PIP assessment on phone without warning .

kid_from_yesterday

Hi i had a phone call today totally unexpected  from someone saying they was calling from DWP regarding my son PIP claim as  he is currently on DLA  . They said they wanted to ask a few questions regarding his form which i sent back to them last October. I said I was busy as was needing to go out soon to provide an elderly relative ( who is 76 and housebound )with their weekly shop( they live 15 miles a way) and  I was already running very late  . He said it wouldn't take long  and it was just a few questions . 35 minutes later with me answering which felt like a barrage of questions he said that my son PIP assessment was  complete and he would now do a report and send it to the DWP for them to make a decision  regarding his claim ! I didn't even know it was his assessment or was  I told about them calling today to ask me questions and I was lead to believe it was the DWP themselves not someone on there behalf  . I was so flustered as I was already running late and didn't have time to answer all the questions as thoroughly as I could of . Is there anything I can do about this,for example he asked if my son could read and send a text which I replied he could but after when I thought about it  I should of added that although he can read a text he dose need help with his spelling on replying to text as he cant spell and also he  dosnt remember to pass on any important information he receives from a  from a text  so although he can read and reply to a text he dose need a degree of  help .I really feel had I know about this assessment  was happing today i could of given a more detailed answers as I would of been fully focussed on the question being asked instead of worrying about about my relatives very late lunch which was sitting in my car . 

Alice_Holt

Are you your son's appointee ?
Was the form you completed a PIP 2 form setting out your how your son's disabilities affect him in relation to the PIP activities?
You should have received a letter telling you of the assessment date.

The PIP decision will carry appeal rights, see your local advice charity to get help with an appeal if necessary.
 https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/appeals/mandatory-reconsideration/

kid_from_yesterday

Hi it was a new claim for pip as his DLA as it  should of ended on his 16th  birthday even though  his DLA award states it runs until June20 22 , making him 18 at that point . Then last September i got a letter saying he needed to apply for PIP as he was now 16 which we did i sent the forms of on October the 6th 2020 and heard nothing until today I'm guessing the questions( and there was many ) was in relation to that form  .Im not his appointee  as he wanted a chance of independence which i was happy to support him with but its becoming clear that this may need to change soon as its not working out . 

Alice_Holt

If you are not his appointee, then I would have expected your son to have been involved in his own PIP assessment.  This is from the PIP assessment guide (pre covid days):

"Young people
HPs may need to adapt their approach when assessing young people. Care should be taken, as always, to avoid creating stress or anxiety for the claimant. HPs should be mindful that young people are encouraged to be positive about their health condition or impairment and to focus on what they can do, rather than what they cannot. In addition, young people may have limited experience undertaking many activities unsupervised in an independent environment. HPs should ensure that this does not create an unfair perception of the young person’s abilities and the impact of their health condition or impairment.
Young people may attend a face-to-face consultation with a parent or guardian.
In these cases, it may be particularly important to distinguish between what a young person can or could do for themselves and what the parent does for them as part of their caring role. There may be some activities that have been done for them all of their lives and that a young person without a health condition or impairment of the same age may do themselves. There may also be activities that could be carried out by the young person, but for which the parent or guardian continues to assume responsibility...."

If the phone call was solely with yourself, then it might be worth checking what the assessing companies practice should be when assessing 16 / 17 year old's. 
Here is the IAS website.  https://www.mypipassessment.co.uk/
Capita is the other company which does PIP assessments -  Capita carries out Personal Independence Payment assessments for DWP in Central England, Wales and on behalf of the SSA in Northern Ireland.

Here is some more info on PIP assessments for young people:
https://www.scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/moving-from-DLA-to-PIP-when-child-turns-16/
Note the comment   "If the DWP feel that there is not enough evidence to make a paper-based decision, your child may have to attend a face-to-face assessment."

