ATOS dirty tricks on home assessments

VERY upset about this

I am in an ATOS area unfortunately - my benefits advisor from the local council and my GP strongly advised me for a home assessment, due to mobility issues and suffering from extreme anxiety and panic in new places and with new people - plus I can't navigate to new places on my own. These things ARE stated on my PIP forms and on my medical records.

Despite my repeated requests and rejections of outside assessments and insistence they played a VERY nasty and underhand trick to get me into the centre and I am TERRIFIED of what will now happen next monday.

Basically they rang my GP's surgery and asked if I attended appointments there. They then turned around and said I was not housebound and therefore could not have a home assessment.
Then they arranged to taxi me there and back to the assessment - in another city (Wakefield)!!!

Have spoken with benefits advisors at the council centre and they said that ATOS have been trying this a LOT recently and that it is quite a nasty and underhand trick that they seem to be using more often - combined with the taxis.

As far as they know there is NO rule change saying that home assessments are for physically housebound people only.

Couldn't get anyone to help me immediately but someone will be ringing me from the council advice centre soon to hopefully help with this

fitzgibbonmd wrote:

VERY upset about this

I am in an ATOS area unfortunately - my benefits advisor from the local council and my GP strongly advised me for a home assessment, due to mobility issues and suffering from extreme anxiety and panic in new places and with new people - plus I can't navigate to new places on my own. These things ARE stated on my PIP forms and on my medical records.

Despite my repeated requests and rejections of outside assessments and insistence they played a VERY nasty and underhand trick to get me into the centre and I am TERRIFIED of what will now happen next monday.

Basically they rang my GP's surgery and asked if I attended appointments there. They then turned around and said I was not housebound and therefore could not have a home assessment.
Then they arranged to taxi me there and back to the assessment - in another city (Wakefield)!!!

Have spoken with benefits advisors at the council centre and they said that ATOS have been trying this a LOT recently and that it is quite a nasty and underhand trick that they seem to be using more often - combined with the taxis.

As far as they know there is NO rule change saying that home assessments are for physically housebound people only.

Couldn't get anyone to help me immediately but someone will be ringing me from the council advice centre soon to hopefully help with this

Hi fmd,

Yes, we are aware that Assessment Providers (AP's) (ATOS or Capita) use the fact that you can attend your G.P. Surgery of other "Medical" appointments as a reason why you are also able to attend one of their Assessment Centres.

You could fight this, but you would probably need your G.P. to Fax ATOS informing them that he supports the fact that you need a Home Assessment, they would have to give specific reasons why you couldn't make the return trip. (I am not sure from your post whether your GP has already done this)

I do not believe that being totally "Housebound" is the only reason that a Home Assessment should be granted.

You could challenge them regarding making "Reasonable Adjustments" for you as covered under Sections 20-21 of The Equality Act 2010. (EA2010)

You could also challenge them if either travelling to The Assessment Centre or the return leg home of your journey would take more than 90 minutes.

Now that they have offered a Taxi for you to make the return trip, you would have to give specific reasons why you could not travel in the Taxi.

Contact ATOS PIP

You are allowed to re-arrange once.

We have been hearing from a lot of members who have been challenging attending PIP Assessment Centres for various reasons.

Some have done so successfully !

Have a look at : This Recent Topic and the other related Topics from links provided therein.

Good luck and please keep us updated.

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