PIP Denied-How to Appeal

Hi

I just got my letter today saying I didn't qualify for PIP. They gave me 6 points for Daily Living and 4 for Mobility. I feel like, 'aaargh!' because I was only 2 points off getting the Daily Living Component, (although I scored myself higher than 8 points by my own assessment, but I would happily take the lower rate!) but then again, maybe this is a positive because I only have to get them to change their mind on 1 criteria. Do you think so? I feel like I definitely should have scored 2 on getting help with Budgeting Decisions and Managing Money, because I told her my sister logs onto my online bank account to check it for me because I'm too fatigued to go through all the steps of entering password etc, and she set up the direct debit for my rent and opens and deals with benefits letters for me, but the assessor ignored that and wrote, I 'understand the value of money well,' and my memory and concentration was good in the assessment. I think maybe she made sure not to score me 8 points, so she met her target for failing enough people that week I think there is a PIP appeals guide on this site isn't there? So I'm going to start writing my appeal request tomorrow according to that. Are they automatically going to send me the full report or do I have to request it?

Many thanks in advance for any replies.

Hi Lucky,

I'm sorry you were refused PIP

If you want to take this further, your next step will be to request a Mandatory Reconsideration. This is explained in the PIP guide

PIP help for claimants

The following link might also be helpful. It relates to ESA but the process is the same

ESA mandatory reconsiderations and appeals

You will not be sent a copy of the assessor's report routinely but you can request one from DWP. It might not arrive in time for your MR request but you don't have to go into much detail initially, just say that you are awaiting the report and will send in more information when it has arrived.

You might want to bookmark/favourite this on your web browser now so that you can find it easily in future. This will allow you to return with further questions/comments about your PIP claim without having to start a new topic each time. It helps us enormously when everything relating to the same claim is kept in one place - and I hope you will find it useful too

I have got MR back and it has decided against me, again. Is there a time limit for when I need to write to the appeals service if want to go through with it? I am still trying to decide whether to.

PIP TRIBUNAL

I had my appeal tribunal today. I don't know the decision. because it ran to over an hr. I really hope it arrives in the post by Saturday. It was a really traumatic experience, I felt they hauled me over the coals It was absolutely grueling and I though they must be doing it because they'd decided I was lying and were trying to show me up/humiliate me, but my Fightback representative said she thought they were quite gentle with me, and normally are worse (?!). My representative also said I answered the questions as well as possible, when I felt I had done really badly in some parts, and didn't avoid being tripped up by the traps they were setting. Maybe that's just the style of interrogating the courts mostly use now? I've only done one appeal before and the doctor and judge (also women) were nicer. This was an all female panel, but they were not empathetic sort of women, in fact they all seemed to have the same b*tchy patronizing attitude, where they would repeat things I'd said, sarcastically, sort of laughing at me at moments. Like the doctor at the beginning, said, 'when did you arrive?' and when I said the truth, that me and my representative arrived at the same time, she repeated this like, 'so you just HAPPENED to arrive at the exact same time,' in a very sarcastic way. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to say, 'check the security cameras!' The same GP also asked me, 'where do you see yourself in 5 years?' And when I said I saw myself living with my mum, once she's moved house to somewhere more suitable for me, so I can get more help, she said, 'don't you want to be independent?' Of course I would! But I've been living with this illness 12 years, and I surely have a better idea than you how likely that's looking at this point! It just felt really judgemental. Their attitudes at points reminded me of secondary school bullying. And I felt really sorry for my representative as well because she had a stress rash by the end, (although I know she's seen a lot worse) and has bad health problems herself, and I felt there were a bit nasty and sarcastic to her too. Although they were also all nicer in parts (mainly the beginning) as well. It was not what I expected, anyway sorry for rambling I'm still on adrenaline. I just cried my heart out when I got home. I will post back when I get the result, which is probably fail I don't want to scare anyone, but maybe there's some information in what I posted that could be of help to someone.