What medical / educational evidence did you provide with the PIP form?

kid_from_yesterday

Hi , Thank you , i provided a current education phycholgist report confirming memory problems , 10 different letters from CAHM from the last year about my sons ADHD, ASD, Anixty and Depression as well as confirming all medication . His current ECHP from the school  as well as recent hospital letters confirming his acute Migraine and dizziness problem . Also his blue badge assessment form which was successful in given him a blue badge . I don't have anything else . It just upsets me that  I didn't know they was calling and it was a assessment they was doing rather than just a few question as he lead me to believe . I know how ruthless these people can be . I just don't know what i can do to change it  or if its even posable .

Alice_Holt

It's great that you provided that evidence.

I would tend to wait until you get the decision letter, whilst -
a) Checking with the assessing company what their best practice should be when assessing 16 / 17 year old's,
b) Familiarising yourself with the appeal process - https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-win-pip-appeal,
c) Checking your local advice charities - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/#h-find-your-nearest-citizens-advice
https://www.adviceuk.org.uk/looking-for-advice/

If you wish you can request a copy of the assessment report - that should give an indication of the likely decision.

It is possible to rearrange a PIP assessment (but only once), so you could have explained that you hadn't received notification of the letter, weren't prepared, etc and arranged an alternative time for the telephone appointment (possibly with your son present).
As the assessment went ahead, I doubt there is much you can do to change that.  

Spoonie_Turtle

Alice_Holt said:

It is possible to rearrange a PIP assessment (but only once), so you could have explained that you hadn't received notification of the letter, weren't prepared, etc and arranged an alternative time for the telephone appointment (possibly with your son present).
As the assessment went ahead, I doubt there is much you can do to change that.  

They would have had to know it was an actual assessment at the start of the call though.

OP, regardless of the decision I hope you are able to make a complaint if you wish.  If this was indeed an assessment with zero notice and they didn't even tell you at the beginning of the call that's what they were doing, that's shoddy beyond belief and I am outraged they treated you (and your son, because it was his claim) this way. 

At the beginning of my PIP assessment the assessor introduced herself, told me her profession, that she worked for the assessment company, and explained this was my assessment and she would be asking questions based on all the areas that PIP covers, plus some other explanation about how she'd be typing as I spoke and other things.  [The outcome was still wrong but 5 stars to her for making sure I was clear about how the assessment would proceed!]  That's how they're supposed to start an assessment, it's even in the official guidance.

kid_from_yesterday

Thank you , the thing is I don't even know who the company was who done the assessment , no name was given he just said he was calling from DWP to ask me to clarify a few questions  about my son claim for PIP  and I when I said I didn't have much time he just said it wouldn't take long . He then kept asking question after question . It was only after at the end when I asked what happens next that he told me that he would do a report and send it of to DWP. That when I  realised he had just done a  assessment and he wasnt from the DWP just working on there behalf .  Before i could ask anything else he just thanked me for my time and hung up . He didn't ask to speak to my son who claim it was, . He just rushed me through a load of questions about meal times, bath times , toilet , walking, what did he like to spend money , could he save up if he wanted to , did he have friends , did he belong to any clubs , how dose he get to school , dose he use public transport it went on and on .  I was very brief with answers as I was running late and had no idea this was his assessments otherwise I would of given more detail responses  .   Who would I complain to when  I have no idea who I spoke to . 

Alice_Holt

kid_from_yesterday said:

Thank you , the thing is I don't even know who the company was who done the assessment , no name was given he just said he was calling from DWP to ask me to clarify a few questions  about my son claim for PIP  and I when I said I didn't have much time he just said it wouldn't take long . He then kept asking question after question . It was only after at the end when I asked what happens next that he told me that he would do a report and send it of to DWP. That when I  realised he had just done a  assessment and he wasnt from the DWP just working on there behalf .  Before i could ask anything else he just thanked me for my time and hung up . He didn't ask to speak to my son who claim it was, . He just rushed me through a load of questions about meal times, bath times , toilet , walking, what did he like to spend money , could he save up if he wanted to , did he have friends , did he belong to any clubs , how dose he get to school , dose he use public transport it went on and on .  I was very brief with answers as I was running late and had no idea this was his assessments otherwise I would of given more detail responses  .   Who would I complain to when  I have no idea who I spoke to . 

