can I make changes to the original PIP claim form?

Hi I have only just joined this group so please bear with me if my questions have been discussed before. Sorry if this is abit of a long post,
In October 2014 I put in my husbands claim for PIP after being put in the support group of ESA. It was a benefits advisor at the jobcentre who said to do so, As I may then be able to claim carers allowance as my husband could not be safely left on his own for long periods of time.
Well after reading all the guidence I filled in the form, at this point he had not had any clear diagnosis for his condition( balance problems, fatigue /lethergy and most of all serious memory lapses)
I have POA so claim on his behalf, well he had an ATOS medical if you can call it that... and in January a letter arrived refusing his claim as according to the report he didn't have enough points awarded on discribers. Well the same week he saw the neurologist and memory clinic who found there was a decline in his memory and other issues and now they say he has early onset dementia with Lewy Bodies, he is nearly 59! so I wrote and asked for a manditory relook at claim as the ESA medical report and the PIP report had conflicting statements in them for one and that he was now diagnosed with DLB, well today a second refusal letter arrived... I will be seeking advice on Monday as regards appeal, so MY question is can I add information to the original claim to state he has got worse (even though I put this in the first mandatory letter) I have spoken to our GP and he will back us up on this but DWP have not contacted him at all, and if i get a letter from him there is a charge, last time it was £25, because I requested it not DWP. how unfair is that? I feel we should go to appeal so is the CAB any good at this being a new benefit? PIP that is. Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

Hi Petal and welcome to the site. This link should help you find your way around.

Welcome to Benefits and Work


I am sorry that you and your husband are going through this

I am afraid that the Mandatory Reconsideration/Appeal Tribunal can only look at your husband's condition as it was when the first decision was made, they cannot take into account any events since then.

It is the actual care/mobility needs that arise from the condition that give eligibility to PIP, not the diagnosis itself. If you can show that your husband's condition at the time of the first decision was such that he should have been entitled to the benefit, then you can proceed to appeal. If the decision goes in your favour money would be backdated to the onset of the claim.

If you feel that it would be easier to show that your husband now qualifies for PIP then you should make a new claim. Payment would start, if awarded the benefit, at the beginning of this claim.

You can actually do both - appeal and start a new claim but you should be aware that the decision on the reclaim would over-ride the appeal decision.

In any case, I would suggest that you have a good read of our PIP guides so that you can see how to present your case in the best way.

PIP help for claimants

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