Hi Just incase I get a telephone appintment, due to my severe social phobia, panic disorder and anxiety, can I ask CAB or some other organisation to speak on my behalf with permission? How would I do that in the timeframe before the Appintment? I dont have any friends to ask as I can't socialise with anyone. And I'm petrified if I speak on the speakerphone to a HP they will assune i can converse freely. Please advise. Thank you.
You are allowed to have support on a call, but unless someone is your official appointee - you will be expected to be on the call and probably do most of the talking. It does depend a bit on the assessor. Some assessors are happy to have someone do a lot of the talking, and others are not. (An appointee is someone the DWP has agreed can manage a person's benefits). You won't know their attitude before the assessment unless they ring you a few days before - and there is no guarantee they will. When you get the letter you could ring and ask.
You could ask to change from a telephone assessment to a paper-based assessment - but the DWP are generally reluctant to do this, and you would need to provide evidence that your panic disorder and anxiety would deteriorate if you were forced to do a telephone assessment. You may need a supporting letter from a medical professional to get this changed. I have only known a couple of people who successfully argued for that change without additional evidence from a doctor.
BIS
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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