PIP Application Success... Thank you.

Hi... Thanks to the guidance offered by this site I have succeeded in satisfying the DWP that I do indeed need some help.
I have recently been forced to retire from work due to ill-health and I had no idea on how to apply for any type of benefit and I also had no idea of how complicated and traumatic such honest pursuit of entitlements were.
My ESA 50 application was accepted with no medical assessment and I was duly placed in the Support Group. I recycled my ESA50 answers in my application for PIP and requested that my assessment be conducted at my home and ATOS duly obliged – which surprised me considering what I have read here and elsewhere.
Very long story short… My brown envelope arrived and I have been awarded both Daily Living & Mobility at the enhanced rates for an ongoing period – whatever that ambiguity actually means but they do make mention about enquiring after my current wellbeing sometime in the future but not before 2026? I assume that means I won’t get pestered for 10 years – is my assumption correct?
Another question I have is that, my payments won’t start until 4 weeks after their decision has been made. I thought that it was payable from the date of phone request for an application.
Now that this horrid time of uncertainty is over and I can relax a little I have still got questions but like everyone else I daren’t ask the DWP – irrational or what? I feel that I have been treated quite fairly and the decisions made have been in my favour, but that outcome is down to the help received via this site… thank you all.
In closing I would like to wish Good Luck to all who are still struggling through this awful and demeaning process.

Hi Cubby,

Thanks for letting us know the good news about your PIP and ESA awards. Thanks also for your kind words about B+W

An 'ongoing' PIP award is the longest possible and you are right in thinking that you probably will not be contacted for at least 9 years (DWP are currently starting the reassessment process 1 year before the award is due to end!). I say 'probably' as a certain proportion of claimants are selected randomly for reassessment.

You are also right in thinking that payment should be backdated to the day you initiated the claim. The 4 week wait applies only to claimants switching to PIP from DLA. It is possible that someone simply send out the wrong letter but I'm afraid the only way you will know for sure, other than to wait and see, is to contact DWP.

Hi Mrs Hurtyback... thanks for responding to my questions it's much appreciated and my kind words were a small and deserved expression of my appreciation for the excellent work done by you all.
Your reference to DLA is interesting as I have been in receipt of the mobility component at the higher rate. This was a lifetime award which started back in 1992.

Whilst I understand that DLA transfer to PIP doesn't qualify for back payment I had assumed that this was applicable only to the Mobility component of my PIP award? Surely the two components of DLA/PIP are two separate entities? They are assessed separately awarded or declined individually which, in my view, makes them separate. I was under the assumption that, if successful in my application, my award payment for the Daily Living component would be back-dated.
It would seem that the DWP and their DMs are determined to claw back cash for any and every obscure reason they can think of including delaying decisions which only adds to the confusion and fear felt by applicants. (Psychological Warfare)
Again, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation and admiration to all concerned at BENEFITS & WORK. You provide an excellent and vital information portal and advice service for those of us who are much less knowledgeable in these deviously complex matters of Disability Benefit Claiming... Thank you all.