Forced to attend PIP f2f with agoraphobia?

Hello Gordon and fellow forumeers.

I've received an 'invitation' from ATOS to attend a face to face assessment in Manchester (10 miles away) for my PIP claim, despite providing ample evidence of chronic social phobia/agoraphobia and mobility issues linked to chronic lymphoedema which means I simply can't travel that far. Also included with my PIP claim was a fantastic supporting letter from my GP which fully outlined the effects of the above conditions (alongside others I suffer with such as chronic hypertension, megaloblastic anaemia and diabetes). Her letter clearly stated in the strongest terms that an outside face to face assessment would be psychologically overwhelming for me, and she requested a paper assessment or at the very least a home visit. My son also included a statement detailing how he effectively runs my affairs as I'm not capable of doing so on a daily basis.

I have suffered from social phobia since childhood and I haven't travelled further than a couple of miles from home in over 15 years, and certainly not into a city centre. I'm completely unable to use public transport and can only use taxis under certain circumstances. Physically, I can't walk more than a few feet without considerable discomfort, my legs being swollen and riddled with open sores due to lymphoedema.

I got through my last two DLA claims purely on the paperwork and nothing has essentially changed, so I wonder what their reasons are for 'inviting' me to attend a f2f this time? Was I just very lucky until now?

Or could this be anything to do with the 'articulacy' argument the DWP have suddenly become fond of using to attempt to deny benefits to those with mental health conditions? In attempting to fill in the PIP claim form as fully and accurately as possible, I dared to express myself articulately (!) while also going to great lengths to point out that doing so required help from my son and numerous drafts, all of which took a great toll on my mental and physical energy (to illustrate my point, I started on this post at 9.30 this morning, and it's now 2.00 in the afternoon, and that's without the pressure of losing any money over it).

I think I did everything I could to state my case and present adequate evidence. Perhaps I was just unlucky enough that it fell on the desk of an unsympathetic DWP assessor this time?

Anyway, I got my son to call ATOS to try and arrange a home visit instead. Their operative was very sympathetic (which I realise means nothing) and she agreed to pass on the request, asking for my GP's details. She also stated that she couldn't promise to change anything, and ominously added that according to my file the 'highly unusual' step had already been taken to reimburse me for taxi fares in advance.

On the plus side, I was once spared an ATOS f2f for ESA under very similar circumstances after they called my GP, so there's a dim glimmer of hope.

My most pressing question: the imminent f2f appointment has now been cancelled, so does this mean that whatever they offer me next will be my final 'opportunity to discuss my disability' with them? Also, would you recommend that we follow up the phone call with a written request?

Thanks in advance.

P.S: I also just love how they send these things out so that they're sure to arrive on a Saturday morning, in order to ruin your weekend and give you a whole day on Sunday where you can do nothing but stew over it.

Hi Gordon,

My GP's letter stated that while I do attend unavoidable hospital appointments, the hospital is only a mile from my home and I absolutely cannot travel any further than that without great psychological upset. It also emphasised that such appointments take a great deal of preparation and are highly traumatic experiences for me, and are the only time I leave home.

It's as if no-one has bothered to even read either the GP's letter or the PIP form (in which my son and I went into great detail about how my disabilities affect my ability to travel away from home)...

Would it be a good idea to follow up the phone request for a home visit in writing, do you think?

Hello again and thanks,

So... if our plea for a home visit falls on deaf ears, is there some way of officially registering beforehand that we will only be attending at one of their centres under duress and very much against the strongly-worded advice of our own familiar and fully-qualified Health Professional, without prejudicing the assessment? Or would that be best saved for any potential complaint/appeal further down the road?

We're already working on getting our local Labour MP involved if required (her predecessor was a great help with a similar problem a few years ago) but as you say the imminent f2f process is probably too far along now for that to change much there.

I have had to fight tooth and nail for years (mostly by letter from my living room ) to have the social phobia even properly diagnosed and 'labelled', so I'm well aware that many don't understand it or recognise it as a 'proper' medical condition at all and make no allowance for it whatsoever. I'm used to fighting people over it, and I'm determined that the likes of ATOS will not be the ones to defeat me.