Denied PIP for anxiety, depression & fatigue, what next

Hi galla2698

I'm sorry that you were not awarded PIP. It's up to you whether you put in for a Mandatory Reconsideration, but I can assure you that they never ask to see a claimant in person. An MR is a paper-based exercise carried out by a different decision-maker within the DWP.

It's hard to give you any advice when you haven't got the report. Try to remember that the assessor is offering an opinion and try to not take it personally. They don't know you and as rightly upset as you are, don't let it add to the difficulties you already have to battle with. Once you get the report, you will be able to see exactly what they said. I'm afraid you are not the only one to be shocked by a seemingly nice assessor, and I can guess one of the problems straight away: because you look after your two young children, she has made the judgment that you don't struggle. Complete rubbish of course and what you will have to do is refute what is in the report with the evidence.

Now I should warn you that MRs are not easy to win. Less than 39% are successful. However, more than 67% of Appeals are successful. I only tell you that because you will be in for a fight, but those that win always say it is worth it.

Have a look at the Guide to PIP Appeals - the information for Mandatory Reconsideration is inside. You have one month from the date on the decision letter to submit it. Remember you are the expert of your condition - not an assessor who has spoken to you once and knows little about your life.

BIS

Hi galla2698,
Don't worry about the 'cut off date'. Anyone has the automatic to send in an MR request within 1 month and it has to be considered. However the reality is, is that you can actually send in a late request up to 13 maths after the original decision. But you will need to show good cause. Wanting to have and actually having the evidence against you is totally reasonable, and indeed without this evidence you wouldn't know the full case against you. Hence you can put on a late request. If you are soon going to receive the report I suspect that you won't need to be very late, and I can't see any problem in saying that you wanted to read the report before making an MR request. This seems a totally valid reason for being late, especially if you are only a week or so past the initial date. Best thing is to get the report so you can hone down on all the important issues in the MR.
I hope this helps.
LL26