My DLA to PIP journey

[speedfreek]

I can't believe how difficult it is trying to find someone to help fill the form in for me.

 

Have you thought about explaining what you need and asking your local MP/MPs' office for help?

 

Or where they think you might get the help you need?

 

Bit of a long shot I know but.....you never know!

[Nystagmite]

Good bloody grief. So, had appointment with DIAC today who were useless. Guy claims he knows what Autism is. But ignores completely how it affects me. So, he's made it sound like I have Autism and have absolutely no problems at all. Was in a bit of a rush to get out of there (not well at all) and wanted to get it posted today. So had to get it posted as is.

 

Seeing a friend Friday who says he'll write something for me.

[Nystagmite]

I now have a face to face assessment. Not looking forward to that at all. Thankfully, it's at home, somehow. Unfortuantely for me, it's a Monday morning when the fire alarm is tested and they've been vague about when they'll be here - between 10.30am and 12.30pm. Not impressed.

[bloomingflower]

I now have a face to face assessment. Not looking forward to that at all. Thankfully, it's at home, somehow. Unfortuantely for me, it's a Monday morning when the fire alarm is tested and they've been vague about when they'll be here - between 10.30am and 12.30pm. Not impressed.

 

Hi Nystagmite -I hope you don't mind me jumping in from nowhere, I have been a long time member of CAG and the last time I posted was in 2007 I think!

 

I was drawn to your title heading-'My PIP journey'.

 

I have just been through the same journey myself the past 9 months and I don't mind telling you it has been one hell of a ride!

 

Long story short - I first made my initial claim back in November 2015 -Went to Atos Assessment in February 2016 -I failed the assessment as I expected The assessors report didn't relate to me whatsoever, so I didn't even score at least one point! So it was probably inevitable the DM awarded me no award.

 

So...I asked for a mandatory reconsideration and despite sending in further evidence etc, that also failed too. The next step was to submit an appeal. After a very long waiting time, the Tribunal date was set for a date last month (August).

 

I couldn't sleep the night before and I don't sleep anyway. By the time I was called into the hearing room the following morning I was shuddering convulsively like a pneumatic drill

 

After being called in and seeing a panel of three (A doctor, the Judge, and a rep from DWP, I think)

 

I took a quick 'gulp' and sat down before the questioning started. I clearly had visions of walking into a very dark room with either a bright light or spotlight shining in my eyes during the 'interrogation'. (like they do in those FBI/Interpol secret service inquisitions)

 

Anyhow...my lovely daughter came with me for moral support which helped enormously.

 

Although I was very worried about the whole episode the panel of 3 were quite pleasant to deal with. I was quite relieved. They just wanted to ask certain questions about my struggles and difficulties with the descriptors on the PIP form. I think I was most probably in there for about an hour. But I wasn't really paying any attention to the time I just wanted it all to be over.

 

After it was all over the panel said I had the option of either going home and waiting for the decision or waiting there.

 

Understandably, I patiently waited.

 

I think after about 30 minutes, the clerk handed me the decision....success for the standard daily living until 2018. No mobility. It will be backdated to February.

 

I was quite relieved to be honest and happy with the result. It has been a very long journey the last few months.

 

Incidentally, DWP rang me this morning to confirm my bank details and to let me know I will be receiving a letter in the next 10 days...

 

 

I just wanted to let you know what your claim may entail..but I am hoping you don't have to jump through all the hoops like I had to...

 

If you have any questions please ask, I will help if I can...

 

 

Good luck with your claim.

 

 

 

 

Bloomingflower x

[Nystagmite]

Thanks. What questions do they ask?

[bloomingflower]

Thanks. What questions do they ask?

 

 

Hi Nyst,

 

They will ask you questions according to what your struggles and difficulties are relating to your condition/s or disabilities. And what your struggles and difficulties are with the PIP descriptors.

 

Your main goal is to score as many points as you can (obviously with all the supporting medical evidence etc) to gain the total number of points you need in order to be awarded either the standard or enhanced rates of PIP. You go through each question very carefully on the form and choose which descriptor relates to you.To also bare in mind,you can claim PIP if you receive the help or not.

