More for the PIP files, not a rant but good information.

Some of you may know that I have had an epic trying to get a PIP assessment. A quick recap. I applied in June and had the first appointment date in August. I turned up and was told the assessment was cancelled. I was informed another appointment would be arranged. I phoned 6 weeks later for information about the appointment and was told my application had been ended because I had not turned up to the first interview. I proved that I had turned up the first time because I had signed in for the appointment, another assessment was made. I turned up for that one, had informed them well before that I had a serious problem with LED lighting, the staff were having an argument with each other but eventually started the assessment. They took me into a room full of bright LED lights. I was asked where my support worker was, I told them I don't have one, they tried to cancel the appointment because of that but continued. I started to get ill because of the lights and asked if we could go to another room or could they turn the lights off. They said the appointment had to be cancelled and they would arrange a home visit. A date was arranged and they did not turn up, I phoned capita and they said it had been cancelled a week earlier because there was a conflict of interest. They arranged another home appointment which was on friday. They phoned up to say they would be late. Then phoned to say they could not find the house. I went out and found the person and took her to my house. She stood outside and asked where my support worker was, I said I don't have a support worker. She said that because I got ill with LED lights I had to have one, I said I dont have LED lights in the house so it will be fine, she said she needed bright light to do her job, then said she had to call her office and walked along the road. I waited in the house and she did not come back. I phone her number, no answer, I left a message asking if the assessment was going ahead, I did not get a call back.

I phoned the DWP/ PIP and Capita and complained. Later that day a call came from Capita and confirmed the events of the whole process. I was called again later by a person who was investigating the situation. I was told that none of the reasons I had been given were company policy and all efforts should have been made to address the LED problem, there is no rule to have a support worker at any interview. Basically everything that the PIP assessors had done should never have happened. They were interested in the arguments between the staff in front of me and were also interested in 'the demeanour' of the staff. I was told that I will be assessed without any of the problems above within a week.

Lets see what happens next.

[cat3]

Having the whole of the debacle summarised really shows what a farcical business it is for anyone trying to navigate the benefits system. It's an absurd obstacle course which you'd suppose must be deliberately staged...... because no one can be THAT inefficient and unprofessional.

…..can they ?? 🥺

Fingers firmly crossed Pink.... x

[Hidden in reply to cat3]

For some reason I'm laughing, that's only the PIP part, to be fair the capacity for work assessment went really well, I got there and they turned off the lights in the waiting room and the assessment was done with no lights and the blinds drawn. Still hav'nt heard the results though.

My UC has been cancelled for the time being because I don't have a bank account anymore, (have had to go bust because I lived off plastic when I was really ill and can't afford the repayments anymore), any way when I get a new 'poverty persons account' I have to reapply for the UC and back date it to when it was cancelled. It will take up to 16 weeks to process, any PIP or disability award, if I get them, will also be stalled for that time too.

Dear dear dear, it's incredible how the new efficient UC system works.

My ex said I can live with her if it all goes tits up.

It's all a farce, like a faulty towers sketch. 'Basil I can't find the right tick box'.

Anyway the point I was making above in the post was that the capita assessors, here, seem to have made up their own rules that are different from company policy. Actually now I think about it that's wrong too, I'm being spun by the person investigating this and who told me that information. The cancellation of the first home visit was for the reason of a 'conflict of interest'. The people who made that decision, which was a week before the assessment, were not the local PIP assessors but from further up the chain, how would they know that it was a conflict of interest. The plot thickens. I will ask the investigator when she phones on Monday, I'll ask her to send me an e-copy of the original document and check the exif data to find the exact date it was written. There is another option here, it could have been written the day I complained because I got it in the post the day after that. Now that would be MP material, information created after the fact, posing as older information. Conspiracy, Mad Manic Laugh. I don't know why I waste my time.

Thanks for the comment Cat.

[cat3 in reply to Hidden]

Hard Times indeed.... good to know you have a safety net with your ex though. Keep laughing Pv. x

[Feebie8]

Dear God... 😮 what a complete balls up!! The amount of time you have to wait for any money is ridiculous, are they trying to push you over the edge?! I can't find any other words... will living with your ex take stress/pressure off you? 😮 ...

[Hidden in reply to Feebie8]

Luckily I am mostly laughing about the whole process now, I did get tied down with all the farsical nature of it. I was getting close to the edge at that time but as I have lost everything, more or less, now I see it as just a ridiculous system. I do scratch my head at the mentality of the people that work in this system, they must know what's going on. It's not just a job if they know that they are part of a system that discriminates and victimises the sick and vulnerable.

Me and my ex get on like a house on fire now we are apart but when it comes to toilet seats and toothbrushes we tend to disagree.

