PIP f2f Assessment

I had my face-to-face assessment for PIP on 20th June. The nurse that carried out the assessment seemed to be really nice and understanding. The only thing I noticed during the assessment was that she was only writing down some things and ignoring much of what I was saying. She seemed to ignore me whenever I tried to talk about or explain my daily living or mobility problems. I was suspicious about this and so I requested a copy of her assessment report.

The report came this morning and I’m shocked by what the assessor has written. Many of the things she claims I said during the face-to-face are not true. In fact she even claims that I said the opposite of what I did say.

So, for example, she writes: “He reports that he is able to wash and bathe without any difficulty ... He states he will bathe regularly and likes to keep clean.” I remember being asked about bathing and how I really answered: I told her it is really difficult and painful to have a bath and so I do not bathe often. I explained my difficulties in some detail during the face-to-face and in my Claimant Questionnaire. But the assessor has written that I reported that I am able to bathe without any difficulty and on a regular basis.

The assessor made similar statements about all the daily living and mobility difficulties I have. She claims that I stated or reported that I don’t have problems with activities when I (1) told her that I have problems or (2) described my problems in my Claimants Questionnaire.

There are other errors in the report too. It, for example, claims that my consultation started on time – when it started late. It also says that my consultation ended later than it actually did. I did not have a 50 minute consultation as the report claims. At the time I estimated that it was around 30 minutes or less.

The assessment report does not give me any points and so I don’t expect to receive any points when I hear from the DWP. What should I do when that happens? Is there any point doing anything given that so much of the report is untrue? The assessor has written that I have stated or reported that I don’t have problems with any daily living or mobility activities when I have stated and/or reported – face-to-face or in the Claimant’s Questionnaire - that I have problems with most of them.

It seems to me that the assessor is either (1) really incompetent and has confused me with someone else or (2) has decided to ignore, discount and falsify what I have actually said and written about my problems. Is it possible to complain about the assessment? I am especially angry about the outright lies.

I am glad that I spotted and read this post.

benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum1?view=topic&catid=10&id=123079

It looks like I'm in a very similar position to the phrank.

I phoned the DWP (0800 121 4433) and said that I disagreed with much of the nurse's report. The gentleman I spoke to did not seem to be at all surprised that I was unhappy with the report. He suggested that I write in with my opinions about it. He also said that he would make a note to say that I would be doing so. I may still have time because the gentleman I spoke to said that they were still making decisions for assessments in late May.

I got my decision letter this morning - dated 10th July. It repeats what the assessor wrote in her report. It looks like the DWP ignored my comments about the assessor's report. So I got no points.

My daughters assessment was very similar. A very nice and pleasant nurse who we trusted to provide the information we had given. The assessment started one hour late and I am quite sure this was done deliberately to assess how my daughter coped during the waiting period as she suffers from anxiety and of course she passed this test with flying colors as I as her carer kept her calm and focused besides doubling up on her medication to enable her to attend. very little of the information that we had given was written down. we were only provided with a decision rather than a report and with the information we have gathered from this site we have now requested the full report. Im sure that will make an interesting read. I have also with the information here requested a mandatory reconsideration and followed that call with a written report although it is very difficult to challenge when you have no report to challenge it with. The methods that the assessors are using may be legal although they are far from moral and this makes the process far more difficult. This site is invaluable in moving the process forward. Good luck.