Advice needed please re; PIP

Hi everyone, I would be grateful if anyone can advise me on what to do in this situation or let me know if they have have a similar experience. The DWP are claiming that I've notified them of a change of circumstances but I most certainly haven't.

On the 04/11/17 I was awarded enhanced rate PIP for both care and mobility. This was awarded by the DWP and not via a tribunal. The award letter states that my award period is from 04/11/17 to 25/10/23. As I'm aware, the DWP contact you a year before your award end date to start the review process.. My letter states, 'We will also contact you while you're getting PIP to see if your needs have changed and to look at the amount you get. This will be after 25 October 2022.' This is all fine.....BUT......

I have now received a letter, dated 10/10/18, saying 'Thanks you for telling us your circumstances have changed' along with a PIP.1021 form to complete, as if it were a whole new claim. My initial reaction was, they've obviously contacted me in error, so I rang them and eventually got through to a case manager who said that it was an 'unplanned intervention'. He said, don't worry, it's fine, I can close it down and you can just throw the form in the bin. But then half an hour later, he called me back and said there had been a mistake and I do have to complete the form!!

Now, it is my understanding that the DWP are allowed to review your award at any time for any reason but aren't they supposed to send an AR1 form for this? If I complete the form and send it back then aren't I, in effect, admitting a change of circumstances? I understand that when you report a change of circumstances they are allowed to supersede the previous award. What is going on here? I have not been able to find a similar case online. Are they legally allowed to do this? There has been no change in my circumstances.

I have been in contact with my local labour MP's office where a member of his staff called the DWP on my behalf, but they told him I still have to complete the form. The MP has written them a strong worded letter explaining that I did not report a change of circumstance and given my vulnerable state has asked if a review at the current time is really necessary but they have not yet replied to his letter. I'm hoping that the MP can get this stopped but if not, I want to know what I should do next. Thanks.

Hi Gordon, Thank you for your response. The form they have sent me is more like a PIP2 form. Basically a whole new claim form. Surely if they want me to do a review then they should send me an Award Review form. Why are they allowed to do this when it was highlighted by both my doctor and another medical professional the significant negative impact that the PIP process has on my illnesses. That is the whole reason why they finally awarded me a longer term award.

Gordon, I understand that they can review an award at any time for any reason but in that case, should I not receive a AR1 form? By them claiming that I have reported a change of circumstances, doesn't that give them the right to supersede my previous award?

I have just called the DWP again to ask for an AR1 form and when I notified the call handler that I had not reported a change of circumstances, he just said that he would cancel the review and that I could ignore the form and throw it away. This is what I was told last week by someone else who then called me back to say I did have fill the form in! Can I trust them? If they haven't cancelled the review and I don't return the form in time, they will stop my payments.