- Posts: 3
× Members
Advice re PIP , Decision Letter
- little gem
- Topic Author
- Offline
Less More
5 years 11 months ago #219795 by little gem
Advice re PIP , Decision Letter was created by little gem
Hello,
I have been diagnosed by a rheumatologist with fibromyalgia and moderate to severe chronic fatigue syndrome and have had symptoms since 1993. Due to this I can not go out in public on my own ( I do go down a local country lane in my electric wheelchair to walk my dog) or use public transport. I have scored zero for planning a journey as they have said this is a cognitive assessment, I believe that the fbro and CFS are mental health issues as well as physical because of the range of symptoms.
The outcome is I have lost money as I have been awarded the standard rate only for both parts of PIP and with the help of a friend I am looking into asking for a mandatory reconsideration.
I queried the decision by phone and they said that I hold a full driving licence but Itold them on my written evidence that I havent driven since 2000 because of my condition.
Is there any advice you could give me on how to go about this please?
Kind regards
Christine
I have been diagnosed by a rheumatologist with fibromyalgia and moderate to severe chronic fatigue syndrome and have had symptoms since 1993. Due to this I can not go out in public on my own ( I do go down a local country lane in my electric wheelchair to walk my dog) or use public transport. I have scored zero for planning a journey as they have said this is a cognitive assessment, I believe that the fbro and CFS are mental health issues as well as physical because of the range of symptoms.
The outcome is I have lost money as I have been awarded the standard rate only for both parts of PIP and with the help of a friend I am looking into asking for a mandatory reconsideration.
I queried the decision by phone and they said that I hold a full driving licence but Itold them on my written evidence that I havent driven since 2000 because of my condition.
Is there any advice you could give me on how to go about this please?
Kind regards
Christine
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gordon
- Offline
Less More
- Posts: 51290
5 years 11 months ago #219818 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Advice re PIP , Decision Letter
C
I'm afraid you may struggle to score for the Going Out activity, certainly, at the MR stage, you may have more success at an appeal.
First, you need to decide how you are going to approach the activity as your post mentions two different problems which PIP treats as being mutually exclusive of each other
So you say that you Cannot Undertake a Journey and that you are Unable to Follow a Route, you need to decide which of these two issues you wish to pursue as you can only pursue one or the other. Given you say you walk your dog I don't think you will score for the former.
To score for being Unable to Follow a Route, you will need to do is show that you are cognitively affected on the majority of days, this may be difficult as both Fibromyalgia and CFS are seen as fluctuating conditions, so you may need to show a more frequent level of cognitive impairment to score.
Next, you will need to show that the cognitive impairment on those days is sufficient to prevent you from following a route and why this is the case. Can you give examples of when you were unable to follow a route and how you dealt with the situation at the time?
Don't rely on the Public Transport, the legally defined Descriptors make no reference to this requirement and we have seen Decision Makers deny points for this, conversely, holding a driving licence implies nothing about your going out
Have a look at our PIP Claim guide for a more detailed explanation of the issues.
Gordon
I'm afraid you may struggle to score for the Going Out activity, certainly, at the MR stage, you may have more success at an appeal.
First, you need to decide how you are going to approach the activity as your post mentions two different problems which PIP treats as being mutually exclusive of each other
So you say that you Cannot Undertake a Journey and that you are Unable to Follow a Route, you need to decide which of these two issues you wish to pursue as you can only pursue one or the other. Given you say you walk your dog I don't think you will score for the former.
To score for being Unable to Follow a Route, you will need to do is show that you are cognitively affected on the majority of days, this may be difficult as both Fibromyalgia and CFS are seen as fluctuating conditions, so you may need to show a more frequent level of cognitive impairment to score.
Next, you will need to show that the cognitive impairment on those days is sufficient to prevent you from following a route and why this is the case. Can you give examples of when you were unable to follow a route and how you dealt with the situation at the time?
Don't rely on the Public Transport, the legally defined Descriptors make no reference to this requirement and we have seen Decision Makers deny points for this, conversely, holding a driving licence implies nothing about your going out
Have a look at our PIP Claim guide for a more detailed explanation of the issues.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- little gem
- Topic Author
- Offline
Less More
- Posts: 3
5 years 11 months ago #219886 by little gem
Replied by little gem on topic Advice re PIP , Decision Letter
Thank you Gordon for your reply and advice.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Moderators: Gordon, Gary, BIS, Catherine, Wendy, Kelly, greekqueen, peter, Katherine, Super User, Chris, David