Like thousands (100's of thousands?) of other disabled people, I have had my mandatory PIP application refused.

I had previously been receiving DLA (middle care, full mobility) for 6 years.

On the decision, I was awarded 0 points for all parts.

The comments made were either from an assessment for someone else, or were downright lies.

I will now have my car, my lifeline to the outside world, taken off me on 13th November.

I will only be receiving ESA now, but as the PIP decision says that I am capable of work, I know its only a matter of time before it is taken off me as well.

I am totally unable to walk much further than the end of my garden path or driveway.

I live off a main road and there is a steep hill from my home to the entrance to our street, making it impossible to use public transport.

My wife works, which leaves me at home all day on my own.

I have limited use of my left arm and no grip in my left hand.

As I need to use a stick to get around, I cannot carry dishes, cups, pots etc.

I also suffer from forgetfulness and have left the gas cooker on on several occasions in the past so I can't even prepare a bowl of soup or a cup of tea.

I rang and asked for a reconsideration.

I went through the different parts with the girl I was connected to, giving her the correct details on what had happened at the assessment.

She asked me to get medical evidence from my GP to support the reconsideration, as thinks hadn't been asked for at the time of the application.

I can't get an appointment with my GP to discuss this until 15th November.

One of the worst aspects of this is that I can't even feel angry, as the antidepressants I take leave me unable to express feelings.

what happens next?

Has anyone on here from Northern Ireland had to go through this?

What sort of waiting time is there for a reconsideration and, ultimately, appeal tribunal?

Hello there. I'm so sorry to hear about your problems.

Have you spoken to the CAB or a welfare rights advisor in NI? Or is there a charity that helps people with your particular health problem?

HB

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I spoke to the person who helped me complete the form and he told me to first contact Capita for a copy of the assessor's report.

Then to make a complaint to Capita about the incondsitencies between what happened at the assessment and what is in the report.

I have 4 weeks to supply supporting medical evidence for the reconsideration.

Other than that, I have no idea what else to do, if anything.

You demand your local MP accounts for this departments continued persecution of the sick and disabled

You also jump through the hoops cr@pita have positioned, until you get the correct result you want.

Lodge a formal complaint with cr@pita about their fake hcp, if the hcp is a doctor and registered then complain to the GMC.

You MUST keep an accurate diary of events, names, departments, letters sent & received, absolutely everything, also send the DWP a SAR.

Make sure you go for a Mandatory Reconsideration ASAP. More than likely it will be refused but don't be disheartened at all as over 66% of those who go on to Tribunals are successful!! Don't give up! And you will get back paid your rightful payment!

Hi

Have a good read of this CAG link: https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?251737-Mandatory-Reconsideration-Appealing-or-going-to-a-Tribunal-Some-useful-information&p=4817400&viewfull=1#post4817400

Get a Mandatory Reconsideration in within there time limit

I think the 'time limit' is hidden and they state it is from the 'date of the letter' which is usually posted second class and arrives about 10 days after the 'date of the letter' so they give you little time to respond because their time limit is hidden and not made clear on the letter.

However, I think, but this needs to be checked upon for further update - I saw that this deadline cannot be upheld and request for Mandatory Reconsideration can be considered for up to a year after the assessment - do check please but I do think that is the case

OK everyone,thanks for your thoughts and advice. It has all been taken on board and this is an update on where I am.

I rang as soon as I got my decision and asked for the mandatory recon. I will be writing to capita for a full copy of the assessor's report, along with details of the assessor's formal medical qualifications, if any. A complaint will be made to capita and, if required, the GMC. Once the recon is turned down (as with the vast majority of recons) I will be triggering a tribunal hearing.

Now here is something I didn't know - I was speaking to the advisor who helped me complete my application form, and he said that once I ask for an appeal/tribunal, a couple of weeks later I will receive notification that I have been put onto "supplementary" payments, and this will be backdated to the day following my cutoff date, while the appeal is ongoing. So if Motability is OK with it, my mobility payments will resume to them.

I am pretty certain my appeal will be allowed, as there are so many aspects of my conditions either not addressed in the assessment report, or have been misconstrued.