[Feebie8 in reply to Hidden]

Hi Pink 🤗

How are you?

Yea, they are a special kind of person!!

They like you to think that the people you are dealing with are all well versed health "professionals" who automatically give a shit but they aren't and they really don't.

[Nackapan]

Omg....I thought my daughters one was bald...well if was awful and we went to court. 2 rounds No Pip awarded

[Hidden in reply to Nackapan]

Thanks, its all a farce, I'll follow the process through but I've come to a point where it's not worth really thinking about, it's so negative and bad for health.

[Nackapan in reply to Hidden]

Yes very bad for health. Just try and get through the process. Take care.

My daughter got ESA based on contribution s

Gave up on PIp the injustice still gets t0 me but was making her more ill. You have to be fit to be ill to navigate it all.

Glad your ex still cares for you.

The irony is as I'm unfit to work to help our more.

[RecoveringH in reply to Nackapan]

Sorry to hear the application was making her more ill. Take a look at this document to better understand the PIP process.

assets.publishing.service.g...

Best wishes.

[sashaming1]

DWP, PIP and Capita? What are these?

[Hidden in reply to sashaming1]

They are agencies that deal with various aspects of modern social security, basically the dole and sick pay or disability benefit.

[RecoveringH in reply to sashaming1]

Sashaming

In the UK, DWP = Department of Work and Pensions. They issue money via the universal credit (UC) system to those who require financial support and seeking work. The UC standardised payments. More details at this link. theukrules.co.uk/rules/empl...

PIP = Personal independence Payment can help with extra costs where long term ill health or disability applies.

gov.uk/pip

Capita - the name of a company which carries out the service of PIP /ESA assessments on behalf of the Government. Atos is another company doing assessments. There was a review of the quality of this service in June 2018 as neither company were meeting targets.

More info at:

parliament.uk/business/comm...

For those interested to read more recent details published 13 December on PIP, Work Capability Assessments, ESA including statistical data:

gov.uk/government/latest?de...

Here is an interesting one looking at PIP 2013 - 2019

assets.publishing.service.g...

Excerpt:

Main disabling condition for people entitled to PIP (normal rules):

832,000 (36%) were recorded as having psychiatric disorders (which includes mixed anxiety and depressive disorders and mood disorders).

476,000(21%) were recorded as having a musculoskeletal disease (general) (which includes osteoarthritis).

Hope this helps.

Best wishes.

[Hidden in reply to RecoveringH]

Hi thanks, apparently it's hard to get anything except UC but you have to be looking for work. The others are for sick /disabled related issues. Most of these applications fail however 79% of these decisions are overturned on appeal. Are you in the UK?

[RecoveringH in reply to Hidden]

Pink Vision, I'm in the UK. According to the document pdf link I posted above PIP 2013 - 2019, on page 9 it states

Two thirds (66%) of the DWP decisions cleared at a tribunal hearing were “overturned”(which is where the decision is revised in favour of the customer).

Best wishes for your phone call tomorrow.

[RecoveringH in reply to Hidden]

Here is the link to the other pdf document with statistical information on

Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessments, Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals

assets.publishing.service.g...

[Hidden in reply to RecoveringH]

Hi thanks, the CAB are helping me navigate through all this. I was beginning to get quite ill with it all before, on a mental health level. Not good for BI recovery. My new rewiring now incorporates a mistrust and hatred for the state.

[Jacki66]

This is just shocking, disgusting, appalling!

[Hidden in reply to Jacki66]

Thanks Jacki66.

Hahaha, dear dear dear. So after Capita told me last friday that I would be assessed this week without fail I was phone this morning with an appointment. However there is no appointment, I was told there are no appointments for the foreseeable future. I burst out laughing on the phone, not sure why, this is all so silly like a bad comedy. It's almost like a battle of wills, they are there, hunkered up in the capita bunker working out bad ways to make sure they get their way.

Well I'm having none of it, I went down to my MP's office this morning and asked if this was something that they dealt with. After explaining the whole BI experience, including the NHS debacles and the problems with insurance and solicitors and with the DWP comedy show, the MP's clerk, with gleeful eyes said oh yes this is something we would definitely look into.

[Jacki66]

Please go for it. It's completely not on for you to be treated this way, or anybody else for that matter. I am utterly disgusted at how they show no regard for brain injuries and the sheer amount of effort for you to even begin dealing with this state of affairs. Shocking, shocking, shocking!

[Hidden in reply to Jacki66]

Hi just had a courtesy call from capita, had told them about the MP involvement, they said it will be sorted by Wednesday. Oddly enough I don't believe them.

[Jacki66]

I agree, but it's one step in the right direction. At least you have MP backup moving forward.

