Pip outcome

[Av41]

just received my pip out come I go 0 points and after reading the report there was so much lies in what I said. Absolutely devastated and basic because I can drive practically nothing wrong with me even though I drive short distances 😞

[CM1EDSUK]

I'm sorry you had such a poor outcome with your PIP claim, but don't despair, as many have been there.

Unfortunately some assessors will say that driving shows you have a good grip, have sufficient upper arm strength, & good cognitive abilities, etc. This is just one of their 'cut & paste' replies, & likely has no bearing on the difficulties you may face day to day. Please try to put this behind you.

Within a month of the date of your decision letter (tho up to 13 months with good reason) you can request a Mandatory Reconsideration where another decision maker will look at everything again, not just what an assessor has recommended. Please put this in writing, & don't ring up to ask for this. Ensure you put your name & National Insurance number on each page, & send it off with a free 'Certificate of posting' that you can get from a Post Office.

With this you should say exactly where you feel you should have gained points, & why. This is best illustrated by giving a couple of recent (at about the time of your assessment) examples about the difficulties you face for each applicable activity/descriptor , i.e. when did it happen, where, what happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing an activity such as fatigue/pain?

Say if you can do each applicable activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes you much longer than someone without your disability.

If you would, a little reading to understand more about PIP assessments would help: gov.uk/government/publicati... If nothing else please read the important section on 'Reliability' in section 2.2 as well as the info on fluctuating conditions. Remember PIP is about how you are the majority of the time.

[Cotswolds25121 in reply to CM1EDSUK]

Great advice

[CM1EDSUK in reply to Cotswolds25121]

Thank you

[Lillylilac]

Hi Av41Unfortunately DWP are like that. They think if you can drive then you can do anything. Did you get help to fill out the form? There are certain words you have to use in certain ways. I didn't know this when I did my husbands and he got 0 points. We got help for the second time and he got Enhanced for both.

I filled mine out and like you got 0 for both daily living and Enhanced. Had a MR which didn't change. They lied so much. So I took it too appeal and signed up to Benefits and work. You pay a fee about £15 a year but believe me it is money well spent. I ended up getting standard for both without needing to go to a tribunal.

I did my husbands and got him Enhanced for both. I did my daughters and got her Enhanced for both.

Please don't give up you deserve this it's not your fault you have got this awful syndrome.

Other people on here have had help from different sources like ,welfare rights, citizens advice, age UK. There is also a benefits helpline on this support group and advice and information which you will be able to get.

They try and trip you up anyway they can. If you can get to the assessment then you are ok. I phoned them saying I couldn't walk upstairs, which I can't so I had to have my assessment on the ground floor. I also got a taxi there which they paid for as I couldn't drive. I can sometimes but sometimes I can't.

Put in for an MR but please make sure you get help with it.

Good luck.

Love and hugs

Lily

[CM1EDSUK in reply to Lillylilac]

Yes, unfortunately the success rate with a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) is currently only about 23%, but it's the first stage that has to be gone through as you know. If a tribunal is then needed, the success rate is just over 70%.

Really only your own words are needed, & I know others will likely shoot me down, but it can't be proven that an assessor has lied (as you can't possibly know their intent), & they don't try to trip you up. The problem to my mind is that an assessor has to tick a box which they feel best describes the difficulty a person has. I do so wish they could rather write what their opinion actually is instead. It should be remembered that an assessor is not there to just write down verbatim what a claimant says, as there'd be little point in having an assessment otherwise.

As you mention, there's help from many various sources (& nothing the matter with Benefits & Work other than you have to pay). A person can search for local help here: advicelocal.uk/ a Welfare Rights Office being a good option.

I would politely argue that help isn't always needed; it's understanding the PIP criteria, & appreciating that there might have been gaps in a person's PIP claim form.

Imagine 20 people with fibro (or any other disorder), who'll all likely be affected differently. What brings their claim to life, really shows how their disability affects them as an individual, is giving their own detailed real life examples as to the difficulty they face doing/attempting any applicable activity/descriptor.

PIP is not about fibro, nor any other disorder, rather about your functional ability to reliably do any of the 12 descriptors that are looked at.

[Hidden in reply to CM1EDSUK]

I agree it should come from thee individual on their own capabilities different things affect different people

[Av41 in reply to CM1EDSUK]

Thank you for your comment I shall appeal.