And as far as giving my MP a hard time about it is concerned, he is an abstentionist and wii either be unable, or not bothered to do anything. But on the other hand, maybe he will fight tooth and nail for me. He belongs to a party with a history of fighting.

Sorry, forgot to add this. Can someone supply me with the address details for capita, or any existing template, to ask for a copy of my full report, and the name and professional qualifications of my assessor? I need to get this away as soon as possible. The clock's ticking folk

Capita's assesors arent really qualified in the normal way. Theyre akin to ambulance chasers GP's. Bottom of the barrel folk who cant cut it anywhere else and see the chance of making a quick buck for doing whatever their employers say.

Unless the system has changed I think you can get a copy of your report from the DWP.

HB

Possibly, but will they supply the name and qualifications of the assessor, even if I submit a foi request? Surely capita are the ones to go after in this case?

sar might be better?

dx

Is this address the correct one to write to Capita at?

Capita PIP

PO Box 307

Darlington

DL98 1AB

I have drafted a letter as follows:

"REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REGARDING MY PIP ASSESSMENT

I had a PIP assessment in your Belfast centre several weeks ago. I am now requesting the following information.

· A full copy of the assessor's report

· The assessor's full name

· Details of any formal medical qualifications held

I expect this information, in writing, in the next 14 days.

If you have any issues with supplying the requested details, please contact me on either phone number, or email address listed above."

Is this ok? Are there any amendments or additions I should make? Am I making a mistake giving them my telephone numbers and email address?

having researched this today a bit

an sar is not needed.

I agree with honeybee..

You contact DWP on their PIP number for the PA4.

This can be done a day or two after your assessment.

If they've already had the report they should send it out fairly quickly.

If they haven't got it they'll put a note on their system to send it when they receive it,

My PIP Mandatory Reconsideration decision was dated 5th December, but was only received on 12th December.

my appeal application was due back 1 calendar month, 5th January.

I then had to wait on information from my GP because PIP didn't return the documents I sent them,

even though I specifically stated that I would need them for my appeal.

Taking Christmas and New Year into account,

I wasn't able to return my completed form until 4th January, and 5th Jan was Saturday.

I rang the NI Appeals Service that day to confirm that they were closed on Saturdays, and would my appeal application be considered on time when received on Monday, 7th Jan.

I was told that yes, that would be acceptable.

As they only have a PO box address, I couldn't hand deliver it so I sent it by guaranteed next day post.

Today I received a letter from the Appeals Service to say my application was not received on time and that it had been referred to PIP to decide whether to accept it or not.

I rang the Appeals Service to ask why it was considered late as it had been received by them the next available working day after 4th Jan.

The person I spoke to said that even though they don't work weekends, they consider them in their "calendar month".

my application would have had to have been received on the 4th to be on time.

when I pointed out that was less than a calendar month and it was physically impossible for me to deliver it on 5th Jan.

If they had a proper postal address, I could've hand delivered the application.

The person said I could have hand delivered it, but could not tell me how.

And when I told her I had ring on 4th Jan, of course their is no record on their system of me ringing.

But there is a record on my phone.

now I have to wait on PIP to decide whether to accept the application or not.

The same crowd that makes the decision not to award you the benefit based on incorrect and insufficient information, bias, conjecture and supposition.

I don't have to think too hard about what their decision will be.

if it is rejected, what else can I do?

2 threads merged for history

Hi

I just wanted to let you know that after the assessment I was awarded zeros after being DLA for years.

I then complained at the MR stage - I phoned them up to tell them I wanted an MR and would send more medical letters (was overwhelming actually) and a letter stating that I rebutted the lies put in my report (and each one).

They then overturned their decision at MR, but they still overlooked points, so I sent off for an appeal (it was late) and the DWP wrote to me again overturning their original decision awarding maximum points.

they settled before tribunal.

don’t worry if it’s late, stick to your guns.

You never know, they may make a new decision for you.

you shouldn’t worry about your appeal not being accepted.

PIP will always give a few days grace precisely because of the situation that you outline, but they don’t advertise it.

It is 99.99999% that they will accept your appeal as being “in time”.