[Lynd]

This is the most bizarre set of circumstances I have ever heard.

Bizarre enough for the press to take an interest I think.

That might jolly them along.

[Hidden in reply to Lynd]

It's all totally bonkers, I would not believe it myself, but it's happening to me. I was called a little while ago by capita and informed that I do not have to attend an interview anymore and that they will conduct a paper assessment after contacting all the medical parties involved. I don't know what to think about that. Will they do a paper assessment? I don't think they will do anything at all.

I don't really care about this PIP, I don't even know what it is. It's the way everything has happened that's the issue. I know they are lying about reasons for cancelling earlier appointments, Capita themselves have admitted it. It's just the way they are brazenly going about it, I think they see brain injury written down and probably think you've gone dumb and can't respond and defend yourself. When I talk I sound like an idiot, or a Joey as some people call me, it just doesn't come out right, monotonal and a bit jumbled with an occasional bit of dribble. I've worked really hard getting myself back together on the inside and I'm now as sharp as a pin in most respects. In fact almost everyone I have had to deal with has treated me the same way, my old GP surgery, NHS, DWP, solicitors and insurance.

Anyway this fighting on is probably doing me the world of good cognitively but I won't know it till later on after all this is over.

[sealiphone in reply to Hidden]

I recognise what you say about professionals making presumptions about your abilities and actions based on their lack of knowledge and if something doesn’t work as they expect they can presume it’s because of your ‘faults’, this is usually not a conscious thought process but prejudiced by ‘common sense’ beliefs.

When a paper decision is made it’s usually because there is clear evidence that the person’s condition meet the criteria for the benefit to be awarded, and therefore a face to face assessment is not necessary.

The potential problem with them seeking further medical evidence is that the GP etc won’t know which particular aspect of your condition they need to know about.

If you have any medical reports, which you didn’t previously provide you should send them in now, the Neuropsychologist’s test scores are often the most informative. I would also make a brief mention of the fact that with the reasonable adjustments you'd proposed a face to face assessment would have been possible.

[Hidden in reply to sealiphone]

Hi I'm not sure you understand what I have written in this post. I have done everything they asked however they have cancelled every assessment, and seemed to be looking for any reason to cancel. The complaint department agreed that there was no acceptable reason at all for any of them to be cancelled. I provided all the adjustment information necessary well before the assessment dates. Following this the complaint department's promises for a new assessment were also broken which led to me going to my MP's office. After I informed them, capita, of the MP involvement they changed the assessment to paper form. It has nothing to do with the medical evidence they require, they already have it and have had it for 6 months. This is all so strange, I have not read anyone one else going through this nonsense. I don't think it is personal but there is something really odd going on here.

[sealiphone in reply to Hidden]

I did understand and it's certainly going wrong in terms of procedure. The steps you've taken so far appears to be the complaints procedure but as they seem to be set on processing your claim on paper evidence any more medical evidence you can supply should help them make the correct decision.

So now we're looking at what decision they make based on the evidence they have and how that evidence may support any dispute you may raise.

Medical evidence that doctors/consultant supply is frequently not especially helpful as it often doesn't address the prescribed activities contained within the PIP regulations. Therefore the more evidence you can supply, the greater chance some of it will tick a relevant box.

If you do send them more medical evidence making a reference to their refusal to do a face to face assessment can do no harm and may be helpful later. This is because we know it will be in your benefit claim paperwork rather than just a complaint you've made to Capita.

Therefore when Capita send the report to the DWP a Decision Maker will aware that this assessment may have less credibility than they would demand.

[Hidden in reply to sealiphone]

Hi thanks. I have a letter today for a home visit assessment on the 3/1/20. Will see how, or if this assessment goes ahead. My MP's office has also offered me an appointment for the 13/1/20.

[sealiphone in reply to Hidden]

That's good news, it seems.

Do remember that if you're not awarded what you're entitled to you can dispute it and most are successful when they go before the independent Tribunal.

It's always advisable to consider, in detail, how your symptoms impair your ability when it comes to the PIP activities. Info and guidance can be found here:

benefitsandwork.co.uk/perso...

[Hidden in reply to sealiphone]

Hi Cheers, the CAB had these as sheets to fill in before applying. I scored well over the required requirements. That was in June though, the first assessment should have been in August and I would have been more or less the same. After 3 cognitive therapy sessions I have recovered very well indeed. There are still issues but I think I will fail the test now. However if the actions in the sheet were to be performed in LED lighting I would perform most of the actions badly and score highly. One of the cancelled assessments was because I went into a panic response in the LED lights. It usually ends in fainting / blacking out and takes 3-5 days to recover from. Thanks for your advice and the info link.

[sealiphone in reply to Hidden]

For PIP the reduced ability or risk has to be there for majority of the time, so from what I understand you may well not qualify.

