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PIP Renewal Award

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4 years 1 month ago #257014 by i8plumjam
PIP Renewal Award was created by i8plumjam
Just got my renewal award and I'm unsure how to proceed. Firstly my award hasn't changed in respect of payment but its the time award given. I previously had an award for 5 years and before that was on DLA (Mob) for a lifetime award. This new award is from Feb t2021 to Jan 2023 but says I'll be contacted anytime from Jan 2022 for reassessment. My condition has deteriorated somewhat and since the form went in in Nov 2020, I have been given a further diagnosis of Fibromyalgia in Jan this year, which I duly told the Atos lady in my telephone assessment.
The assessor at DWP has stated her reasons for the award but has duplicated herself in her reasons with absolutely no natural flow of relevance to descriptors that would go hand in hand.. She has decided that because I have a grab rail and could fill out the form that I had dexterity and strength and so decided to penalise me . Also she said that because I was able to get into a car, she assumed that with the right aids Id be able to get into a bath! (this is something that the ATOS lady was obsessed with in my 3hour assessment, yet I told her that I had to have my bath replaced with a walk in shower as could no longer get in or out of the bath!
My question is I suppose should I ask for a MR or just accept what Ive been given for now and wait for my next review? I feel angry at the lack of considerations and her assumptions made yet am aware that my award could be retracted given the drastic economic Covid climate .
I really struggle with these forms. My Physical and MH is all over the shop and shows in my answers on them. I read all the advice but the length of time needed too fill them in with such detail and accuracy combined with having Brain fog and despair just gets written off so many times. Its so unfair!
My original claim for DLA and Inv benefit/ESA stems from 1988 til present.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks and sorry for the rant.
The following user(s) said Thank You: denby, VIA

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4 years 1 month ago - 4 years 1 month ago #257047 by BIS
Replied by BIS on topic PIP Renewal Award
Hi i8plumjam

Try not to focus on the fact you originally had a lifetime award for DLA. An awful lot of claimants did (which is why they wanted to introduce a new benefit) and it is well known that PIP is harder to obtain. Many claimants have found that their DLA bears little relationship to any PIP award they may get - especially in terms of the length of the award.

Re: the length of your PIP award. Unfortunately, PIP awards are getting shorter and although the ongoing awards exist a lot of claimants are finding themselves with 2, 3 or 5 year awards. Your latest one is two years and it is common practice for them to send out a review form a year before the end of the award - hence the Jan 2022 date. If you were to put in for a Mandatory Reconsideration - you could request a longer award date - but only a handful of members have been successful in this.

Should you put in for an MR? I can't answer that for you. You know your conditions and the struggles you have with the activities laid down in the PIP criteria. If you choose to do so, you need to focus on the areas where you hoped to score points but you didn't. Do you need to put in a further explanation to clarify the difficulties you have or correct the assessor's assumptions or their incorrect information? You can argue about the incorrect information regarding having a bath, but the important thing is actually - how you manage in the shower - are you safe (eg pain, brain fog etc) , can you use it reliably, are you much slower.... Do you require assistance (even if you don't have it) ? etc

BIS

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 4 years 1 month ago by BIS.
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4 years 1 month ago #257048 by i8plumjam
Replied by i8plumjam on topic PIP Renewal Award
Thanks for the reply. I have requested a copy of the telephone assessment to check against the DM report and will make a decision then. It's so frustrating when people make assumptions about you when they don't know you or haven't seen you and yet are the 3rd person in line with information, yet they are the ones to make the decision.
I can see why many people just throw in the towel with it all, being constantly ground down, having to constantly battle to prove yourself, yet made to feel like a liar for what you put on the forms, especially when you have complex conditions. It's soul destroying!
Thanks again for the advice.

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4 years 1 month ago #257294 by i8plumjam
Replied by i8plumjam on topic PIP Renewal Award
Hi. Ive just received the report from the telephone assessment and having looked through it carefully, there are a lot of discrepancies in her report that was not said on the day at the assessment. Also on the front she lists all of the documentation that she used. I sent in medical letters and reports from 2017 onwards as these were after my last F2F assessment in 2016. She states that she looked at the letters from 2017 and 2018 but not used them. She also said she used my last PA4 from 2016 and PA5 2017 (Mandatory recon report).
Are these allowed to be used as this was a PIP Review after the initial migration from DLA to PIP in 2016? It seems that she has used the old reports to write and bulk out the new report for the recent telephone assessment !
I only have until Friday to request a MR but I'm still unsure of what to do now as now I'm thinking and looking at the situation from a "Review " point of view without hardly any of the up to date information being considered. All of the 'appeared calm, tone, not agitated etc etc where the same as my PA4 from the F2F in 2016 when this was a telephone assessment! How could she know? As I previously asked, should I consider a MR or stick with the award albeit a shorter award and hope the next review is a face to face assessment?
Please can you advise once again?
Thanks in advance

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4 years 1 month ago #257298 by Catherine
Replied by Catherine on topic PIP Renewal Award
Hello i8plumjam

I am sorry that you are so frustrated with what has happened. They are allowed to look at old reports and letters, although you don’t say whether or not they also looked at the moment recent evidence you sent in.

I know you are hoping for a clear steer from us as to what you should do, but BIS was spot on, this is something only you can decide.

BIS wrote: Hi i8plumjam

Try not to focus on the fact you originally had a lifetime award for DLA. An awful lot of claimants did (which is why they wanted to introduce a new benefit) and it is well known that PIP is harder to obtain. Many claimants have found that their DLA bears little relationship to any PIP award they may get - especially in terms of the length of the award.

Re: the length of your PIP award. Unfortunately, PIP awards are getting shorter and although the ongoing awards exist a lot of claimants are finding themselves with 2, 3 or 5 year awards. Your latest one is two years and it is common practice for them to send out a review form a year before the end of the award - hence the Jan 2022 date. If you were to put in for a Mandatory Reconsideration - you could request a longer award date - but only a handful of members have been successful in this.

Should you put in for an MR? I can't answer that for you. You know your conditions and the struggles you have with the activities laid down in the PIP criteria. If you choose to do so, you need to focus on the areas where you hoped to score points but you didn't. Do you need to put in a further explanation to clarify the difficulties you have or correct the assessor's assumptions or their incorrect information? You can argue about the incorrect information regarding having a bath, but the important thing is actually - how you manage in the shower - are you safe (eg pain, brain fog etc) , can you use it reliably, are you much slower.... Do you require assistance (even if you don't have it) ? etc

BIS


If you do make a last minute decision to apply for MR you can always send in the best letter you are able to, making sure that it gets to them by the deadline, and then send in additional information as soon as possible afterwards.

Catherine

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: i8plumjam

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4 years 1 month ago #257315 by denby
Replied by denby on topic PIP Renewal Award
Hello I8plumjam [oh and I do love your handle!], I just want to send you masses and masses of sympathetic e-hugs and commiseration at the sh---y way you have been treated. Oh, you are soo not alone! Whatever you do this time, at least you will know now next time to get the assessment report ASAP ie 2 days after the phonecall. This would allow you to contest all the errors before the decision. .
To me [albeit not a Mod] it sounds like you have plenty of strong arguments; it's just a question of whether you can muster the strength to take the so-and-sos on. Remember not many people get a decision changed at MR, but over three-quarters do at appeal. And all the how-to is in the Guide here in detail.
best wishes, Denby
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