PIP timelines

Could anyone give me a ROUGH ESTIMATE as to the timeline for my PIP application please? I have today received a letter saying ive to phone them by 18th May if I want to claim PIP (my DLA is ending in Sept). So when should I phone them - now or nearer 18th May? What happens after that?I presume they send a form out right away? Then how long do I have to send it back? Then after Ive sent it back when will I have to go for an assessment, and then when do I get the results? I realise no one can give me an 'exact' answer but I would love to know peoples 'averages' if there is such a thing. Also I presume that if I do get awarded PIP (which I very much doubt!) I will lose the extra money I get on my ESA?? thanks

Hi Mumsgirl, I am slightly ahead of you in the same process. Told to ring them by 23 March. Actually rang 19 March. Received PIP2 about one week later. Sent it back five days before deadline by special delivery, but did not get a text saying that they received it until 1 day before deadline. Got a lovely invitation to an interrogation less than a week later, which will be next week, I wish you well, do a small bit every day from now on and you will be OK. Read all the guides carfully. I actually got the guide printed out because I found it easier to read that way.

Thank you Porridge. Can I ask when the deadline was? About a month after you got the form? I'm trying to do a wee bit every day but one of my problems is concentration/motivation/remembering lol. If I didn't laugh I would cry! Good luck with your interrogation (they make you feel 10 times worse, dont they!).

Mumsgirl, I know exactly what you mean about motivation and concentration. Just promise yourself you will give it a minimum of ten minutes a day, unless you are really ill, and you will be able to get a lot done rather than facing a mountain closer to the deadline. By the time the form arrived, the deadline was about three weeks away. I felt cheated by that and overwhelmed, but you've just got to be your own best friend gather what ever strengths you have and get on with it.

I went with as a companion with a friend to the face to face assessment recently. The day before I spent with her going through the questions which may be asked and which may not be asked. I role played being an assessor and asked her every question. This helped prepare my friend a little for the real assessment. Although I cannot say one is ever truly prepared. Not that they are trying to trick you of course, but just suggest that you stick to your descriptors that you wrote on your original form.
I noticed that the assessor asked my friend about hobbies. My friend's is reading and the assessor then asked my friend what she was reading at the moment. The assessor went off on a tangent about the book, which she knew well, so my friend was drawn into the discussion and seemingly having quite an intellectual discourse with the assessor. I sat there are could do nothing, but bite my tongue and I observe well. I am naturally mistrusting of these assessors! Anyway we shall see whether or not my friend's PIP transfer is successful or not.