How long should I have to wait for my PIP claim???

Hi Gill

Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

We have heard of a few horror stories hear on the forum. It used to be 6-8 weeks to hear but since Covid it varies depending where you live.

On the positive side, now you have had your assessment you need to contact DWP and ask for a copy of the assessors report called a PA4. When you get the report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker may come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.

There is a small window for you to write to the Decision Maker to correct any errors in the report but you will need to be quick.

I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why the report is incorrect 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.

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.

Make sure that your letter makes it clear that you are not requesting a Mandatory Reconsideration but you reserve the right to do so once a Decision has been made.

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, half way down the page 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

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