Incapacity Benefit Assessment

nickinoo

Well I've finally got my date for this & I'm dreading it.

I've read all the links on here about what to do in an interview but I still think I won't qualify after an assessment as although I have chronic depression I come across as cheerful & hide it well. When I received the questionaire I was very frank & poured my heart out so I hope this may help, I assume the examiner will have this report with them?

I'm rather angry as the letter states you will not be asked to travel to an assessment which is more than 90 minutes by public transport each way & yet the train journey is a minimum of 1hr 27 mins (it can be longer depending on what time you travel though) & the centre is a 20 minute walk from there (there is a bus service according to the letter they sent)-I am going to query this but I wonder where I stand on refusing to go.

Any advice welcomed.

Nickinoo

Norma_Desmond

Surely you're being a teensy bit pedantic? This assessment is for YOUR benefit and well being!

nickinoo

Norma_Desmond wrote:

Surely you're being a teensy bit pedantic? This assessment is for YOUR benefit and well being!

I understand that Norma but it is going to be a real hassle to get there considering I have a young baby & it's a journey to a not very nice place which I would rather not visit.

Miroslav

nickinoo - tried this - http://www.ldmeg.org.uk/awt.html ?

I did not realise they could ask you to go within 90 minutes on public transport.

With chronic depression, that could be very hard to do. I suffer from depression but like yourself, like alot of people infact, it's easy to hide behind laughter etc. I know I act the fool to hide all my pain and sometimes with these people I get very angry and of course, they then look at me in a bad light.

You have reason to be worried, but not all of there doctors are like that, I've met some good ones too.

The examiner has all the information and I usually take with me any letters from anyone you get help from (Counsellor?, CPN?, Doctor?) if you don't mind them knowing your business, it's all confidential.

Good Luck with it

Fran

In my area you can get a home visit if for instance you have problems leaving the house. I don't know if this counts for every area, though it should, if this applies to you give them a ring and ask and see what they say. Other than that you will have to go, if you refuse you won't get the benefit.

nickinoo

To be honest I don't have a problem leaving the house & using public transport but I am still in a bad way, my depression manifests itself in other ways, poor self esteem, overeating to the point of morbid obesity etc. I will ring them in the morning & see what they say.

I'm not sure whether you can get out of the assessment if it's more than 90 minutes away by public transport, it just says they will not ask you to attend a meeting which is further away than that.

Peter_Pan_6

They are not very nice places to go,can`t you get some-one to go with you

what about Welfare rights group,or CAB.they will give you good advise.

Good luck.

helpless_3

My advice would be to take someone with you, who can make sure you tell them everything you want to say. This could be a person professionally involved in your care, (CPN,advocate or support worker) or a relative or friend who knows you well and knows how your disability affects you. As a CPN myself I'm often asked by clients to attend such assessments and my experience has been that it makes a difference - quite often they turn out to be a formality (box ticking exercise) just to keep the records up to scratch. Hope it goes well.

nickinoo

Well I feel better after speaking to the booking agent (as they called themselves) & they confirmed that the examiner will have all my paperwork with me which is good as I can't remember everything I wrote down. I am going to take a list of stuff with me as I go to pieces in things like this. I queried the 90 minute travel time but they just said that other people from where I live go there & it's basically the county centre for Suffolk, annoyingly the one for Norfolk is much nearer.

I am taking my husband with me but I intend to see the DR alone as I don't like to tell my husband the extent of my problems (but we do talk about them).