LOCATION OF PIP ASSESSMENT

There is a PIP assessment round the corner from me 3 minutes away, yet Atos' computer is sending me to south-east London. I live near London Airport, and although it is within the 18 mile rule it is not a journey I can do. Atos has offered me a taxi, but that is not the point. The journey by road would take 2 hrs there, 2 hrs back and I cannot sit for longer than 20 mins. I have metal in my spine and CFS. Spoke to Atos and they are playing hardball. Furthermore, they encourage claimants to phone in in case of appt cancellation nearer to your home, BUT the point is it is the computer that automatically gives away a cancellation to the next one on the list! So no point in phoning. Do the MPs know this, does the public realise we are still being put thru the wringer?

Cindy wrote: There is a PIP assessment round the corner from me 3 minutes away, yet Atos' computer is sending me to south-east London. I live near London Airport, and although it is within the 18 mile rule it is not a journey I can do. Atos has offered me a taxi, but that is not the point. The journey by road would take 2 hrs there, 2 hrs back and I cannot sit for longer than 20 mins. I have metal in my spine and CFS. Spoke to Atos and they are playing hardball. Furthermore, they encourage claimants to phone in in case of appt cancellation nearer to your home, BUT the point is it is the computer that automatically gives away a cancellation to the next one on the list! So no point in phoning. Do the MPs know this, does the public realise we are still being put thru the wringer?

Hi C,

This has been happening around the country !

There are two rightsnet threads on this very issue : Here and Here.

I am not sure where you have gained information regarding an "18 mile rule" as I am not aware of one.

However, there is a rule stating that the trip to the assessment centre should not exceed 90 minutes, and the return trip home should not exceed 90 minutes.

This travelling time should be assessed, taking into account the use of public transport and all legs of the journey that may be involved, e.g bus to train to bus, etc, etc.

It should also take into account the time of day and any hold ups rail or road works, etc.

Further, ATOS are supposed to make reasonable adjustment which take into account any limitations that you may have in travelling to and from the venue.

See this extract :

"We will normally allocate appointments at the consultation centre nearest to a claimant’s home address if an appropriate appointment slot exists. In some situations and where demand for appointments out strips the availability it will be necessary to offer consultations in the next nearest centre."

From the : ATOS Webpage.

If you want to push the issue you could escalate to a complaint :

ATOS Customer Charter

You could complain by e-mail.

As am I sure you are aware, rearranging, which you are allowed to do once may further delay your PIP Assessment and subsequent decision.

You should be aware that how you manage the return trip to and from the Assessment Centre will be taken into account as part of the actual assessment, especially if your stated limitations indicate that you would have problems doing this.

What to expect at a PIP Assessment can be read from page 64 onwards of our : PIP Claims Guide. (2nd Link on page)

You could try requesting a Home Assessment, but ATOS are most reluctant to carry out Home Assessments, and they would probably insist that your G.P. Faxed them with a letter supporting your need for a Home Assessment.

Please keep us updated and Good Luck !!

bro58

Thanks a lot! This morning it was an Atos manager who told me about the 18 mile rule.

DWP told me that the huge backlog exists because of assessments being done across the board - ESA, DLA, PIP.

No Londoner who lives north of the Thames willingly drives to south-east London. It's just NEVER done, unless of course your job is delivery person. This is to do with the huge amount of traffic on the roads and bottlenecks.

I have Atos' email address and I've drafted a letter to them. However, I am aware of their skulduggery and need to go every word in my email that they may pounce on and use against me.

Cindy wrote: Thanks a lot! This morning it was an Atos manager who told me about the 18 mile rule.

DWP told me that the huge backlog exists because of assessments being done across the board - ESA, DLA, PIP.

No Londoner who lives north of the Thames willingly drives to south-east London. It's just NEVER done, unless of course your job is delivery person. This is to do with the huge amount of traffic on the roads and bottlenecks.

I have Atos' email address and I've drafted a letter to them. However, I am aware of their skulduggery and need to go every word in my email that they may pounce on and use against me.

Hi C,

ATOS no longer carry out ESA WC Assessments : The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) (Maximus) took over the ESA WCA Contract from ATOS on 02/03/15.

They carry out little if any DLA face to face "medicals" any more, so that just leaves PIP !!

Having worked in London for several years some time ago, I fully understand your comments regarding travelling across the Capital !!!

When it comes to London, travelling times are much, much longer !!!

bro58

Notwithstanding a backlog existing, I still believe this sending claimants off to far-flung assessment centres is deliberate for two reasons:

(i) if you are able to travel a long way, then you do not qualify for part of PIP, and
(ii) it is in place to deliberately frustrate the claimant so that he drops the claim or is ejected from the process.

I believe the above because it is an easy task to linkthe geographical locations of claimants to those centres nearest to them. When a spot comes free, a letter would be generated automatically by the computer. What Atos computer is currently doing is sending out appt letters to the next claimant on the waiting list regardless.

Cindy wrote: Notwithstanding a backlog existing, I still believe this sending claimants off to far-flung assessment centres is deliberate for two reasons:

(i) if you are able to travel a long way, then you do not qualify for part of PIP, and
(ii) it is in place to deliberately frustrate the claimant so that he drops the claim or is ejected from the process.

I believe the above because it is an easy task to linkthe geographical locations of claimants to those centres nearest to them. When a spot comes free, a letter would be generated automatically by the computer. What Atos computer is currently doing is sending out appt letters to the next claimant on the waiting list regardless.

I would certainly not disagree C !!!

bro58