     As Spoonie says that's not the way the assessment should have been conducted,
    There is more information here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-1-the-assessment-process

    "1.4.16 HPs should identify who they are and the purpose of the call. A written record should be taken of any telephone discussion seeking further information, using the claimant’s own words as precisely as possible. This information should be included in the assessment report provided to DWP or via the PIPAT. The HP should always ask if there is anything else that the claimant wishes to say before concluding the call. The call should conclude by reading back what has been documented and advising the claimant that this information will be added as evidence to the file."

If you look back at the IAS link I provided you will see that the division between IAS and Capita is on geographical regions. So you will be able to identify which company did the assessment, Their web site will have details of the complaint procedure.

But going back to my earlier post, I would concentrate on the possibility of an appeal, before a complaint.
If the outcome is no award or a lower award than you expected, then the route to correct this is an appeal (a complaint won't change the outcome). It's the DWP who make the decision.

So:
Request a copy of the assessment report - that should give an indication of the likely decision  
https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/57295/requesting-a-copy-of-pip-assessment-report
and,
a) Check with the assessing company what their best practice should be when assessing 16 / 17 year old's,
b) Familiarise yourself with the appeal process - https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-win-pip-appeal,
c) Check out your local advice charities - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/#h-find-your-nearest-citizens-advice
https://www.adviceuk.org.uk/looking-for-advice/

Paula94

kid_from_yesterday said:

Hi i had a phone call today totally unexpected  from someone saying they was calling from DWP regarding my son PIP claim as  he is currently on DLA  . They said they wanted to ask a few questions regarding his form which i sent back to them last October. I said I was busy as was needing to go out soon to provide an elderly relative ( who is 76 and housebound )with their weekly shop( they live 15 miles a way) and  I was already running very late  . He said it wouldn't take long  and it was just a few questions . 35 minutes later with me answering which felt like a barrage of questions he said that my son PIP assessment was  complete and he would now do a report and send it to the DWP for them to make a decision  regarding his claim ! I didn't even know it was his assessment or was  I told about them calling today to ask me questions and I was lead to believe it was the DWP themselves not someone on there behalf  . I was so flustered as I was already running late and didn't have time to answer all the questions as thoroughly as I could of . Is there anything I can do about this,for example he asked if my son could read and send a text which I replied he could but after when I thought about it  I should of added that although he can read a text he dose need help with his spelling on replying to text as he cant spell and also he  dosnt remember to pass on any important information he receives from a  from a text  so although he can read and reply to a text he dose need a degree of  help .I really feel had I know about this assessment  was happing today i could of given a more detailed answers as I would of been fully focussed on the question being asked instead of worrying about about my relatives very late lunch which was sitting in my car . 

I have just been through this, my daughter moved from DLA to PIP as 16. Like yourself I sent forms in October. Heard nothing then in middle of Jan received a random call asking details. No prior warning. Was a 5 min call from the assessor. Then a week later received a letter with actual appointment for telephone assessment. During the actual assessment I asked about the random call. The assessor said with 16 DLA to PIP they try to assess on paper base as they recognise that a 16 year old would find the assessment traumatic (in Scotland DLA ends at 18 when they become adults). If they can’t make a decision on the form, evidence, questions they ask they will then book assessment. If you ring PIP they should be able to advise if they have enough information to make decision or if a assessment will be booked. 

TELLIT01

Although the process was badly handled by the caller, I would advise the OP to wait for the letter saying whether or not her son has been awarded PIP.  If she complains at this point, although perfectly entitled to do so, it may simply slow the whole process down even further.

The caller should/may have said they were calling on behalf of DWP regarding the PIP claim, and if they had said they are calling from XYZ about the PIP claim the OP may have hung up on them because they hadn't heard of the company.  It's possible a letter was sent and hadn't arrived which would naturally add to the confusion.