Assessment Issue & Problem with the PIP enquiry telephone line

Hello

I had a PIP video assessment booked and two hours before the appointment CAPITA telephoned to say the assessor had called in sick and they needed to reschedule. I agreed to a telephone assessment two days later.

On the agreed date, the assessor duly called and I asked if the call could be recorded. She seemed a bit flustered but said yes but she would have to read me out a legal statement first.

After being put on hold she returned to me to say she couldn’t find the required script and as an aside commented that she had looked at my notes the night before and that the 1 hour slot needed to be a 2 hour slot as there was too much to cover in an hour. She further asserted that she thought a two hour assessment would be arduous for me and that my husband should request to be made an “Appointee.” She gave a telephone number to call but that turned out to be the wrong department.

After Googling all we could come up with was the enquiry line number.

My husband made 12 calls in succession. Each time, after going through the “press number 2 for…., press number 5 for….” etc. etc. an automated message said “we know you are waiting, as soon as the next operative is available we will connect you” and then music played followed by a repeat of the spiel then the line was promptly cut dead! He went through the rigmarole 12 times and gave up.

I emailed complaints at CAPITA and explained the phone issue on that morning. It’s been 10 days now and no reply from CAPITA regarding the complaint about the phone line and no communication from them about a further assessment date.

Can anyone advise what I should be doing? Are they waiting for my husband to be made an “Appointee” first? Have they pushed me to the back of the queue? Have they dismissed my claim because I’ve not had a successful assessment despite two attempts?

Thank you.