Assessment

Hi there, I recently completed a PIP form. I suffer with Chronic OCD and anxiety problems and take lot of medication for this problem. I am currently in the support group of ESA and on DLA. I have just had a letter from ATOS saying that I need to attend a consultation. I live in Manchester and they want me to go all the way to Leeds which is 1 hr on the train from Manchester. I have made it clear on the form that I am not able to go to unfamiliar places on my own and they have sent this letter saying I have to go all the way to Leeds. When I spoke to Welfare Rights, I had to have a home visit because of the nature of my illness. I am really scared because they have told me I have to go on the 23rd if March at 10.30. My medicine wont have even worn off by then because I have to take a medicine at night which makes me sleep. Please help because im having such a bad panic over this and cant cope.

Please can you help me. I have a PIP assessment on 23rd March. Do you have any guides that I can look at so I will have an idea of what to expect. Its OCD and anxiety problems I suffer with. Its just unfamiliar things and pressure panic me and a guide to give me an idea of what to expect would be helpful and may take the pressure off me a little.

Andrew wrote: Hi there, I recently completed a PIP form. I suffer with Chronic OCD and anxiety problems and take lot of medication for this problem. I am currently in the support group of ESA and on DLA. I have just had a letter from ATOS saying that I need to attend a consultation. I live in Manchester and they want me to go all the way to Leeds which is 1 hr on the train from Manchester. I have made it clear on the form that I am not able to go to unfamiliar places on my own and they have sent this letter saying I have to go all the way to Leeds. When I spoke to Welfare Rights, I had to have a home visit because of the nature of my illness. I am really scared because they have told me I have to go on the 23rd if March at 10.30. My medicine wont have even worn off by then because I have to take a medicine at night which makes me sleep. Please help because im having such a bad panic over this and cant cope.

Hi A,

We are aware that ATOS have been offering PIP Consultations at venues that are not necessarily the nearest to the claimant's home.

As with you, in some cases, even in a different Town/City.

We think that ATOS are doing this to reduce the backlog quicker, so it is to suit them, not you.

You can check if there is a nearer venue to where you live : Here.

Further, travelling time to and from The PIP Consultation venue should not exceed 90 minutes either way, and this should take into account all legs of the journey, I am surmising that you don't live next door to a railway station where a train will take you door to door, or a bus stop where the bus will take you door to door.

As you are in the SG of ESA, they must also take into account the limitations that placed you into The SG, especially if they restrict you going out, or moving around.

You could contact ATOS, preferably by e-mail via the link under the heading PIP Customer Service: to the right of the ATOS webpage that I provided the link to above.

You can rearrange a PIP F2F once, and if that is to be the case you should make it clear that you need it at the nearest venue to where you live.

Other options are that you could request a Home Assessment, in which case ATOS will probably insist that your G.P. faxes a letter supporting this to them.

Or, you could request that they provide a Taxi, door to door, this can only be done by prior arrangement with ATOS.

You could also bring this to the attention of your M.P., and inform ATOS that you are going to do so :

Contacting your MP

You should be aware that if you do attend a F2F at one of their venues, that how you managed to do so will be taken into account as part of the actual assessment.

What to expect at a PIP F2F is covered from Page 70 onwards of our : PIP Claims Guide. (2nd Link on page)

This issue has also been highlighted on this : rightsnet thread.

I would certainly challenge ATOS on this.

Please keep us updated.

bro58