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PIP Reviewed to Nil. What Now?

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3 years 10 months ago #260441 by Diane Hogg
PIP Reviewed to Nil. What Now? was created by Diane Hogg
I completed my review form for PIP in February and had a telephone consult last month, letter came through today saying my PIP has been reduced to Nil, they have considered my stress, anxiety and Multiple Sclerosis to be okay now that I can do everything for myself and that I'm in good health...... can anyone help me what do I do now, there was one part of letter which made me think WTF it said he could hear no sign of fatigue on the phone how the hell is that possible... idiot.

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3 years 10 months ago #260447 by BIS
Replied by BIS on topic PIP Reviewed to Nil. What Now?
Hi Dianne

I am so sorry this has happened to you. A lot of members have reported being told that they didn't sound fatigued on the phone. I agree with your assessment. The person is an idiot! I loved to see a definition of what someone sounds like when they're fatigued!

The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, 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

You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report (PA4) if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.

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;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

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.

BIS

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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3 years 10 months ago #260449 by Diane Hogg
Replied by Diane Hogg on topic PIP Reviewed to Nil. What Now?
I have the guides up just now, looking at Mandatory Reconsideration, going to fight tooth an nail for this, determined not going to put back on shelf again.

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3 years 10 months ago #260450 by denby
Replied by denby on topic PIP Reviewed to Nil. What Now?
Diane, just so sorry for you having been abused in this way.
For new readers, this is why it is key to
A] insist on a recorded assessment no matter how long they make you wait, and
B] ask for the PA4 form as soon as 48 hours from the phone assessment are up.
If you possibly can manage to do these two things, it can hugely reduce the stress and anxiety of the process down the line. IMHO DWP and its assessment agents treat people this way at the start knowing they will put off a proportion of claimants from taking it further, thus believing they will save the Government money. So, see it as a game and one you can very probably win if you keep going. Right is on your side!!!
Best wishes, Denby

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3 years 10 months ago #260454 by phrank
Replied by phrank on topic PIP Reviewed to Nil. What Now?
Hi Diane,

So sorry to hear of your plight. If I were you once you've got the assessor's report, is to determine their profession (if they didn't tell you this when they phoned).

Unless they have any specialist knowledge (eg clairvoyant) I'd nip that suggestion in the bud for a start.

Something like this. (obviously in your own words).

'In my opinion the assessor wasn't professionally qualified to form an opiinion on my levels of fatigue, especially as it was over the phone, and therefore is unfairly attempting to mislead the Decision Maker into coming to the wrong conclusion.'

I used this kind of approach for my last assessment at the MR stage and I got there in the end.

Hope this helps in some way.

Phrank.
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