Severe disability payment and PIP refusal

poppy12345

Tasha2587 said:

Think i will also put in a seperate formal complaint about the assessor, as it is blatantly the wrong information to what i actually gave her during the interview. Really think they need more training, or specific assessors for different areas as i have found the whole thing mentally and physically draining!

Personally, i think you'll be better off forgetting what was written and move on. Putting in this complaint is very likely not going to get you anywhere, all it will do is cause more anxiety and more stress. The assessment has been done and dusted, that's all in the past now. What matters most is where and why you think you should have scored those points.

45002

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip

I wouldn't bother with the above "Pay for advice" service the above website offers.

They're plenty of MSE user's on this site who can give you Great and Free advice on benefits.

Good luck...

Tasha2587

Just a quick update. Got disability premium backpay through, quite quickly, took around 3 weeks from applying to money in my bank (quite a big chunk) Also had my MR decision... it's been reinstated to as it was before! Huge weight off, and suprised it was overturned in my favour at mr and didn't need to go to tribunal thank you for the advice 

calcotti

Congratulations.

Tasha2587

Another update. I got my award letter through... they've given me back standard daily living but not my mobility, so I've now taken it to tribunal
I did the form online (well my friend did) and where it said would I be attending I ticked no, as I cannot attend as do not leave the house. Will this go against me do you think?

poppy12345

Tasha2587 said:

Another update. I got my award letter through... they've given me back standard daily living but not my mobility, so I've now taken it to tribunal
I did the form online (well my friend did) and where it said would I be attending I ticked no, as I cannot attend as do not leave the house. Will this go against me do you think?

Most hearings are by telephone. Only the most extreme cases are face to face. You would stand a much better chance of having the telephone hearing than a paper based one. Paper based hearings have an extremely low success rate at between 5-8%. Telephone hearings have over 80% success rate.

Tasha2587

I see. The online form didn't mention telephone interview, just if I would be attending  
Doesn't look too promising then 😕 oh well worth a try, as my health has gotten worse since my first award was just confused why they would then take it off me. 

poppy12345

It will only be because they haven't changed it since the start of the pendemic. There's been no face to face hearings and they're unlikely to return this year. I would urge you to do the telephone hearing rather than the paper based one. You can contact them and tell them you've changed your mind and want to do the telephone hearing.

calcotti

You should be able to message them and ask them to change your hearing preference. Explain that you would not be able to attend a face to face but would be able to do telephone.
The importance of a hearing is that it allows the tribunal, in an inquisatorial role, to explore gaps and inconsistencies in the evidence.
A paper based decision can succeed (I have known a paper based tribunal to go from no award to enhanced rate both) but obviously it is even more important for a paper based decision that you own evidence/submission is robust.

Alice_Holt

Tasha2587 said:

Another update. I got my award letter through... they've given me back standard daily living but not my mobility, so I've now taken it to tribunal
I did the form online (well my friend did) and where it said would I be attending I ticked no, as I cannot attend as do not leave the house. Will this go against me do you think?

       Yes, invariably paper hearings are much less successful than hearings at which you can give your verbal evidence (unless the papers, your submission, and your written evidence is watertight).

      Write to HMCTS, tell them you wish to give verbal evidence, outline any aids you may need and any dates you are not available for. 

   A verbal hearing enables you to clarify, explain, and give more info / examples to the panel. Often this evidence can be the most important factor in the tribunal's decision.

  Read the pages about hearings here:
          https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-win-pip-appeal
(Bearing in mind that hearings are currently conducted by telephone rather than in person).

You can have a family member / carer / friend / etc with you for the call.