PIP renewal, stopped !!

shiwen55

Hi,
Because of Covid, I couldn't get anyone to fill PIP renewal form, so I did myself in November 2020, then had telephone assessment in January which the lady said I'd continue to get my current claim or even more.
Then it was stopped !! I asked DWP to send me assessment letter and to my surprise, she had taken away few points from me, opposite what she said and what I had told her I'm worse now and self catheterising even. So, called PIP helpline again and asked for a Mandatory Reconciliation, which I did over the phone.
I'm very disappointed, what are my chances after Mandatory Reconciliation? Thank you.
Regards,

[Deleted User]

An assessor does not make the decision and they have no right to say what she said, as part of the MR you should make it clear where you thought you should have scored points and didn't.

shiwen55

venison said:

An assessor does not make the decision and they have no right to say what she said, as part of the MR you should make it clear where you thought you should have scored points and didn't.

That's what I did over the phone. 
I read on Google that my chances are almost nothing and I will have to take DWP to tribunal.
Is it so?

tacpot12

Not many decisions are overturned by a Mandatory Reconsideration, but if you take the time to make it clear where you thought you should have scored for each descriptor and why, then there is more chance that the decision will be overturned. I am guessing that most MRs do not overturn the original decision because the MR request doesn't provide any clarification of how the claimant's condition(s) affect them. 
 
If you have just asked for a MR and given no reasons why you feel you should have scored more points and on which descriptors, your MR is likely to fail and you will have to take it to appeal.

Rubyroobs

shiwen55 said:

venison said:

An assessor does not make the decision and they have no right to say what she said, as part of the MR you should make it clear where you thought you should have scored points and didn't.

That's what I did over the phone. 
I read on Google that my chances are almost nothing and I will have to take DWP to tribunal.
Is it so?

If MR is turned down then yes you will need to take it to appeal which can take a lot longer. Did you supply medical evidence to show the areas where you have difficulties ? If toileting is the only descriptor where you have difficulties then it's unlikely you would score enough points just on that. Do you have difficulties in other areas too ?

poppy12345

Before Covid chances of success at MR stage was around 17%, that increased quite a lot during the first few months of the pandemic but now it's slowly dropping back to where it was before Covid. All you can do is wait for the decision. Although, i would always advise people to put their MR request in writing rather than over the phone. This way you have proof that it was requested and put in more detail where and why you think you should have scored those points. It's always a good idea to also add a couple of recent real world examples of what happened the last time you attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to you.

If the decision remains the same at MR stage then it'[s Tribunal.

Spoonie_Turtle

Yes, I second poppy, put it in writing.  Focus on what descriptors you meet and why. 

In case you need it, the descriptors and how they assessed are covered in this
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/appeals/how-decisions-are-made/

And the whole assessment guidance is here, though if you haven't already read it, it might be a bit much to get your head around in the time limit for an MR
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

shiwen55

tacpot12 said:

Not many decisions are overturned by a Mandatory Reconsideration, but if you take the time to make it clear where you thought you should have scored for each descriptor and why, then there is more chance that the decision will be overturned. I am guessing that most MRs do not overturn the original decision because the MR request doesn't provide any clarification of how the claimant's condition(s) affect them. 
 
If you have just asked for a MR and given no reasons why you feel you should have scored more points and on which descriptors, your MR is likely to fail and you will have to take it to appeal.

I did over the phone, explained to agent why I should've scored more and they were typing in

shiwen55

Thank you all.
I'm fully aware of how scoring works and based on information I had from CAB, Turn2Us etc, I should have been given more points which I wasn't. When I did MR on the phone, I did explain to the agent why I should get more points, knowing the scoring criteria.
My question was about success rate of MR.
Regards,

Spoonie_Turtle

You cannot trust that the person you spoke to put in everything you said.  Did the assessor accurately record what you told them over the phone?  No.  While the DWP and the assessors are separate organisations, the principle is the same.

I very strongly urge you to follow it up in writing - your chances of success will be much higher than if you leave the MR to be based on what the person on the end of the phone may or may not have written.  Plus if it does fail, you'll have done the groundwork for a case at tribunal.

I wish you the best with it - a few of us have recently had successful MRs but unfortunately it does still seem to be entirely based on chance, whether your case is looked at by someone actually doing their job or by someone treating it as an admin exercise.

shiwen55

Spoonie_Turtle said:

You cannot trust that the person you spoke to put in everything you said.  Did the assessor accurately record what you told them over the phone?  No.  While the DWP and the assessors are separate organisations, the principle is the same.

I very strongly urge you to follow it up in writing - your chances of success will be much higher than if you leave the MR to be based on what the person on the end of the phone may or may not have written.  Plus if it does fail, you'll have done the groundwork for a case at tribunal.

I wish you the best with it - a few of us have recently had successful MRs but unfortunately it does still seem to be entirely based on chance, whether your case is looked at by someone actually doing their job or by someone treating it as an admin exercise.

Obviously, a phone conversation with agent and what he has put, is non verbatim. I can always reject, if not all, some of it, based on the text meaning.
I agree with you. It also depends on the person doing the job. And yes, assessor confirmed the phone was being recorded.
Let's wait and thank you.