Pip denied

Hi Mrs T

Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gary

Hi Mrs T

I would send in anything to help with your claim, if you informed the assessor that you were waiting for an appointment and you now have appointments then send in copy of your appointment(s). Lots of claimants have struggled to get appointments or appointments have been cancelled due to Covid-19.

If you have anyone who helps you on a regular basis with personal care needs, get them to write a supporting letter stating what support they give you and why they give you the support, they will also need to add their name and address and sign the letter.

Gary

Mrs T

It depends on the counselling, my GP surgery has a Wellbeing clinic, if this is what you mean then the assessor may be dismissing this as not seeing a specialist, have you explained exactly what "counselling" you are receiving?

If you attended the hospital on your own then this would suggest that you can follow a route to a familiar place, I know you say that you only do this a couple of times a year so what about the rest of the year? Are you unable to follow a route or do you not need to go out? What about an unfamiliar route?

You will need to explain in detail why you cannot follow a route, you don't mention a sensory or cognitive problem so you will be relying on showing a mental health issue, this will require you to experience "overwhelming psychological distress" and that this OPD prevents you from continuing to follow a route.

There is a small window for you to write to the Decision Maker but you will need to be quick.

Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say that you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said.

Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.

Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.

Make sure that your letter makes it clear that you are not requesting a Mandatory Reconsideration but you reserve the right to do so once a Decision has been made.

Gordon