0 points for pip

Hi Sarah1984

I'm sorry this has happened to you. You say, 'what did I do wrong?'. You may have done nothing 'wrong', and it can be tricky for us to give you effective help as we don't know you or what you wrote - nor are we assessors. I will try to suggest a few pointers, but you may have already tried them.

The first thing you need to do is get hold of your assessment report (PA4) if you had a telephone assessment or a PA5 (of it was a paper-based assessment) so that you can understand how they came to their decision. You can ring the DWP and request this. Be aware if you didn't have a telephone assessment, they may argue that there is no record they can send you.

You have one month from the date on the decision letter to say that you want to put in for a Mandatory Reconsideration.

The DWP rarely notices an issue where a claimant doesn't have an official diagnosis. I understand what you are saying about difficulties with concentration, but you need to link that to your ADHD, anxiety and depression - not undiagnosed dyslexia. I'm not saying don't mention dyslexia; just the DWP may ignore it if you have made that a prominent issue.

When you applied for PIP, did you use our guides? If you didn't - I would try and go through it with your mother or nan and see how to answer specific questions. See if you did a similar thing. It's not enough to send in evidence unless you link it all to the specific criteria. I can tell from what you've written that you tried to do this, but see if there's anything that you missed out.

I would also get your mum and your nan to write supporting letters (If they didn't do so before). Your nan needs to explain why she needs to look after your finances. Make sure their letters cover the PIP criteria.

In terms of understanding complex information, I can understand why they have said you can (and I understand why that puzzles you). Even though you have difficulties with writing and reading, in terms of the DWP, you can put two sentences together and read them - so this is counted as being able to understand complex information. You said that you have help at work with reading and writing, and work has supported you in this - but you need to show how much it affects your life in terms of the specific PIP criteria.

For example, your mother manages your medication. Did you make it clear why you can't do this yourself? Examples could be: can't read the medicine labels, being too depressed or anxious to take the medication, or memory/concentration problems mean you can't remember whether or not you have had medication. You want to show that this is linked to your ADHD/ Depression and/or Anxiety if you don't give reasons for why your mum manages your medication - an assessor could assume that you choose to let her do it, rather than it's not safe for you to do it.

When you're filling in anything for the DWP, it's always best to assume that the person reading it knows nothing about your condition and sometimes you have to say things which would seem obvious to anyone with some understanding.

So the next action to take is to ring and ask for a PA4 or PA5 and say that you are going to put in for a mandatory reconsideration. You will have four weeks from the decision letter to do this, but you can also ask for an extension if you need more time.

Come back if you have any further questions.

BIS