PIP M.R. sent back to Capita

Diddles1971

Hi, hope someone may shed some light on this.

I was in DLA high rate care/ mobility indefinitely until I had to claim PIP in September.

My consultant said no face to face as it would be detrimental to my health. Capita, after one short call to him advised my husband not to send in any of the evidence we said we had waiting- they had "enough" .
The decision came through six months later. I was awarded standard rate for both components.
I asked for an m.r on the phone, requested the Capita report and it's now logged on the system with (as the call advisor just said) a LOT of evidence. This is the evidence they told me they didn't need, plus more solid evidence on my conditions from various consultants.
Anyway, i was just told my m.r was sent back to Capita for their advice.
Is this normal? Tbh, I'm nervous about it being back in the hands of the people who made a lot of false assumptions in the first place. I won't even begin to mention some of the rubbish that was reported.

Sorry for long message, basically is it normal to go back to Capita and what can I expect now?

*Note to self and others- send in your evidence no matter what they tell you****
Kind thanks for anyone's thoughts on this x

poppy12345

Diddles1971 wrote: »

Hi, hope someone may shed some light on this.

I was in DLA high rate care/ mobility indefinitely until I had to claim PIP in September.

My consultant said no face to face as it would be detrimental to my health. Capita, after one short call to him advised my husband not to send in any of the evidence we said we had waiting- they had "enough" .
The decision came through six months later. I was awarded standard rate for both components.
I asked for an m.r on the phone, requested the Capita report and it's now logged on the system with (as the call advisor just said) a LOT of evidence. This is the evidence they told me they didn't need, plus more solid evidence on my conditions from various consultants.
Anyway, i was just told my m.r was sent back to Capita for their advice.
Is this normal? Tbh, I'm nervous about it being back in the hands of the people who made a lot of false assumptions in the first place. I won't even begin to mention some of the rubbish that was reported.

Sorry for long message, basically is it normal to go back to Capita and what can I expect now?

*Note to self and others- send in your evidence no matter what they tell you****
Kind thanks for anyone's thoughts on this x

Yes perfectly normal and has happened many times. I've heard of many people needed another assessment too. Just wait till you hear something as not much you can do until then.

pmlindyloo

Mmm not sure that this is that usual to be honest.

However, it suggests that the decision maker was unhappy with the report, perhaps in view of the extra evidence and has sent it back to be looked at again.

Whether this will change the decision is a different matter.

If it doesn't then you can go to appeal.

Many people have their rate changed when transferring to PIP as the criteria are quite different.

Without knowing the details it is hard to know whether the right award has been given but, of course, you have the right to appeal if you believe the rates are wrong.

Diddles1971

Thank you poppy12345 and pmlindyloo - I appreciate your replies.

I have no clue how the process works, however, there were significant 'holes' in the report, which, using their own words, I was able to quite clearly dispute.

For example, I have severe M.E and sleep 20+ hours a day. They said I can snack on a yoghurt and haven't lost weight so I'm clearly eating. ( Quite different from preparing a simple cooked meal twice a day and a lunch in the middle of the day, which they say can reasonably be expected plus I had my thyroid meds taken off me which made me gain 30 pounds and go hypo).

They also said i have no lower limb restriction, my consultant confirmed i have a complex prosthetic femur which has dislocated 18 times, that i need walking aids and have to follow limitations of movement to avoid further dislocation.
I could go on and on, I'm sure many of us could.
I do feel like that the enormous amount of new evidence I have sent must mean something, if not with the m.r, then with an appeal.
Sorry for the rant. Its just stressing me so much!!
Thank you both so much for replying.

Alice_Holt

It is possible, but unusual, for the DM to seek further clarification from the assessors - this generally happens when the assessment is flawed / contradictory.
It may well be good news for your MR, as mostly they are refused without questioning the validity of the assessment. You were sensible to send the medical evidence indicating that the assessment was inaccurate.

Let us know the outcome (and don't stress too much as it seems the DWP are actually taking your MR seriously).

Diddles1971

Alice- thank you for your reply.
It has made me curious- as I said the guy I spoke to today from DWP commented on the amount of evidence they had scanned in. He was extremely helpful.
I will definitely keep you posted on how this goes. I think it's important to pass on experiences so that others may learn/ benefit.
My number one is to not believe they don't need our evidence and to send it anyway! Lesson learned!
Thank you again, I really appreciate your reply.

Diddles1971

Hi , as promised here is the outcome- my M.R was successful! I got the letter this morning and have been awarded enhanced on both components, whereas initially I was awarded standard on both.

Thank you to everyone on here who offers advice and gives their help so generously. This has been a very stressful time and I know that's how it is for most people, but I have to say this has knocked me pretty low of late.

Anyhow, I think my M.R was successful because there was so much evidence they hadn't looked at ( I was told there was no need to send it). I had a paper based assessment and the report was made on a lot of assumptions.
So, I went by the report point by point, highlighted what i disagreed with, and why, and provided the medical evidence for each point.
I also used the terminology from the assessors guide to be absolutely clear on certain points.
It took me several days to compile my letter, my husband helped and it quite literally made me ill.

Anyway, the outcome was positive, the award is for just under three years and I don't have to wait for and endure the stress of a tribunal.
Just wanted to share my positive outcome.

TELLIT01

The fact that it has been sent back to Capita, along with the additional information is certainly not a negative action. The DM was clearly unhappy about some element of the report when compared with the medical evidence.
Unfortunately, all you can do now is wait for the outcome of the reconsideration. It's safest not to make any assumption about whether or not the original decision will be modified.

Diddles1971

Thank you , Tellit01, yes, I've just updated the post and my M.R was indeed successful. I ve been awarded enhanced for both components. I'm grateful for the advice I've been given on here, people like yourself who just spare some time to help. Thank you and to everyone who has helped me.

TELLIT01

That's great news for you. It also shows that changes can be made at the MR stage if there is clear evidence. It's not common, but obviously does happen.

Your explanation of what actions you took to support your request for reconsideration (see #7) is a great template for anybody to use when requesting MR.

Alice_Holt

Excellent news - well done.