PIP appeal - appalling appeal writer's comments

Hi fmarcus,

I got the same comment (articulate) on my last PIP report. GAH! which pissed me off massively. On the assessment recording I obviously wasn't compos mentis (meds+no sleep, massive anxiety jitters, some depression-confusion), but I was pretty articulate. I wrote a very snarky complaint to IAS about it, along the lines of:

I gots da smarts, and B.Sc, M.Sc and 1/2 PhD from **awesome** unis.
Have had these conditions for 11 & 30yrs.
Know tons about drugs! (Dad ran pharmaceutical testing co).
Have had... Oooh, 7 assessments in 7yrs!
Had lotsa notes.

IAS ignored it (of course), but it was very satisfying.

I wrote a shorter and not-at-all snarky footnote about it in my tribunal submission. They commented that they saw the "articulate" thing a lot, and that if the claimant discredited the report (see below) they generally ignored it.

So if you're pretty sure that a tribunal would grant you those extra points, politely and briefly discredit the report. Something like, "HCP said I had no specialty input, but I was seeing <consultant> at the time, as demonstrated by evidence sent with the review form; see DWP bundle p.<bar>". Or maybe, "HCP said I attended alone and walked fine, but my partner supported me to walk/stand (see MyForm; DWP Bundle p.<hah>". Any big, provable mistake will do. No big mistakes? A non-snarky version of your 1st post, and maybe a note from a doc/carer/friend might do.

It's entirely reasonable to get Carer's and PIP/DLA at the same time, so long as you don't say, "I can't do <foo>" for PIP, but your caring duties include doing <foo>. You can point that out, briefly.

However, MR and tribunal submissions should focus on the reasons why you should get Descriptor <letter> on Question <number: cooking/bathing/walking/whatever>. Sure, you can briefly state why the assessor is wrong if you can prove it:
"The HP wrote that I can bathe without an aid because he failed to note that my left foot is actually an angry platypus".
But focus on:
- Why I <can't bathe without an aid>: "I'm unable to stand for more than a minute without severe pain due to having an angry platypus instead of a foot, so I use a bathing chair while bathing".
- Evidence for the above, linked to your condition(s): "My consultant/carer/whatever affirms this in <evidence> (p. blah of Bundle), in which he states,"Pedus-Platypitis is made much worse by any amount of standing, and Mx Claimant has a particularly grumpy platypus. I have never seen him stand for longer than a minute without a severe increase in pain".
- Which Descriptor you think you should get: "I should therefore get Descriptor <b: needs a aid...>".
- Examples of what happens when you try to bathe without the aid: "When my bathing chair broke last year I attempted to bathe without it. The platypus bit off the big toe of my other foot."

Wow. I'm really wordy tonight. Mod, feel free not to post this.

Hello Emma: A belated thank-you for your response. I sent the report to Royal Brit Legion, supporting me as ex-Forces, who said it was rubbish and discriminatory. Of course it is! I don't necessarily disagree with Gordon, who's advising from a practical perspective - but such comments are plain foolish, and someone, if not the claimant, should be calling them out as such...

You're correct that at MR/appeal an award can decrease as well as increase (though I suspect the former if fairly rare). There are some scenarios where appealing is roo risky, such as where one considers one was fortunate to receive points that could otherwise be withdrawn, or at or just over 8 or 12 points when is disputed (by DWP) descriptor could reduce one to the lower or no award. Advice or informed self-assessment's necessary in these cases as to whether appeal is little or nothing to lose, or risky.

I have an appeal in. DWP disputes the award of certain points but accepts that others should have been awarded, leaving me with no gain (ie, they are warning that they're seeking to withdraw some points). I'll see at appeal if the judge accepts the DWP's claim... In my case I calculate that there is nothing to lose and believe that I should have something to gain.

Best wishes and thanks,

Marcus