Applying for PIP - is it worth it?

tillyenna

Perhaps quoting myself is a little bit narcissistic, but hey

tillyenna wrote: »

p.s. Andy (I may not have been here long, but I know who you are...) I appreciate that you do not believe M.E. exists, that's fine, please ignore this thread and move on mmmkay? :-D

What I was trying to say was: we know that you have issues around other people claiming, and how yours is the One Twoo Way of Being Disabled


HOWEVER


I posted this thread so I could receive some HELPFUL ADVICE (which none of yours has been I might add) and so if anyone else was in a similar position to me and too afraid of the trolls (yes, I received multiple PMs with advice from people who were in a similar situation, but too scared of the meanies on this board to do anything... and rightly so!) then they too could read this board and get some helpful advice


So forgive me for paraphrasing, because I am going to repeat what I sorely hope you were taught as a child:


"If you don't have anything helpful to say, don't say anything at all"




To the rest of you: I have never met any of you, and by God I love each and every one of you, you're all FANTASTIC.

Morglin

tinkledom wrote: »

Then I must be one of the unlucky ones as for all of my initial claims (3) for various benefits and most of my renewals (10 out of a total of 11 renewals) they have resulted in a face to face assessment with the DWP's Medical Services office.


IIDB (all six claims) - 1 initial and 5 renewals) - 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2012


DLA the initial one in 1995, then renewals at 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2012. There was no face to face assessment in 2004



ESA the initial one in 2010 and the renewal in 2013

As you have stated, on another thread, that a lot of your problems are mental health ones, perhaps your forms and evidence didn't convince them of the validity of your claim, and the wanted to check with face to face.

But, hey, I'm convinced you have mental health issues, so it's a pity that I am no longer a DM.

Lin

Morglin

tinkledom wrote: »

You can't call that representative of the whole UK scenario!

No, but added to other forums, and people I know that have claimed it, anecdotally the favourable decisions seem to be outweighing the rejections.

Forums are rarely 'representative' because they tend to only show the problems people have, not the 'good' results.

Lin

tinkledom

Parva wrote: »

Spending a few hours answering forms for DLA and ESA with absolute HONESTY has meant that I am now in year 3 on the highest rates for both without ever having been to any medical. I am not afraid of the day the form to claim for PiP comes through the letterbox. I appreciate that at some point I may have to face a medical and I am fine with that. Sitting back and resigning yourself to the fact that you might lose so don't bother trying is a ridiculous attitude.



I hope you don't mind me answering each paragraph. It is easier for me to do it that way.
I'm glad for you as you must be a genuine claimant who has problems/needs far far beyond what my problems are.
I try to deal with things from a point of doing what is necessary and leaving the rest where I have no hope.
As for PIP, I have self tested myself with the descriptors in a honest way, trying to look at it how the DWP would see it. My opinion is such that I know I am likely to be awarded 4 points for getting around and 0 for care. You need a minimum of 8 for the standard rate and 12 for the enhanced rate. I cannot see that in a month of Sundays ever being awarded those number of points.
So knowing that, I resign myself to having my DLA(HRM &MRC) removed and not being awarded PIP.
Obviously I do have more faith in the AA procedure which is similar to the care element of DLA and will be making a claim when the DLA is removed.

As for speculative applications, these only serve to have me spend hours/days filling out forms where I know I will not get an award as well as causing additional workload for the DWP when we already know that they are already at breaking point without people putting in speculative claims.

My main ailment is likely enough to qualify me for PiP or (as currently) the highest rates for DLA and ESA but I also include details of a secondary ailment I suffer which whilst not related to the main problem certainly exacerbates it. Why would I not include details of that issue when it does have a big impact in my everyday life? Your best weapon is to explain ALL issues that affect your everyday ability to live life to the full, to omit this is foolish at best.


Like you, I know which illness/condition/disability is more likely to see an award being made. My view is then why complicate the matter by adding more to the claim than is necessary. Each of the three benefit claims that I have made stand alone on three different conditions.

DLA - my spinal problems, my PAD and Peripheral neuropathy. Those give me the HRM & MRC.

IIDB - only my mental health problems are relevant Up until 2004 I was assessed as 80% disabled. From 2004 I am assessed as only 40% disabled.

ESA - all of the complications relating to Chronic Pancreatitis including infected and diseased pancreas, thrombosis/collaterals etc. These alone (as they were the only ones put on the sick notes by the GP) were enough to see me put in the Support Group from 2009 (when I first claimed). I would admit that the ESA assessor at the first face to face took it to mean that for the whole of the section relating to mental health issues, I wrote across each page - 'Not relevant to this particular condition', that I did not have any and never had any mental health problems. I obviously put the DWP right about that by referring them to the long standing IIDB award which was given for only mental health issues. They accepted that the assessor had 'made an unfortunate mistake'.

I hope that answers your points. I try to avoid things in life that aren't worth fighting for, but concentrating on those that I know I can win. Speculative benefit claims only add to my stress and to the workload of the DWP.

tinkledom

TOBRUK wrote: »

I find your reply to my post bizarre. I agree with Parva:
As Parva said, you don't 'choose' just one ailment, otherwise how are they to understand how your day to day life is affected?

Most of us here don't 'choose' to apply for ESA, we have no choice. If you are not well enough to work there is no choice whether to apply for ESA or not, it is something you have to do if you have no other income. You don't pick and choose, it is something you have to do. If you have more than one illness or condition you let them know if it is relevant, you don't just pick one!

