PIP Agoraphobia

Thanks Gordon, I have just phoned them and ask for a copy to be sent - they told me it would take 4 weeks! I told them I wanted it to help with the MR and that had to be returned within that time. I was told to wait for the phone call and then see if that person could speed it up.

Don't wait for the report if that would mean being late getting the MR request submitted! You can always say that you will add more detail once you have a copy of the report.

Despite being told that my assessment report would take four weeks, I received it today.

It's very hard for me to know how to approach the MR. When I filled out my forms for PIP I think I gave a pretty reasonable explanation of how my condition affects me. It seems to me that it was in the home assessment where Atos created the opportunity to try and downplay and dismiss the situation for it's own agenda. There are not only quite a few incorrect statements and half-truths, but also there seems to be a willingness to downplay certain aspects - for instance, it states that I was 'well kempt' and didn't look tired or anxious but was tearful. In actual fact I was exhausted because I hadn't slept well in sheer anticipation/terror of the assessment (I was not invited to say how I was feeling), had been panicking and even sick twice that morning through fear, had not washed myself, clean my teeth and had dirty hair. Was wearing the same top I had had on for the last few days, and it was stained and pretty threadbare in places and had holes down it. From the very start all the way through I was breaking down sobbing, as I was so anxious and distressed by the situation. This is just one example. But do I say this in my MR or is this doing to be a 'they claim/you claim' exercise. I just don't know how much more I can say that I didn't already cover in the original claim. It seems it was their own conclusion to the assessment that they are basing their decision on.

Hi Solitude,

I understand that the temptation is to argue every bit of the assessor's report that is inaccurate. However, discrediting the report will not, in itself, get you a PIP award. You will only do this by showing how/why you match the descriptors.

Try not to get into a 'he said, she said' situation especially in matters of opinion. It is much easier to argue fact.

If you feel that you have already made a good case, and sent in supporting documents, then all you can do is draw the DM's attention to this.

hi .
my report was very similar to yours by sounds of it ,,i was so upset reading mine as it was like i was reading someone elses report not mine,.. ,i wouldnt get to upset and anxious over sending in a MR , if you feel uve coverd basicaly everything you can ,,just write a formal letter stating that you disagree with the decision and that your requesting a MR , if you have any further evidence you could send you culd put that in with it ,make sure u keep a copy for yourself though ,,, it not often they change decision on a MR of what ive seen on this forum ,, so dont get to dissapointed if it stays the same ,, you will be able to appeal against it if you decided to go to tribunal,,. ime most certainly appealing and waiting for a date to come through now ,, .hope you do get a good result from your MR.. wishing you good luck,.
alison,

Update: I spend a good while reading all the helpful articles on here and, with a very supportive GP letter, wrote a letter which was more suitable for addressing all the points. I even had help from a kind individual who had experience with helping people with PIP in her professional career, and she sent everything off for me. A few weeks later I received a letter from DWP saying that, due to no new information, they were going to stick by their original decision, which awarded me 0 for everything. I phoned them and discovered that they didn't have the paperwork on file, despite it having been sent (I didn't post it myself and found out that it hadn't been sent recorded delivery). I explained the situation and told them that I would have it resent immediately, this time recorded, and they said that they would consider whether or not they would reopen the MR once they had it. Just received a phone call to say that, although the second letter has not yet gone on file, that they would NOT reconsider and that I would have to go to a tribunal. I was told that they couldn't have lost the first letter because although they used to lose many letters in the past, their new system prevents that. I told them how stressful a tribunal would be and would they please just wait for the replacement letter to come, but they wouldn't yield.


I have decided not to ask for a tribunal and to just drop this now as this has had much more of an affect on my mental health than I would ever have predicted. Thank you for all your help on here, this is a great website.