Pip

Hi Mima

The first thng you need to do is ring the DWP and ask for a copy of your assessment report. It's called a PA4. When you have the assessors report, you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.

Gary, one of our moderators give this advice:

"I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and 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.

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; benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip

For the CRMR1 form to initiate your MR; www.gov.uk/government/publications/chall...ork-and-pensions-dwp"

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.

BIS

Hi Mima,
Yes, phone DWP PIP and ask for the PA4 form . You are entitled to see this so don't be fobbed off.
Have a look at the report. (Deep breath first, and strong coffee to hand!) As per BIS/Gary work out what you feel is inaccurate. Then see if you can formulate 4 or 5 bullet points to explain this. Give an example of the worst error within each bullet point heading.
Here's some possible examples
- the assessor was very abrupt and condescending throughout ; she told me only to say yes or no. In addition when I couldn't hear one of the questions because the phone was crackly, the assessor said 'I haven't got time to repeat questions, is it yes or no?'

OR
- the assessor has misrecorded much of what I have said ; for example at page 4 she says 'I walk to my mother's house each day...' This is absolutely not true. My mother lives in Liverpool, and I live in London.

OR
- the assessor does not understand my mental health conditions; the assessor is a physiotherapist, and does obviously have any specialist mental health qualifications. I have PTSD and the assessor repeatedly said that 'there is no cognitive problems', this is despite the letters from my Consultant who clearly refers to 'the serious cognitive effects' of the PTSD

Once you have worked out the 4 or 5 bullet points you can combine them into the MR letter.

I usually start a letter (always use Name/NI Number on each page) with a paragraph or 2 about your health, diagnosis, treatment, what's changed and generally what the effects are. You can explain medication ( the assessor may say you don't take medication or it's only basic meds - perhaps you can't take anything stronger as it complicates other health issues, maybe you've not yet seen the consultant for a review, maybe if you google bnf.nice.org.uk/ it will confirm that you are in fact on the highest dose!)

Then your bullets points - say eg that the assessment report should not be relied upon because.....
You could have a catch all bullet point at the bottom to say that eg the report has many basic spelling errors and grammatical errors, which confirms that there was a general lack of attention to details. (Definitely don't nit pick every spelling error - this isn't necessary, and DWP will get bored and not read the more important points you need to make.)

Then go through each descriptor - (you might want to revisit the members guides)
Eg Descriptor 1
I need supervision to be able to cook and prepare a simple meal. Due to my ADHD and personality disorder I am easily distracted and prone to injury in the kitchen. I have burnt myself on hot pans on many occasions because I simply do remember to use an oven cloth. I have left pans on the hob which have boiled dry. On one occasion the pan caught fire because I became distracted and forgot to turn it off etc etc
The assessor has ignored the consultant's report which explains that I become distracted and have very impulsive and reckless behaviour. The assessor states 'that the claimant does not take any medication, therefore can perform cooking tasks unaided.' and awards zero points.
This statement is wholly inaccurate, and should not be relied upon.
I always need supervision in order to prepare and cook food, and to remain safe. I should receive 4 pts -1e


Do this for all descriptors - here you can have a more focussed criticism of the assessment if required.
Don't forget to consider the 4 'reliability' criteria (Regulation 4(2A))
all 4 must apply
safety - reasonable time - repetition - acceptable standard
If your condition varies - you need to consider what happens for the majority of days.
I hope this helps - if you have any more specific queries please re-post
Let us know how you get on.
LL26