PIP Appeal

Hi Lethargic7430

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum.

By the sound of your post, you may have done an out of time online appeal, from your post I do not know if you have contacted PIP and ask for a copy of the assessors report called a PA4, if you have not yet done so, I would encourage you to get a copy.

When you have the assessors report, you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.

I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.

Remember it is as you were when you had the assessment, not how you are now.

Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' 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, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.

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.

If you are unsuccessful with your out of time mandatory reconsideration, then your next stage would be to appeal the decision, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide; benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip

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

Hi Lethargic7430,
Just to let you know, the list of 'excuses' that DWP have provided as reasons for not awarding benefit are common place. DWP appear not to understand conditions such a bi-polar or ADHD, and continually dredge out repetitious stock phrases. (I am hoping that this will bring some crumb of comfort, so you don't feel that it is a personal attack on you by DWP, even though it may well feel that way.)
Please follow Gary's suggestion and have a look at the guides. I always suggest that a claimant needs to perform an analysis for each descriptor set. You need to consider what happens for the majority of days, so a better day won't preclude an award of benefit.
Think about the activity - most of the descriptors in a set are cumulative - some like dressing apply to different areas,but several of the set have the same points, but the analysis can still be done for each.
Can you perform the general activity involved within the descriptor set - if not why - consider the effects of pain, lack of mobility, breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety etc
Could a gadget (aid/appliance) help?
Do you need a person to help?
What help does the gadget/person provide - why is it needed?
Can you perform the task, safely ie without a risk of eg cutting yourself, having a fit in the bath and drowning, choking, falling over etc as appropriate - if there is a constant risk of substantial harm even though the actual harm happens seldom, this can indicate a need (under PIP legislation) for supervision/assistance from a person. (The likely scenario here would be unpredictable epileptic fits that could occur anytime, but actually don't occur often. However, this is not just for fits, it could apply to health condition.)
Can you do the activity to an acceptable standard - basically if the task is done messily, dangerously (can be overlap with safety here), or eg food is burnt or undercooked, clothes are put on the wrong way round, not done up etc could all be unacceptable. Significant pain, breathlessness, fatigue etc could all comprise being unacceptable.
Reasonable time - ie more than the time for non-disabled person to take.
Repetition - as many times across the whole day as reasonably required. Different repetition per each activity. Cooking could be 3 or 4 times, toilet needs, say 10 times, more if incontinence, but communication could be 24/7. If you can't repeat each task, unless it is for a trivial amount of time, then you haven't 'repeated' and that day will then count towards your 'majority of days'.
All 4 criteria must apply.
So... if the gadget means you can now perform the task safely, acceptably etc then this is the relevant descriptor level. If only a person allows you to fulfil the criteria then assistance/supervision/support will be the right level.
If the amount of assistance etc given is so much that you aren't really doing the task, then it is likely that you 'can't do' the task - normally the maximum points in the set. Or, that you are still too slow, or unsafe etc then again you 'can't do'.
With descriptors such as dressing just consider each individual descriptor in the same way.
If you are able to fulfil one or more descriptor levels in the set, then the correct score should be the highest, when every one is equally valid, or the most prevalent if unequal. You can aggregate descriptors in a set to achieve the 51% of days if need be.
Hopefully by doing this type of analysis you will be confident at which level points should be awarded. Explain the help you need and why, give examples of what goes wrong, how you feel, and for how long.
Often having more than one health condition will co-relate with another. Think how the bi-polar and ADHD affect each other. Maybe you can't take certain medicine/dose due to interaction. Remember to explain exactly how it is for you. (And this may be another place where DWP will get it wrong. Their reference list might perhaps say people with ADHD can do X, a separate list might say people with bi-polar can do X, but having both conditions together is actually what prevents you doing X.
Anyway good luck.
Let us know how you get on.
I hope this helps.
Wishing you a happy Christmas.
LL26