However these matters do need careful consideration, so the CAB should be able to give you a informed opinion once you receive the decision.

[Feebie8 in reply to Hidden]

Was THIS their intention? They fobbed you off until you recovered a bit more so that you are "too well" to claim??

[Hidden in reply to Feebie8]

Hi Feebie, doing well surprisingly, thanks. I'm thinking ahead, one more cognitive therapy session and I recon I'll be able to get back to work etc within limitations, light, noise and fatigue etc. I'll get another vision test once the sun comes out again and that should bring another improvement. Life is within touching distance, I'm just going to stay focused.

These people DWP etc have really got into my head, I hate them, all of them. I used to be a person that thought the system worked and if you got ill there was a safety net etc, I didn't believe what other people said about the system before, but now I know the reality.

Any way I've had enough of all this, time to move on.

How are you getting on?

[Feebie8 in reply to Hidden]

That is awesome!! Do you think maybe you could be heading into a new career of fighting to change the system that has shit on you time and time again?! Just a thought...higher calling and all that jazz!! I hope so! Your story needs to be heard. You have documented it so intensely on here that you can only change the system...

I hope when the sun comes out again you can turn your face into and bathe in peace and contentment and not recoil like a vampire from the 1800s! I really do!

How are you going to get through Christmas?

Awk I am just I don't know to be honest, I think I'm good... I am DEFINITELY not as activated and loads more peaceful, I love the emptiness of meditation right now so probably getting addicted to that!

I was at neuro physio on Wed and had a bit of a break through. I'm sure you've done the focusing exercises where you turn your head left/right and up/down with a metronome? On Wed it finally showed me my difficulty with multitasking in using my body in combination with my eyes which helps explain my continued struggle with the gym and other movement. I was able to feel a disconnection between my brain and body, where I lose control of my movement and my eyes go nuts but I was able to feel it. In order for me to understand something I believe I need to feel it and that opened my eyes. It has broken through this chaos to show me the effort I need to use just be able to walk while looking at...whatever let alone doing anything else and that I really have been battering myself into the ground...so, I too am looking forward but with a wee bit more understanding than I have done. I wish I could "feel" like I used to but I'm sure it's just another cycle of suffering away 😬😄 that's how we learn again right?!

[Hidden in reply to Feebie8]

I read your reply to Swedishblue, about your sleep patterns. I have a period called THE BIG SLEEP in my BI notes. My brain just shut down after 6 weeks post accident and I just slept and ate for 9 months. I did have a few days where I seemed to improve but only crashed again. I think this was an important time in recovering, the initial rest period. After that I started going out of the house but was hit by all the visual weirdness. That period I call the sensory overload time. After I got my glasses the sensory overload reduced greatly and lifted the fatigue, anxiety and stress. My recovery started for real at that time. Slowly but surely sleep reduced to about 10 hours, I could get about and do some shopping, my friend took me to help look after her horses a few days a week. That was good. Eventually, almost 2 years after the accident, I got a neuro-psychology assessment which identified cognitive issues. My brain injury unit have little funding and offer no services other than an assessment. I see you are having help with your awareness and balance, I discovered some really good advice from lectures given to staff at the American veterans association. It mixes mindful visualisation and activities. This is how I have helped myself recover. 'Tightrope' walking along an old railway line, day after day for weeks improved my awareness/attention, spacial awareness and balance. Walking barefoot on grass is really good too, it's focus based and some research suggests 'earthing' yourself with the planet reduces static electrical activity in the brain and reduces stress. You notice the difference if you do it for a week twice a day then just stop for a week. I learned to type and that improved my composition of information and it's structure in the written form and it had a positive effect in the spoken word too. I'm pretty good now but get a bit jumbled when the light sensitivity kicks in. Best way to get round this is to just go and have a kip or have a mindfulness session.

I have no plans to fight for 'justice' in any way shape or form at the moment. I've had enough of all of it. A big pile of mail from credit card companies came through the letter box today, more crap to deal with. (I'm in the process of going bust with the help of the CAB) If the DWP had given me sick etc and if my solicitor had collected the interim payment from my insurance, this would not be happening. I took my solicitor to the legal ombudsman for not representing me properly and I won. My medical records have all been updated and the medical assessments are being done again. I've got a medco-legal medical on 27/12/19, but this time the medical records will include the BI evidence. I can't believe my solicitor arranged my first medco assessments before I had been assessed for the BI by the NHS. The mind boggles.

Oddly having to go through loads of crap has helped with the cognitive aspects, because I have had to find a way to fight on and this stimulates the brain I imagine. You take care, I'm going to fill in all these forms now, there's 10 trees worth.