PIP refusal zero points on all components

Help! My son who has Aspergers and MLD has just received his letter dated 12/09/2018 on 24/09 saying he has scored zero on all elements! He previously had DLA indefinite period. In the letter the My Decision statement from the decision maker has blatant lies in it as I and J's mother was present at the face to face conducted at J's flat.
J has already put in a Mandatory Reconsideration when the DLA was stopped as due procedure was not observed and he did not get any letters and DWP would not tell him which address they sent them to. Also we are waiting on a FOI request sent to MS Savage at PIP to seek dates , addresses and other information to challenge further. J has already lost almost 2 weeks on his appeal period so should we start with a Mandatory Reconsideration based on the inaccurate report? As readers will know someone like J does not have up to date reports or interventions we had to use his neuro-psychological and Ed psych reports and his educational statement information from his special school plus statements about how he is now to fill in the application form. He is working, trying to be independent in his own flat with a lot of support from us and friends and now has lost almost 4k because of the joint loss with Tax Credits. We are worried about him and are at a loss how we can prove he ought to at least be awarded the lower rates just to stay independent and mentally well?

Thank you Gordon, to clarify the initial MR was because the DLA was stopped but the letters seeking J to apply for PIP were not received. He got a letter in April advising him the DLA had ceased on 3rd of January. When he rang and I then had to speak to PIP/DWP they advised the dates that the letters were sent. However the letters were sent on dates that fell well withing the time limits as specified on their website i.e. not four weeks apart. The telephone numbers on the letters were incorrect so we were left on the phone waiting for a pick p up to 50 minutes three times before we spoke to anyone who would speak to us! They refused to tell J to which address the letters were sent to. The MR was sent requesting a reinstatement of DLA while a PIP application was submitted as due process was not followed by DWP. There has been no acknowledgment or reply to this MR.
I saw Dr Caroline Johnson MP at her local surgery and after taking brief details she later contacted to say as J was in another MP's area and the matter was about him we had to see her. I sent summary of events (too long to put in the forum here) to Karen Lee who drafted a letter to Esther McVey MP who delegated a reply from Ms Savage at PIP DWP. The reply was condescending to say the least and was factually incorrect. They claimed he had been visited and called but strangely no messages were left or card left seeking his contact them? This when I suggested an FOI to J so we could get facts about who sent what to where, when, and other information to use when tackling DWP later. J was assessed at his flat by a practitioner from Capita who worked in Adult service of some kind? Overall there has been consistent misinformation, blocking and time wasting on phones and rudeness. Very unprofessional and at worst designed to make people go away, give up and not get any help!! The decision letter took 2 weeks almost to arrive so has left very limited time to ask for the assessors report or construct n MR/appeal. Hope this has helped?

PP: It's usual to be left with only c two weeks to submit an MR as the date on the decision letter is c 10 days before it arrives. It's insufficient, but there you are...

You should get the MR in by the one-month date, however brief, as you can always submit further comment later, otherwise you risk it being rejected as out of time. You only need state that you request MR and, if you can, broadly why: perhaps what you most disagree with in the DM's comments and zero-scoring, advising that more detailed analysis will follow.

You can phone the request in but are advised also to write to ensure the request is recorded. Writing is also the better medium through which to state your case, rather than verbally.

If you're still gathering evidence on which to base your disagreement with the decision, state that it will be submitted in due course.

MRs seem to be taking about six weeks from request to MR outcome letter received. Yours may take longer if you're sending stuff in later.

At appeal appellants have gone from zero or few points to enhanced (12+ points), so all isn't lost, though with a zero-point start you have a steep hill to climb.

Looking at the PIP domains, Asperger's and MLD would seem to me to engage the following the most, with the others not necessarily (unless something like OCD present):

7. Communicating verbally.
a. Can express and understand verbal information unaided. 0 points.
b. Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to speak or hear. 2 points.
c. Needs communication support to be able to express or understand complex verbal information. 4 points.
d. Needs communication support to be able to express or understand basic verbal information. 8 points.
e. Cannot express or understand verbal information at all even with communication support. 12 points.

8. Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words.
a. Can read and understand basic and complex written information either unaided or using spectacles or contact lenses. 0 points.
b. Needs to use an aid or appliance, other than spectacles or contact lenses, to be able to read or understand either basic or complex written information. 2 points.
c. Needs prompting to be able to read or understand complex written information. 2 points.
d. Needs prompting to be able to read or understand basic written information. 4 points.
e. Cannot read or understand signs, symbols or words at all. 8 points.

9. Engaging with other people face to face.
a. Can engage with other people unaided. 0 points.
b. Needs prompting to be able to engage with other people. 2 points.
c. Needs social support to be able to engage with other people. 4 points.
d. Cannot engage with other people due to such engagement causing either –
(i) overwhelming
psychological distress to the claimant; or
(ii) the claimant to exhibit behaviour which would result in a substantial risk of harm to the claimant or another person. 8 points.

10. Making budgeting decisions.
a. Can manage complex budgeting decisions unaided. 0 points.
b. Needs prompting or assistance to be able to make complex budgeting decisions. 2 points.
c. Needs prompting or assistance to be able to make simple budgeting decisions. 4 points.
d. Cannot make any budgeting decisions at all. 6 points.

1. Planning and following journeys.
a. Can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided. 0 points.
b. Needs prompting to be able to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. 4 points.
c. Cannot plan the route of a journey. 8 points.
d. Cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person, assistance dog or orientation aid. 10 points.
e. Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. 10 points.
f. Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid. 12 points.

---

Hope it works out!