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PIP 0 points - next step?

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6 years 4 months ago #200598 by Kat10
PIP 0 points - next step? was created by Kat10
Hello, I would be very grateful for any advice on what follows. I have been receiving PIP daily living allowance at the standard rate for approximately 2 years. I was recently called up for a review and asked to attend the medical. I received the results of this last week and informed I received 0 points for mobility (same as 2 years ago) but also 0 points for daily living. My health problems are chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic migraine, chronic lyme disease, thyroid illness, and probable PTSD; and my main symptoms are sensory overload (intolerant to noise, movement, light, and certain visual environments (eg clutter and/or certain visual patterns can significantly increase symptoms and make me have to remove myself from that situation or suffer a backlash for hours and/or sometimes days). Other symptoms are persistent aura/racing mind (part of migraine), head pressure, pain and fatigue (now mainly mental e.g. getting confused, difficulty processing what is around me, mentally very tired and often needing to rest for several hours a day). In the ruling, there was also no mention of the fact that I am under any consultants (namely, an endocrinologist, neurologist and chronic fatigue clinic); nor was there any acknowledgement of how the above symptoms impact my daily life and that I need to do things in a very quiet environment and graded (e.g. having a shower can sometimes require rest for a couple of hours, family members need to organise things for me as I find getting things out of drawers/cupboards difficult as it can cause processing/migraine symptoms), I go out of the house in the morning to avoid domestic noise, and wear headphones to reduce amount of noise. In addition, despite my saying I suffered from vertigo/dizziness, it was reported there were no evident signs of dizziness because I was able to stand up and move reasonably. It also stated I don't need any help with medication and failed to acknowledge that a family member organises medication and supplements for me. My question is, I am not sure what my next step should be (especially as I don't feel that my symptoms match up to their check list) and would be grateful for any suggestions. I am not saying that I should definitely continue to qualify for PIP, as I have made some marginal improvements over the last couple of years, but it does seem wrong that the ruling made doesn't at least acknowledge the above. Apologies for the long post. I hope it makes sense. Thank you

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6 years 4 months ago #200604 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic PIP 0 points - next step?
Kat

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 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.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: Kat10

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6 years 4 months ago #200651 by Kat10
Replied by Kat10 on topic PIP 0 points - next step?
Thank you so much Gorden for your comprehensive and helpful reply:). I will do as you suggest and come back when I have gone through my claim.

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