Pip review taking its time

So much valuable information b &w forum wished I had knew from this site a year ago so now subscribed for a year.

Received my pip letter May 21 saying your pip will end may 22 you do not need to contact us , I received my review to fill in got to return by July 16 21 gets a letter saying not received , phoned in still not received must chuck them in a pile until got time to read , left it a week they now have it !

By Christmas 21 still no reply thought leave it no news is good news.

Contacted again middle January 22 “ it’s in a backlog due to covid “ and with a assessor at Xmas ..no letters to date.

Still no news end feb 22 it’s in a back log ! Getting quiet anxious now waiting for a brown letter to arrive

I then received benefits paperwork from housing and council tax saying my pip was to end may 16 “ you do not qualify “ in big bold letters talk about being kicked when your down sort of thing.

I contacted pip again this time and at the same time I was changing my employment as had issues with the work place as would’t replace assistant to help so had to do all the work , blame covid ! the work exhausted me to the point I had to go to bed and stay there till I had recovered, I have arthritis and fibromyalgia developed dupuytren’s contracture sure work caused it to develop ! Plus other ailments , pip said they would fast track my review.

In the mean time of changing employment my tax credits stopped , my lifeline to help with rent food and bills. ! So have to make a claim with U /C will be worse off , only with U/C they expect you to do more hours I am currently on 16 hrs a week too exhausted to do more ! Didn’t expect T/ C to stop , yet another letter from benefits ! Your tax credits is cancelled!

After making U/C claim I had another letter from benefits my pip now ends 20 th August 22 so looks like pip has extended my review till it gets sorted from the back log , not bad will be 13 months for a review ! Must be the longest what I’ve heard. Sorry for moaning and such a long read.

In the meantime I am very stressed and exhausted with all this , am having to take sick leave.

Sorry to hear you having such a hard time.Sometimes it feels like everything goes wrong at once but hang on in there.Hopefully it will begin to sort out for you soon.Meanwhile there are some very supportive mods and advisors on here who will be able to advise you much better than I - Good Luck!

Dear Myluckycharm, I am beginning to join those who suspect that covid is being used as a big fat excuse for all sorts of poor service to put it politely.
I do feel if you can find any help, even if it is no-win/no-fee like Kester Disability Rights, who did well for another forum member some time ago and are at least trustworthy, you could have grounds for legal claim against your old employer for failure to make reasonable adjustments [Equality Act 2010 I think] and /or for causing you medical harm.
Hopefully the guides here for ESA will help you navigate your way to the correct UC group so you will not be forced to work more than your health will stand.
Best wishes, Denby

Hi Myluckycharm,

I am so sorry to hear about what you are having to go through.

I would advise that you get in touch with your MP outlining the severe delays with your review and how it's affecting your other benefits. Plus, the detrimental impact this delay and uncertainty are having on your health. Please ask a friend or a family member to help you with the email - be to the point (timeline) and how it's affecting your health.

If you don't know who your MP is, you can find out here www.theyworkforyou.com

I hope the above is of some help and that you get a fast and positive result.

Best wishes,

Josh