if PIP assessor report is inaccurate, and PIP lost, is appeal hopeless?

Hi Faith

Are PIP assessment reports sometimes inaccurate? Yes, quite often, but how often we have no idea because all our evidence is anecdotal - i.e., based on individuals' observations that we cannot verify.

Do the assessors lie about what a claimant has said? Yes, but it is sometime difficult to know whether an assessor has deliberately lied or they were mistaken. One way to try and stop this from happening is to request that your assessment is recorded and make a recording of the assessment yourself.

If there is a dispute over what is said - do the DWP always take the side of the assessor? The majority of the time they do, but that is why it is important to have a recording. We always suggest people make their own covert recording even if they have requested the assessor to make one as some people have found that something goes wrong with the equipment.

Do people ever get their decisions overturned if their award is downgraded or they lose it altogether? Yes, they do. While only 27% of Mandatory Reconsiderations are successful, over 67% of Appeals are successful. We have many members who have challenged their awards and won.

Faith, I know you are scared stiff, but to try and give a balanced view, I should point out that there are plenty of people who successfully get the awards they wanted at their first attempt. They won't necessarily get the points they were expecting, but that is simply because the assessor gives their 'opinion' and that is not one that always matches what the claimant thinks they should have scored. Although there are some unpleasant assessors - in my view, the majority of them are professionals trying to do a good job in an imperfect system. For your own sake, try not to go through the process assuming you are going to be cheated. Bad news travels much faster on the internet than good news. Look at the Guide to PIP Claims and Reviews, and you can find out the types of questions you will be asked at your assessment and prepare for it.

BIS

Hi Faith

If you are having a telephone assessment in your own home, it is perfectly acceptable for you to have your phone on loud speaker and make a recording of the conversation without asking the assessor's permission. The DWP won't look at a transcript of that recorded conversation for a Mandatory Reconsideration, but you could certainly say that you have one and contradict what an assessor has said. They will accept a transcript and a copy of the recording at a Tribunal. What you can't do is post a copy of the transcript or any part of it on any social media site.

The reason why we advise you to make a covert copy, i.e., a secret recording, is that some assessors don't like ot be recorded, and if they realise you are recording, they may decide to stop the assessment. Now, a couple of members have reported that they told the assessor they were going to record, and the assessor was happy for them to go ahead. It's up to you.

Plenty of people rely on the assessor making a recording, but many have found they never received a copy, with excuses that something was wrong with the equipment, that the copy was lost, or that a recording was never requested.

BIS