You obviously don't need to apply for any benefit with your attitude, if you, as you said if you have more important things to do with your time you obviously don't need the benefit.

I have tried to answer the same points you bring up with the above.


Of course you choose to claim a benefit, nobody forces you!
I claim because I believe that I am justifiably entitled to an award. If I didn't think that and it was purely a speculative claim, what is the point in putting myself through hours and days in trying to fill out the form?


Why do you want to mix all of your conditions together? If I did that and tried to write about all of the permutations caused by each and every one including the medication I take, I will be spending half my life filling out A4 sheets by the dozens for each benefit claim.
There is only so much that I can do - I therefore have to tailor the time I have available to deal with those matters that are winnable.


To overly complicate a claim form to that extent could so easily put the DM off and lose interest.


As for 'picking' the one for the ESA claim. I didn't do that, the GP did. The sick notes aren't big enough for all of my illnesses/disabilities to be included. So the important one for that particular claim was believed by the GP to be Chronic Pancreatitis as per what he wrote on the certificates.


Do I need to claim any of the benefits? Is that important? Surely it is more important to first justify to myself that I am entitled to claim them and secondly is the effort in claiming them going to be justified by the level of any award made if any.


I just don't agree with putting a claim in for any and everything, justified or not, and then seeing what happens. If you do that, then you must have a lot more time available to do that than I have.

TOBRUK

tinkledom wrote: »

I have tried to answer the same points you bring up with the above.


Of course you choose to claim a benefit, nobody forces you!
I claim because I believe that I am justifiably entitled to an award. If I didn't think that and it was purely a speculative claim, what is the point in putting myself through hours and days in trying to fill out the form?

Tinkledom, WHAT PLANET ARE YOU ON?! I think you are trying to misunderstand (or pretending to), other posters here know exactly what I was saying (and others have said the same) when I answered your previous posts with regard claiming ESA - when I said that some have no choice whether to claim or not, I did mean that there is no choice because when you have no income you either make a claim for jobseekers benefit (if unemployed) OR make a claim for ESA if you are unfit for employment - to make it clear for you, it would be one or the other. Doing this is nothing to do with looking at descriptors (I think you are obsessed with descriptors) and testing yourself (WHY?!) to see what your odds are! eh?!

Why do you want to mix all of your conditions together? If I did that and tried to write about all of the permutations caused by each and every one including the medication I take, I will be spending half my life filling out A4 sheets by the dozens for each benefit claim.
There is only so much that I can do - I therefore have to tailor the time I have available to deal with those matters that are winnable.

To overly complicate a claim form to that extent could so easily put the DM off and lose interest.

If other illnesses or conditions you have are relevant to your claim ofcourse you write them down - some may be are set off by another illness for example. You don't complicate things if you write it down clearly. If you are unsuccessful and you disagree with their decision then you let them know and appeal. I didn't appeal their decision thinking that I may not win, you just do what you believe is right. My appeal was successful like many others.

As for 'picking' the one for the ESA claim. I didn't do that, the GP did. The sick notes aren't big enough for all of my illnesses/disabilities to be included. So the important one for that particular claim was believed by the GP to be Chronic Pancreatitis as per what he wrote on the certificates.

Agh, fairplay to your GP! Even if your GP told you to claim ESA - YOU CHOSE TO APPLY! Otherwise how would you live if you couldn't work! You had to fill in the ESA form and answer all the relevant questions even with 'sick notes'!

I just don't agree with putting a claim in for any and everything, justified or not, and then seeing what happens. If you do that, then you must have a lot more time available to do that than I
have.

This last statement you made just shows that you do not read posts correctly. I have never told anyone to make a claim for anything and everything you can nor have others on this thread! We have only been discussing ESA and then DLA/PIP, and trying to help tillyenna who was asking about PIP because she is suffering with M.E. (oh yes, we know what you think about it!) but then someone here bombarded the thread with unhepful comments. Poor tillyenna is relatively new to this forum and to have her thread filled with unhelpful comments is despicable. Yes Andy ... .it can only be the troll - this is a word I hardly ever use, but well ... what else is there to say!

925dancer

I'm more of a lurker than a poster but I am well aware of Andy and his many incarnations. You really are tedious. How you find the time to tell the same stories over and over and over whilst trying to scare people away from claiming any and all benefits whilst caring for your allegedly very disabled wife is beyond me.

This forum should be a place of information and support, not tiresome incessant trolling and derailing of nearly every single thread contributed to. It makes the forum a pretty miserable place to be.

Twinkletoes, I know you won't take any notice but I would rather like it if you could just do one!

TOBRUK

925dancer, you put it so well.;)

Parva

Sadly, he won't leave so easily, he will get a PPR, have a two week break then return on another account. Frankly, I do not for one minute believe that he actually takes his own advice, this has varied from refusing to provide any evidence to support a claim for ESA / DLA or whatever to the current claims of he can't be bothered to add any other medical conditions which may impact quality of life over the initial problem, be that mental health, spinal problems or pancreatic issues.

Nobody that spends so much time here explaining such can justifiably expect us to believe that they have not got the time to explain this in order to get a claim accepted. His agenda to derail people in genuine need never changes, only the name.

tillyenna

tinkledom wrote: »

Why do you want to mix all of your conditions together?

Just in case there is anyone reading this trying to glean helpful advice I will state this for the record... I might not know a lot about claiming any kind of disability benefit, but I do know they are about the PERSON and not about the disability


That means if you have more than one condition, related or NOT then you should be listing EVERYTHING in the interests of openness and fairness.