.

    I hope the complaint with DWP/Capita is resolved soon.

    Best wishes
    Debbie


  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    Hi @DebbieVoakes

    Things aren't much better to be honest but I felt I should update the post.  Exhausted doesn't cover how I felt and I have a bruise on my side where I must have banged on the chair as I fell.  I know the assessment for PIP is done but I still have the ESA one to deal with, I had to re apply for that weeks before the PIP one yet I'm still waiting for them to contact me and no doubt when they do, it will be the same scenario all over again.  It just seems like you never move any further forward and I now have at least 4 to 6 weeks of worry while waiting for the decision letter to arrive, a letter which will no doubt show me as receiving no points!

    We had an email from the MP last night with a copy of a letter from Penny Mordaunt attached.  Unfortunately I'm not allowed to post the words I'd like to use about her on here, but suffice to say she obviously didn't know who her father was!  One line in her letter made me feel sick to the core regarding claimants suicide rates.  She seems to think that suicide and claiming benefits aren't linked, which I suppose is true to a certain degree, but what she doesn't seem to grasp is the way she and her cronies are allowing claimants to be treated by the likes of Capita etc, certainly DOES have a direct link.  There are only so many times you can cope with being accused of being a scrounger and that there is nothing wrong with you etc etc, before you get to the point where there seems to be no point in continuing with anything and sadly more and more people seem to be going down that route.  If someone treated an animal like they treat claimants, they would be fined or imprisoned, so I wonder when a benefit claimants welfare was deemed to be lower than that!

    I will update when I have more news....... which could be some time as I can't go any further with anything until I get some replies, and we all know how slowly they do these things..... as slow as they can, in the hope that we have died in the meantime!
  • julierose
    julierose Community member Posts: 23 Connected
    i just read and more on here of the same thing ,we really need to rise up against this unfair treatment ..they want to save money they dont care who from ,disabled people to them are the bottem of the pile ,so we always suffer most when they need save a bit cash .i had an home assesment as i can not physically or mentally cope with travelling ,my assesment says i can so i scored 0 ,i struggled to walk with a crutch 10 steps from the door to my chair to let assecsor in ,my assement says i can walk 200mtrs or more ,he spent 15 mins max here asked me to aknowledge about 5 questions typed a lot did 1 min test on my hand movements ,how is this even legal .
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    @julierose The Government want to save money but spend more than ever on this ridiculous process, you know the one, you get assessed (money spent) you score zero points. you get a reconsideration (more money spent) you still score zero points, you go to appeal (an obscene amount of money spent - Doctors and Judges etc don't some cheap) and you get dozens of points!  You get the correct award which is backdated to when you first claimed, saving the Government nothing in benefit payments, plus it has cost thousands more than needed for you to be in the place you deserve to be.  This is what Governments do, they say they are saving money while all the while wasting it on needless reconsiderations and appeals.  They would rather we all died and stopped the inconvenience we cause them!

    This is 'legal' because it's the same Government who make the rules and they are hell bent one way or another, of spending as little as possible on the ones who need the most help!
  • Philip
    Philip Community member Posts: 34 Courageous
    I worked for the government in the DWP &!had to leave because of the treatment I received at the hands of two managers, nothing was done about them, that's how they treat disabled people who work for them, in fact, that's just how they treat disabled people. THe government should be made to face up to the fact that they can't keep going after soft targets
  • julierose
    julierose Community member Posts: 23 Connected
    i agree i have read some really unfair treatment on so many disabled people .i was told i could complain and should about the assesor who came to see me and how he could of made asssumptions that he did .but to be honest i dont have the mental or physical strength to fight the system  in a battle i cant win . i spoke with the PIP help line who were very helpful and understandiing and who said themselves i should complain ...my doctor is now writng to them and they took a full statement from me  but who knows what will happen ..
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    As things stand I can tell you EXACTLY what will happen...... nothing!  My complaint is still ongoing thanks to my Landlord, I couldn't possibly have done what he's done.  Even with my GP and MP on side, we are still getting nowhere.  Capita employees think they can treat people however they want and nothing will be done about it, which it seems with this Government, it won't.  The ONLY thing you can be certain of where this horrendous excuse for a company is concerned, is that they will tell you one thing and do the complete opposite, whilst telling blatant lies both TO and ABOUT you.

    The sad fact is, that the people they employ to do the assessments are in fact qualified medical 'professionals' (and I use the word professionals in the loosest possible sense) so surely they should have some compassion and morals, unfortunately though, it would seem not.  If they tried to use these tactics in the NHS they would be out on their ears and in front of a Judge, which is nothing less than they deserve.
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    Just thought I ought to update on the latest events.

    Two weeks after my assessment I got the dreaded letter regarding ESA.  The DWP although they have accepted I need a home assessment for PIP, decided in their infinite wisdom, to then send me an assessment appointment for ESA at an ASSESSMENT CENTRE!!!!!!!  Do these people not communicate with each other?  Anyway Steve rang them and although aparently my GP filled a 113 form in back in July, which they received, they also want him to send ANOTHER letter which states that I HAVE to have a home assessment.  So that has been sent and I now have to wait again.

    Now closer to the edge than I have ever been and sick with worry I wasn't sure how I was managing to keep going, in fact if it wasn't for Steve I dread to think where I might be.

    This afternoon the postman came with the brown envelope of doom, which I duly sat and stared at for an eternity.  When I eventually had the courage to open it I collapsed at what I was reading.  NOT the news I was fully expecting, but a rather one hell of a shock.  I've been granted enhanced care AND mobility for four years and I still can't quite believe it.  So now I just have to battle through the ESA claim.

    I'd like to finish this post by thanking everyone for their continued support ans an extra special thanks you to @DebbieVoakes I wish there were more people like you in the world, your caring means so much and I will be eternally grateful to you.

    I will update again when I know more about the ESA claim in case it helps anyone else.

    Thanks again everyone xx

Brightness