Lame PIP assessment recommends zero points

Hi there. I've not had a PIP decision yet but today I received my copy of the assessment report following my telephone assessment on 18th Aug. The report acknowledges my problems but recommends zero points be awarded, which is ridiculous and my comments on it are below. So I'm wondering, should I say anything to DWP now or wait for their decision and then challenge it?

The first part of the report is all rather positive and is 95% accurate in detailing my problems and how it affects my life. However, in the second part, where the assessor has to basically answer the PIP questionnaire questions how they think it should be answered, it's bull a mile deep; not in terms of outright lies but more of contradicting statements and skirting around the issues with vague excuses rather than addressing it.

In the second part there is only one activity which she said I have no problems with, which is reading and understanding written material - and that I agree with, and seemingly the only one she answered 100% accurately. For the other activities she acknowledges that I have problems and doesn't dare tick the box to say I don't have problems with that activity, and yet states I do not deserve any points for it, which is complete contradiction. In the reasons box she has largely copied, pasted and tweaked the same vague, silly excuses which mostly center around the fact that I haven't seen a CFS / ME specialist yet (she knows from my statements that's because my referral hasn't gone through yet and I've had the necessary blood tests but referrals processing is on hold for the time being) and that I'm not diagnosed or prescribed anything and that my Asperger's (high functioning autism) traits have not been officially acknowledged yet. So really she's saying I have problems doing the activities but I don't deserve points because I haven't exhausted my options and journey through the labyrinth of the medical establishment.

As an example of the contradictions in her report, with Activity 12 Moving Around she explicitly acknowledged that I cannot walk to places in a timely manner without pain or exhaustion (which is exactly what the PIP regulation focuses on), writing: "PIP2 suggests the claimant can stand and then move less than 20m, whilst the functional history suggests that a walk that should be 15 minutes takes him, 45 minutes due to pain and exhaustion and he has to rest for the majority of the day when he returns which is not to an acceptable, timely or reliable standard." Yet she ticks the option that I can more than 200 metres and says "Nonetheless the claimant does not have any specialist input for his chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), despite reporting that he has had the condition since 2009 he remains taking over the counter analgesia without any prescriptions, which suggests the severity of his condition to be manageable." That cracked me up. Seriously?

So it goes on and on like this for each activity. Acknowledging my problems but denying they have any impact on life.

At the end she ticks a box that says "The claimant has a mental, intellectual or cognitive impairment and may need additional support to comply with future claim processes". I've no idea what that is supposed to mean but it sounds like it's implying I'm not even competent to handle my PIP claim - well, if that's true how come I'm perfectly competent at daily living and mobility?

Unless I've misunderstood it, I cannot be said to walk 200m if it causes pain or severe exhaustion? She admits that my 45 minute walk to the shop meets PIP regulations and is not able to be done to a satisfactory standard, but seems to then ignore those regulations and say I can walk 200 metres. That's illogical, surely?

I'm not sure how to undermine the report other than to point out the obvious, that she has seemingly not taken into account the PIP regulations that the activity must be completed without pain or severe exhaustion and to a timely, repeatable and acceptable standard.

What's bizarre is a lot of the time she is not denying my limitations, but is saying there's no evidence because I haven't had an appointment with a specialist yet. How do I counter the absurdity of that argument?

I did try to contact the local DIAL group for disability advice but they are not answering their email or phone, so maybe they are shutdown at the moment. On a side note, I was a bit taken aback and bemused to see porn adverts on their national website; I'm not offended by sexuality but blimey, that's not exactly what you'd call a family friendly website.

Anyway, today I received my decision letter from the DWP - which was amazingly quick considering how long they usually take with things - and they have awarded me zero points. The explanation of their decision essentially says they are politely calling me a liar and that there's no evidence of my condition or its impact on my life, despite me having told them what my GP has done so far and that specialist referrals are not being processed right now. So with DIAL not being available I've phoned Citizens Advice and they will be calling sometime soon to assist with my mandatory reconsideration. I could make a shot of it by myself but I would feel much better if I can get some professional support with it.

With the help of an adviser at Citizens Advice I submitted a mandatory reconsideration request, highlighting that I survive on ready meals & cold tinned food and that I have to sit down to dress / undress thus using the bed as an aid. The lady said she'd done quite a number of PIP appeals and was good at it, so I can only assume she knows what she's talking about. Anyway, the reconsideration notice came back with zero points and denied the validity of anything I've said, saying that there's no evidence of what I say. It seems that just because my GP says I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome doesn't count for anything and they want a report from a specialist, which is difficult to acquire because specialist referrals are very slow (which has been pointed out to the DWP but they don't care).

The CAB lady said she will answer any questions I have and advise as best as she can but doesn't think she can represent me or add anything useful to an appeal seeing as I can express myself well, and she had this to say about the reconsideration notice:

I can't advise you whether or not to go for an appeal - that has to be your decision and obviously any help you might need I can give you. Because you have not even received any points on the MR, the appeal is going to need to be very detailed and thorough and taking into account all that you have sent them already, I don't feel there is anything I can add.

Having read your MRN I have to say it looks pretty hopeless. Usually there is something we can pick up on and expand but it looks as though they've been very thorough and left no loopholes for us to use. As I said before, I cannot make a decision for you as to whether you pursue the appeal - that has to be your decision.

I feel that you have already sent them everything you can and that without further medical reports there is no more evidence that they would find acceptable.

As I said before, you could leave it a few months and make a new claim, especially if by then you have had some medical intervention.

I've no idea how long my referral for chronic fatigue will take and even if it goes through there is no cure or medical intervention available per se, just support services to help you cope with it.

This month my GP also diagnosed me with fibromyalgia but the CAB lady says I can't include that in my appeal because the DWP would say it's a new condition since my application, even though the aches and pains started before my claim started. As with CFS there's no treatment and my GP just gave me a printed out leaflet describing FM, mentioning hydrotherapy and listed local community support groups, and sent me off on my way. My GP said there's no point prescribing stronger pain meds because they don't usually work with FM - she did offer me amitriptyline on the basis it helps some people but I don't want to take it due the serious side effects, drug dependency and brain chemistry changes it causes.

This month I also started a referral for adult autism assessment but my GP said the waiting list is about 6-12 months. So it could be at least a year before I have an official report on my lifelong autism problems.

So it seems I have very little chance of getting any money for my conditions and even if by some miracle I get anything I'd have to go through it all over again when I inform them of my FM as an additional condition, and a third time when I eventually provide proof of autism. So it's all rather crap and it seems I'll have to give up on 2-3 years of payments until I have all my referrals and assessments done. Pfft, feel it's very unfair but such is life.