 

In my case for example -my primary conditions are Fibromyalgia ,Osteoarthritis, Depression and Anxiety and other various conditions. I also have severe swelling in my ankles(oedema). (I suffer chronic pain and fatigue)

 

(To be honest in my case, the panel didn't ask me every single question relating to the descriptors as I expected,only the ones they weren't sure of. I thought they were going to refer to every single question in the 40 page PIP 2!) The rep from DWP stated that I actually had quite a lot of medical evidence and commented why I was even there in the first place!

 

Anyway, I explained to the panel one of my difficulties are climbing in and out of the bath due to widespread pain, fatigue and joint and muscle stiffness in all 18 trigger points of my body. I have balance issues too. I have to ask my daughter for help or lean onto the side basin for stability to get in and out.

 

However, it is all about whether you can carry out the PIP activities in the daily living and mobility/moving around repeatedly.safely, reliably, or in a timely fashion with pain, fatigue, breathlessness and cognitive impairment etc. And whether these activities bring on the pain, fatigue etc etc

 

 

I think in my case I failed at the first hurdle, cos the Atos assessor was not really paying any attention to what my difficulties were. She scanned over my evidence very briefly and she was in a hurry to move on.(most probably desperate to get to her pub lunch!) I told the panel about this and this seems to be a common occurrence with Atos.

 

They key thing is to gather as much evidence as you can to prove your claim. And to make sure the assessor is actually listening to you,not just busy typing and scanning through the questions. I made a complaint to Atos about my assessor as I was not happy about the end result.

 

I think another reason why my claim failed is because back in November 2015 I went to see someone at the CAB to get help to fill in my PIP2 form. Looking back, I wish I hadn't. That was a total waste of time. After taking the persons advice my form was not filled in correctly. The main point of going to see an adviser was because that was the very first time I was claiming a disability benefit and I had no prior knowledge of how to claim this benefit and needed that help. Never again.

 

Nevertheless,shortly after that, I discovered an excellent site called Benefits and Work. I joined the site and have never looked back. I can honestly say that I would not have won without their help.They not only help you with the claim form but they also help you with the appeals process. I wish I had discovered them much sooner as I may not have needed to go to a Tribunal.

 

 

I hope this helps

 

 

 

 

Bloomingflower x

Edited September 2, 2016 by bloomingflower
add more info

[Nystagmite]

Emailed ATOS who told me to call them because I wouldn't give them my NI number over email. Their excuse for being so vague over the time was because of the travelling time. They've changed it to a Tuesday for me.

[Nystagmite]

And they've just done the bloody same. How difficult is it to understand that I need routine and for them to be a bit more bloody specific than between 10.30am and 12.30pm? Because of course, I've got nothing better to do than wait for anything up to two hours. As if this isn't stressful enough already.

[Nystagmite]

Hurrah! They've agreed to 10.30am. Now just to find someone who is free on a Tuesday morning.

[Nystagmite]

Actually, they didn't agree to 10.30. Their letter yet again said between 10.30am and 12.30pm. I read the letter a few times to check they didn't mean they're arriving at 10.30 and leaving around 12.30pm. But no, it clearly says someone will arrive sometime between 10.30 and 12.30pm. Because of course, I have nothing better to do than sit around and wait for someone to turn up. And neither does my friend.

 

So, I complained to both ATOS and DWP. Explaining yet again that you have to be far more specific over the time of the appointment you give me. I mean, they wouldn't be too happy if I said I'll be there sometime between 10.30 and 12.30pm, would they? And yes, I do understand traffic, delays and stuff, but really?

 

So, ATOS phoned me and changed the appointment again to 9am Wednesday 21st September and explained that due to traffic, they might be a few minutes late, which I can deal with.

 

By this point, I got my MP involved who seems to be on their side. Brilliant.

 

I don't really expect to have to ask 4 times to ask for someone to be a bit more specific over the time of my appointment. Each time, I explained that you have to be specific with me.

 

Their letter and the email from my MP says between 9am and 11am. Really not impressed at all.