[Farmerboy in reply to Lillylilac]

Hello good advice the Benefits and Work site is so full of information and well worth the annual fee/ subscription. I downloaded all relevant information as pdf files to my iPad and update them when needed. I’ve had F2F assessments both giving the expected results the third for a change of circumstances mobility I was awarded enhanced then another change of circumstances my awards was the same as previous. So having always requested a copy of the assessment report I read that the assessor has assumed or presumed that as I drove an automatic car and used mobility scooters I was capable of preforming all the daily living activities. Having sent information and evidence I requested an MR on receiving the official notification award letter. But having the report 6 weeks before the award letter arriving I prepared a 10 page A4 printed MR so when asked if I wanted to discuss it over the phone I informed them that my MR was being posted later that day. Within 3 weeks I had my award changed from 8 points to 14 for daily living ongoing award. Wording your replies I very important.

[Lillylilac in reply to Farmerboy]

I couldn't agree more!

[Meditationlover]

So sorry about that, it may be worth appealing xx

[Hazel_Angelstar Administrator FMA UK Staff]

You can contact our benefits team for guidelines on appealing

FMA UK benefits helpline information

[LaurieLee]

Hi, go to Fb group UK M.E. & Chronic Illness Benefits Group.

Don’t worry this happens a lot. They will advise you what to put re the driving.

You can fight by doing an MR.

[fibrogirl41]

I know how you feel i applied first time and got nowhere, then appealed got nowhere tried again due to it and anxiety and still got nowhere, i have given up myself but dont you give up and take others advice as i dont know much about it. I hope you get somwhere x

[Av41 in reply to fibrogirl41]

So did you not get pip? X

[Cotswolds25121 in reply to fibrogirl41]

Hi fibro girl, please don’t give up on it yourself. I have found many times in life in general that I try to help others by offering support and say go for it, whatever the situation as it seems so clear to me that they are obviously entitled to the support they need and yet when it comes to myself I doubt myself and feel how they do🤷‍♀️I hope that you are able to apply again in the near future and whatever it is that has held you back or caused you to feel that you are not worthy of the support becomes clearer to you and you will succeed in getting the support you deserve xx

[fibrogirl41 in reply to Cotswolds25121]

Thankyou x i hope so x😁

[fibrogirl41]

No unfortunatley x

[Av41]

sorry to hear that. 😞 x

[Blueoxo]

Hi. Please don’t despair, exactly the same thing happened to me. In addition to all the advice provided from others here, I looked at what they had said in the report and compared it to what I said originally on my application, setting the record straight. For example, they said that as I had a disabled daughter and could manage to look after her, I must be reasonably fit and well. I explained that yes she is disabled but I struggle with school runs etc and my elder daughter steps in when this is too much or I drive literally around the corner to drop her off. That was the point of my application. Just go through each point for the mandatory reconsideration and don’t let getting no points put you off. I nearly didnt bother but got annoyed when I was having a very particularly bad day and and asked for a reconsideration. Within a few weeks I was awarded standard rate pip. Good luck

[Sandra600]

I got no points last year after the assessor told lies and I can’t drive. She said I could grip a bannister and a mobile! Good luck

[Midori]

I can grip, but my knees are in a parlous state! If I fall, I am stuck on the floor until lifted.

I have to use melamine plates, etc now as my wrists are weakening.

Cheers, Midori

[Springvale23]

Sadly there are so many people defrauding the benefits system this results in accessors assuming we are trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

I was turned down for pip around 7 years ago. They said I was clean and tidy and kept eye contact.

I didn’t appeal. I had left work due to my illness and decided to take early retirement at a great financial hit. No one told me that as I wasn’t paying a national insurance amount I would loose out on my state pension. As it happened I was 7 years short of receiving 5he full state pension. I felt this was another symptom of being treated unfairly due to my illness.

[soppysokes]

Its a rotten thing to be assessed as not needing help and for so many that is very far from the case. The reason nowadays is due to so many ‘blagging the system’, reading online what the symptoms and signs are of their ‘chosen’ illness/disability and presenting themselves for assessment based on that. Therefor its said the assessors have to take that into account. Unfortunately that impacts so hard on the genuine claiments and doesnt do much to sort out the fraudulent ones. Hopefully on reassessment you will succeed.