Verian Extra Costs Review for PIP.

Hey everyone.

I have received my second request from this company today to try and get me to fill in this extra cost survey regarding how I spend my PIP. I am one who would loose my entitlement under the new 4 point rule as my health is generally very poor due to multiple complexed conditions. I got my award which is on going until 2029 as a result of a tribunal which overturned the original DWP decision after requesting a mandatory reconsideration, and like many of you I found the whole process was exhausting and degrading, but here we go again.

Anyway, is this right that they should ask you to complete a voluntary survey twice and ask you to contact them personally if you don't want to complete their form and would not like to engage in any further communication?

I could disclose the information on what I spend my money on, bhut is it really their business and should they be able to put people on the rack like this?

Has anyone else had this issue arise and if so could you please tell me how you are coping with this pressure and stress because it's really having a huge effect on my wellbeing at the moment.

Thanks for reassuring me. I am just worried because if it’s not compulsory I don’t understand why they are sending reminders. I say this because if you haven’t responded, to me it would indicate that you had chosen not to answer them. I also understand that many of the questions are pertinent to mobility which is not part of the benefit that would be affected, and because it’s a kind of vote for Joe format that it’s engineered to exclude things that are really relevant. They also state that answers will be added to your current PIP scores so it’s obviously not as anonymous as they are claiming.

Hi , I too have received a second letter reminding me that I had been chosen to take part in their Areas of Extra Cost Survey. It leans towards your answers being anonymous, with no one on my PIP assessment case seeing my answers, but then continues to say, the DWP research team will use the ID code to add some information they already hold about me, including my PIP scores! I am a stroke survivor suffering with many areas of disability, anxiety being a major one. It may sound silly, but the first letter really worried me, causing me a lot of stress which compounded my suffering and wellbeing. Receiving a fairly strongly worded reminder about a ‘voluntary’ survey has had a huge impact on me. I find it wrong that I should have to contact them to say I don’t want to be contacted by them again about the survey. Surely my lack of response should be enough to identify to them that I do not want to complete the survey. The lure of a £10 online gift is itself is a form of pressure. Something none of us need.
Thank you for having expressed your feelings, thoughts and advice on what to do regarding this survey. I am sorry that it has also affected you detrimentally, but I am relieved that it is not just me who has been made to feel this way.
Thank you and take care