Recording discrepancies.

Hi Neil,
Unfortunately there are a lot of things that the assessors 'hear' but aren't actually said! I appreciate you want to get things right, but there may be another way, rather than have another assessment!
I'm assuming that you are still waiting for the actual decision? If so, then the next step would be to write a letter asking for a Mandatory Reconsideration. In the letter tell DWP the things you can not do, in particular if you are awarded zero or fewer points than you expected. It would be entirely appropriate to mention that the assessor has made fundamental errors, such as the novel reading you explained in your post. You could reference the recording. However, you do not state whether this is an official recording, or a covert one that you have made. Although it is not illegal to make a recording for your own (benefit) purposes, DWP do frown upon this! If the recording is an official one, then you could certainly refer to the recording and say eg ' at no point did I say to assessor that I was able to read books.Reading was discussed at 14.05 minutes from the start of the assessment, and I categorically denied being able to read books at that time. Reading was not discussed again.' There might be other errors too, but rather than mention what could be a very long list, you could say ' there are many fundamental errors in the report including...' and use the worst mistakes. You could also add that the assessor told me she was a physiotherapist, and it was clear she did not understand the full nature of my condition.

It is possible that you can make a complaint against the assessor. I know that it is sometimes possible to contact DWP now, and tell them that the are clear errors in the assessment report, and ask that they do not rely on this. This can work, if DWP have yet to make their decision, but if you do this, make it absolutely clear that you are just discussing the assessment report, and are NOT making a MR at that time. (There is a danger that you may confuse DWP by taking this approach!)
If you haven't already done so, please read the members guides, which contain a lot of useful information, about all aspects of claiming PIP.
Please look here: www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip

I hope this helps.

LL26

Hi Neil

Have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

Understand that the assessor and decision maker are offering an opinion when they say that you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said.

Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gary