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mandatory reconsideration
- barbwh58
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7 years 2 months ago #180421 by barbwh58
mandatory reconsideration was created by barbwh58
Hi I've just gone through my assessment for my DLA to PIP and I remained on standard care and went down to standard mobility
so lost my car.
The assessment had been a total pack of lies and she omitted to mention that my son helped me to answer many of the questions.
They failed me on the distance I can walk they said I can walk 50 to 200 mtrs and that I can plan and follow a route unaided.
Although my son had to help me into the assessment centre and had to help in and out of a chair at 9 am in the morning I'm so stiff I can hardly move I have Fibromyalgia, Polymyalgia, osteoarthritis and have had 2 knee replacements within 12 months.
They said my son helping me is using an aid, but they then say I can plan and follow a route unaided.
They did say because I never appealed against the standard care that basically I'm a liar.
Should I appeal, I have had to buy a car as I couldn't go out otherwise and my son drives me and takes me everywhere I need to go (he's my carer).
They haven't taken into account the pain and fatigue I suffer after any type of activity but I don't want to loose what I've got
Any advice
so lost my car.
The assessment had been a total pack of lies and she omitted to mention that my son helped me to answer many of the questions.
They failed me on the distance I can walk they said I can walk 50 to 200 mtrs and that I can plan and follow a route unaided.
Although my son had to help me into the assessment centre and had to help in and out of a chair at 9 am in the morning I'm so stiff I can hardly move I have Fibromyalgia, Polymyalgia, osteoarthritis and have had 2 knee replacements within 12 months.
They said my son helping me is using an aid, but they then say I can plan and follow a route unaided.
They did say because I never appealed against the standard care that basically I'm a liar.
Should I appeal, I have had to buy a car as I couldn't go out otherwise and my son drives me and takes me everywhere I need to go (he's my carer).
They haven't taken into account the pain and fatigue I suffer after any type of activity but I don't want to loose what I've got
Any advice
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- Gordon
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7 years 2 months ago #180455 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic mandatory reconsideration
barbwh58
I'm sorry to hear that you have not received the award you hoped for.
Whether to challenge the Decision is something that only you can decide.
Thing to consider.
PIP was engineered to be a more difficult benefit to award, a lot of DLA claimants are going to receive reduced or even no award at all.
Secondly, how secure is your current award, for the Standard rates you need to have scored 8 points, so if your score were higher than this then you have a safety buffer if points are removed.
Secondly, are you reasonably able to score the extra points to give you an Enhanced award in either the Daily Living or Mobility components. Be harsh with your scoring as the DWP will be. Also, how many points do you need to score, if you already have 11 then getting a higher award will be easier (in principle), than if you only have 8 points and need to score another 4.
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.
Gordon
I'm sorry to hear that you have not received the award you hoped for.
Whether to challenge the Decision is something that only you can decide.
Thing to consider.
PIP was engineered to be a more difficult benefit to award, a lot of DLA claimants are going to receive reduced or even no award at all.
Secondly, how secure is your current award, for the Standard rates you need to have scored 8 points, so if your score were higher than this then you have a safety buffer if points are removed.
Secondly, are you reasonably able to score the extra points to give you an Enhanced award in either the Daily Living or Mobility components. Be harsh with your scoring as the DWP will be. Also, how many points do you need to score, if you already have 11 then getting a higher award will be easier (in principle), than if you only have 8 points and need to score another 4.
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.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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