 

Will see what happens Wednesday.

[Nystagmite]

So glad that's over. And now the waiting begins...

[havinastella]

Hope it went well for you this morning.

[Nystagmite]

It went ok thanks

[Nystagmite]

Just received a text to say a decision has been made...

[reallymadwoman]

Fingers crossed for you

[ASIIndustries]

Just received a text to say a decision has been made...

No doubt you've scored zero points due to the blatant omissions within the HCP's report!

[Nystagmite]

Can I ask how you can be so sure of that?

[ASIIndustries]

I am not 100% sure, but it is an equally possible outcome.

[Nystagmite]

And I've failed and she's lied a lot:

- She can't decide whether I'm visually impaired. GP letter says I'm registered partially sighted and I could only read font size 24 when she tested me. Because I handed a letter in standard size print to a friend (for him to find something) there's nothing wrong with me.

- I'm appprently not deaf anymore. My hearing therapist will be pleased I'm sure. My situation is far more complex than that. I have to think about what you say because some words and sounds can sound like other words and sounds.

- I've got no problems communicating. We'll just ignore everything that happened last year where I was forced to tell my friend I have Autism because I managed to misunderstand him. I have that email and another where he tells me he talks to me in a certain way because he knows I take things literally. When she did the eye chart test, (where I could only read the third line - fully sight people can read 6 lines) she asked me which line I could read. I had to be told to read the letters. We'll also ignore the fact that I have to have someone present at hospital appointments because I can walk out and not understand a word that's been said. And they're talking to me in English - not doctor's speech.

- I was given a home visit; but have no problems getting out safely. We'll ignore this morning then when I managed to almost get run over because I couldn't see or hear the traffic.

 

Complaint has gone into both DWP and ATOS because my report is riddled with so many lies and contradictions.

[Nystagmite]

What is the definition of a cooked meal? I used to receive DLA because I couldn't cook a meal. By some miracle, I can. Nothing's changed - aside from losing more vision and having no sense of smell.

[fletch70]

A cooked meal is a simple one course meal cooked from fresh ingredients however this seems to be open to interpretation. I have a recording of my HCP saying that although he may not agree, the DWP classed beans on toast as it

 

Actually what he said was

'to you and to me this may not be a simple meal but thats what they say'

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/455/pdfs/uksi_20130455_en.pdf

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/377/schedule/1

[Nystagmite]

That's what I thought. I remember RNIB (and I couldn't find it earlier) saying the 4 point descriptor is the same as the cooking test for DLA. I originally got DLA because I couldn't cook a meal unaided. Nothing's improved since my first claim in 2007. In fact, I've only ended up with more diagnoses (one of which is being questioned) and I'm getting worse disability-wise.

[fletch70]

The other part of that descriptor seems to be if you can do the basic tasks, so if you can hold a knife, maybe peel a carrot they deem you to be capable.

 

the only advice I can offer won't be available until 16th Dec when I have my appeal ( if they don't adjourn it - been adjourned twice already)

 

I have a memory like a sieve so maybe PM me if you can or ask one of the site team to contact me and I will give whatever feedback I have

[Nystagmite]

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-pip-claim/fill-in-form/3-prepare-and-cook-meal/

 

Explains it in more detail. I did argue on things like not being able to tell if food is cooked or stale (I've got no sense of smell, poor colour vision and poor vision) but because I can supposedly follow basic instructions, I can cook.

 

So tempted to take a photo of the plate I managed to burn on Friday (don't ask...) and tell them that's what happened when I tried to cook something. Actually, I didn't cook it, I burnt it.

[Nystagmite]

http://www.advicenow.org.uk/pip-tool?gclid=CjwKEAjwtqe8BRCs-9DdpMOilBoSJAAyqWz_1qZOk1z0Q-h-fq_N0wYvD022X9V24kAXZdSjyJ_YVRoCSM3w_wcB

 

Advice now have put together a mandatory reconsideration template letter request tool.

 

A few things:

- this is a free service

- it asks you for your personal details to generate the letter. These aren't saved anywhere

- the letter is emailed to you and you're free to edit the letter if you need to