My friend who has PIP was sent a letter in september 2020 to let her know her PIP was being extended and would be reviewed on 21 october 2021. Today she has received a letter with a PIP renewal form to be sent to them by 1 december 2020. This has thrown her into total confusion and meltdown. What kind of insanity is this in the middle of another lockdown likely to go on for months. This has got to be some administrative error?
The DWP are continuing with processing benefits regardless of the lockdown. The biggest difference is there are no face to face assessments taking place. The majority of assessments are telephone and some are paper-based.
I obviously haven't seen your friends letter, but the majority of extension letters just give an extension date to the award - they do not state when a claimant will be reviewed. (Theirs may be different). Even if they have said when they will review it is not binding and they can choose to review at any time they like.
PIP awards are reviewed a year before the award end date. More recently it has been about six months before the end - but the official notice is still a year before.
Therefore your friend has an award end date of Oct 21 and her review form has been sent out to her 10 months before. This is not an administrative error. A lot of members have been reporting similar letters.
The DWP are sending out extensions because there is a backlog and to ensure that people are not left without money, but the reviews can come out at any time.
BIS
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