The only reason that The Appeals Service would have written out to you to ask why your appeal was late is because they have to.

The rules between PIP and The Appeals Service will say that if an appeal is outside of the 1 month then it is late and must be treated as such and there are procedures that must be followed whether the appeal is one day, one month or one year late, the same procedures apply so that everyone is treated equally.

In the extremely unlikely event that PIP decide that your appeal is late and they don’t allow it, then your appeal would then be referred by The Appeals Service to one of their Legally Qualified panel members to make a final decision on whether the appeal should be accepted. His/her decision is final and if they accept it (which, given the circumstances as you’ve outlined them, they undoubtedly would), then PIP would be instructed to prepare their submissions and your appeal would lodged as Duly Made.

The person you spoke to correctly told you that you could have handed in your form and that is true, but did not tell you where.

They are situated in Cleaver House in the centre of Belfast (opposite City Hall, where the taxi rank is) and you can take any further papers etc. at any time throughout your appeal and hand it over to one of the staff who can also give you a receipt for your papers if you request it.

Lastly, you should definitely get some help with your appeal.

Citizens Advice, Citywide Tribunal Services or EBIAC spring to mind or you can go your local MLA and any can and will help you throughout the process.

Good luck!

Many thanks for your advice.

I got a letter from PIP yesterday to say my payments have been reinstated whilst my appeal is ongoing, so that is a weight off my mind.

now that everything has been formalised, should I now start to gather my evidence and deliver it to the Tribunal Service?

There is no mention of what my responsibilities are in their paperwork to me, just a slip of paper stating that any information I supply to them will be passed to PIP as well.

Good to hear your payments have been reinstated.

That and the letter you received from The Appeals Service confirms that your appeal WAS accepted.

In relation to any further evidence you may be able to gather, it's entirely down to yourself whether you send that in.

What I would say is that everything you send in to The Appeals Service is then forwarded to PIP who will look at the information and see if they can change their original decision as a result of it, so you may not need to go for a hearing.

The Appeals service will now be waiting for the submissions to arrive from PIP.

This is a large document (can be around 100+ pages) and contains PIPs case for their decision.

This can take 8-12 weeks to arrive (although it can be much less).

You will know when this has been done in two ways

- 1 you will receive a copy of the submissions from PIP in the post (read it thoroughly and make notes of the parts you are challenging) and

- 2 a few days after that you will get some papers from The Appeals Service asking how you want the case to be heard (ie if you plan on attending) and also a form asking for your consent for your medical records to be released and your GP details.

Once you return those your case will be put into a queue to await a date of hearing.

I had a (private) podiatry consultation yesterday.

I was told I have arthritis in both feet and will need a set of "Richie braces", which cost 2 fortunes, regular hydrocortisone injections in the bone joints of both feet, and most likely surgery to remove excess bone growth, which will leave me in plaster for around 3 months and could result in me permanently suffering more pain as a result.

What I find strange is that my assessor never picked up on any sort of issues with my mobility.

I had my PIP assessment in July 2018 and was award 0 points across the board.

Fast forward to my tribunal on Tuesday. I was able to submit all my medical evidence, present my version of the assessment, and today received the decision to award me standard rate of living and mobility for 4 years from the original decision.

I missed the top rate living by 4 points, mobility by 2 points.

I now have, as I see it, 2 options:

appeal the tribunal decision,

or refuse the decision altogether, and reapply immediately.

But is there a third option?

The reason I ask, is that my award was backdated to the date of the original decison and since then my conditions have changed.

For instance, I now have to wear surgical braces permanently on both feet/ankles, and I need to have surgery to repair a 2cm tear in my shoulder muscle, dating back almost 8 years, and which has caused arthritis in the shoulder. Pain, and stiffness of the shoulder, arm, wrist, and hand were all taken into account on the original, and subsequent, decision. And they are just the two most important changes.

can I ask for a reassessment based on these changes?

If not, is there any other recourse I can take?

threads merged yet again

please keep to one thread per issue.

dx

1 hour ago, dx100uk said:

threads merged yet again

please keep to one thread per issue.

 

dx

 

Thanks. Sorry for the bother.