Hello, I had the letter a few days ago. Applied roughly 2nd March. Assessment 19th August. Received the letter on the 29th September. I wasn't expecting the decision to be made so soon.
I'm happy that I have good news. I got awarded the standard rate of daily living, no mobility. From March 2014 till Feb 2017. That's a result I never expected to receive. It should help me with my health a lot. I felt quite emotional about it on the day I received the letter and cried a while. I understand it's rare PIP's awarded without being denied first, then having to appeal? The whole process was incredably stressful, especially the assessment itself.
Worth noting is that I was unable to collect much evidence because of conditional aspects; this was something I constantly had to underscore during the assessment. I was awarded PIP without having a doctor's medical letter, medical records, psychiatric notes to hand. [Also mentioned that when I finally got enough in me to ask my GP that she said she prefers to be asked directly.] I did hand over whatever I could find that seemed appropriate, but also detailed my personal notes about very severe symptoms/thoughts etc, which I felt uncomfortable discussing in front of my representative. I was uncomfortable discussing suicidal/violent ideation, for example, in front of others, so I put my thoughts onto paper and handed those over.
I think it's also worth noting that I have a paper trail with Rethink Mental Illness [recovery worker said she'd vouch for me, etc], have formerly been treated for depression, and am on the waiting list for proper mental health care with the local wellbeing service. Had I not been, I don't think I'd have been approved.
I guess this shows it's worth applying? Especially for someone like me where you can struggle to organise evidence.
Finally, I used the guide from Benefits and Work, and had magnificant help from other people. I'm very grateful to everyone here. Thank you.
