PIP Home Assessment (Capita)

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on what to expect from a PIP home assessment? I’m due to have one this week and I’m feeling quite anxious about it.
I’ve read through the guide on this site which has been really helpful in giving me an idea of what kinds of questions they might ask but I’m not sure if the assessment being in my home changes anything.
Is there a possibility they’ll ask to see other rooms in my home or should it just be exactly like it would be in an assessment centre? I read some advice somewhere that you’re being assessed before they even ask you any questions - if this is true, is it best that (for example) someone else answers the door and brings the assessor into the house? Apologies if that seems overly paranoid, I don’t have anything to hide or any desire to ‘trick’ the assessor into believing I’m worse than I am but I also don’t want to inadvertently do something that will cause them to make assumptions before I’ve even answered a question (if that makes sense!).

If it’s relevant/helpful, I’m in a Capita area and have both mental (anxiety, depression, OCD) and physical disabilities.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

WeeUnicorn, you are not being paranoid. Every moment the assessor is on or around your property you should consider yourself as being under observation (even before/after the interview actually officially takes place), and anything you say or do - especially if inconsistent with what you've said on the forms - may be noted down, so yes, it might be worth getting someone else to open the front door. I think it's possible the assessor might want to look around to get an idea of layout and maybe how you get from A to B, and possibly also see if you have any adaptations etc. that might back up your claim of physical disabilities. Do remember also that if you're at home you may feel a bit more relaxed, and some of your conditions may not show up as clearly as they otherwise might.

Hi again,

I just wanted to come back to say thank you for the advice - I had my home assessment this week and it wasn't anywhere near as traumatic an experience as I expected. It certainly wasn't a pleasant experience but I think that was more to do with the process and need for assessment than anything the assessor said or did.

Just for anyone reading this in the future before a home assessment, in my case at least, the assessor made no attempt to see other rooms of the house. The people accompanying me showed her into the room we chose to do the assessment in and there was no mention of wanting to see anywhere else. As I said though, maybe this depends on the assessor or the claimant's individual circumstances.

I obviously don't have the report or the decision yet so I'm not assuming that the result will be positive, however nice the assessor was! I'm just glad that this assessment is over and that I didn't have anything like the horrible experiences that I've read about with others.

In terms of requesting a copy of the assessor's report, when should I do that? Do I need to wait for the letter with the decision or can I request it a certain number of days after the assessment? I think I've seen some people mention getting a text to say DWP have their report - is that when I should request a copy?

Thanks again for the help and for the guides.

Hi, had a home assessment on 20th February ,was told I would get a result within six weeks but still waiting, has anyone got any idea of why it's taking so long? It's very worrying.