Surprise phone assessment for PIP?

hopefulmoneysaver94

I was phoned by a lady who claimed to be calling from PIP claimants to go through my assessment as she felt that a face to face one would be too long, and over the phone was quicker as all of my information was already there? 

She had quite a bad cold, a northern accent and spoke very fast so I’m not sure where she was actually calling from - I have read that DWP outsource their assessments? 

I originally applied for PIP in August 2021, and had a phone call BOOKED IN  for July 2021, I didn’t answer this due to having an anxiety attack. 

From that, I didn’t hear anything, and honestly wasn’t expecting to either as I didn’t answer the phone call. 

I filled out a self assessment online on Wednesday last week, and scored maximum on both elements, and then 

This morning the lady rang and I didn’t even know I was going to have an assessment?! What’s that about? 

I had to ask her where she was calling from several times to actually hear her. She said that my report would come from the “actual dwp and not on a mobile”. 

Has anyone got any experience of this? 

Spoonie_Turtle

hopefulmoneysaver94 said:

I was phoned by a lady who claimed to be calling from PIP claimants to go through my assessment as she felt that a face to face one would be too long, and over the phone was quicker as all of my information was already there? 

She had quite a bad cold, a northern accent and spoke very fast so I’m not sure where she was actually calling from - I have read that DWP outsource their assessments? 

I originally applied for PIP in August 2021, and had a phone call BOOKED IN  for July 2021, I didn’t answer this due to having an anxiety attack. 

From that, I didn’t hear anything, and honestly wasn’t expecting to either as I didn’t answer the phone call. 

I filled out a self assessment online on Wednesday last week, and scored maximum on both elements, and then 

This morning the lady rang and I didn’t even know I was going to have an assessment?! What’s that about? 

I had to ask her where she was calling from several times to actually hear her. She said that my report would come from the “actual dwp and not on a mobile”. 

Has anyone got any experience of this? 

Did you enter your phone number or any other contact or personal details on the self-test?

Did the assessor ask for your NI number?

It's odd but possible it was a genuine assessment - but they should have contacted you first to tell you, by letter at least but also sending a text if you supplied your mobile number on your actual PIP application.  However it is possible they sent a letter but it got delayed.

hopefulmoneysaver94

I put my email on it, yes, but not my phone number. 

She didn’t ask for anything, she didn’t even ask me to confirm my name…and she didn’t say my name either. 

On my application that I put in last year on the gov website forms that I got sent via email after ringing up, I put my phone number, as I received a text saying to expect a phone call from a hidden number- but this one, yesterday wasn’t hidden. I also received a letter a month before my phone call last time, so that’s another thing that makes me wonder if it was a real one..as it’s literally been 6 days since my self assessment on the ‘workandbenfits’

Would it be worth ringing work and pensions today to double check? 

poppy12345

Spoonie_Turtle said:

hopefulmoneysaver94 said:

I was phoned by a lady who claimed to be calling from PIP claimants to go through my assessment as she felt that a face to face one would be too long, and over the phone was quicker as all of my information was already there? 

She had quite a bad cold, a northern accent and spoke very fast so I’m not sure where she was actually calling from - I have read that DWP outsource their assessments? 

I originally applied for PIP in August 2021, and had a phone call BOOKED IN  for July 2021, I didn’t answer this due to having an anxiety attack. 

From that, I didn’t hear anything, and honestly wasn’t expecting to either as I didn’t answer the phone call. 

I filled out a self assessment online on Wednesday last week, and scored maximum on both elements, and then 

This morning the lady rang and I didn’t even know I was going to have an assessment?! What’s that about? 

I had to ask her where she was calling from several times to actually hear her. She said that my report would come from the “actual dwp and not on a mobile”. 

Has anyone got any experience of this? 

Did you enter your phone number or any other contact or personal details on the self-test?

The PIP self test results are not shared with anyone. Not only that, this test isn't reliable unless you completely understand the PIP criteria.

poppy12345

PIP assessments are mostly done via phone call, some are face to face  but not all. DWP wouldn't know anything about the assessment that took place because it's isn't anything to do with them. Once the report has been writen by the assessment providers, it will be returned to DWP.

hopefulmoneysaver94 said:

I originally applied for PIP in August 2021, and had a phone call BOOKED IN  for July 2021, I didn’t answer this due to having an anxiety attack. 

I'm not sure what you mean by this, unless you mean you applied for PIP in August 2020, which is rather a long time.

hopefulmoneysaver94

poppy12345 said:

PIP assessments are mostly done via phone call, some are face to face  but not all. DWP wouldn't know anything about the assessment that took place because it's isn't anything to do with them. Once the report has been writen by the assessment providers, it will be returned to DWP.

hopefulmoneysaver94 said:

I originally applied for PIP in August 2021, and had a phone call BOOKED IN  for July 2021, I didn’t answer this due to having an anxiety attack. 

I'm not sure what you mean by this, unless you mean you applied for PIP in August 2020, which is rather a long time.

Yes, so my original claim that I done in AUG 21, not 20. I had an assessment booked in, and I was made aware that someone was going to ring me. Due to my anxiety, I didn’t answer the phone call for my assessment to be carried out. 

The phone call I received yesterday, I didn’t get told about, so I didn’t know I was going to receive it. 

poppy12345

You said you applied in Aug 2021 but had a phone call booked in for July 2021, you can't have an assessment booked before the date you actually applied for PIP. That doesn't make sense.

They should have contacted you regarding any assessment. The only time this may not happen is if they just want to ask you a few very quick questions.

Also i'm not sure what you mean by this..

hopefulmoneysaver94 said:

 She said that my report would come from the “actual dwp and not on a mobile”. 

The assessment provider writes the report and then returns it to DWP. A decision maker then looks at this and everything else that you sent before making their decision.

hopefulmoneysaver94

Hi poppy, 

sorry! It’s the other way round! 😅 applied in July, contacted for assessment in august! 

She phoned me from a mobile phone, and said that when the department and pensions get in touch they’ll ring from a unknown number 

poppy12345

hopefulmoneysaver94 said:

Hi poppy, 

sorry! It’s the other way round! 😅 applied in July, contacted for assessment in august! 

She phoned me from a mobile phone, and said that when the department and pensions get in touch they’ll ring from a unknown number 

That was extremely quick, even in normal times the wait can be a few months. There's huge backlogs for PIP assessments are it's not unusual to wait several months.

A decision maker from DWP very rarely rings to ask anything before making a decision. The assessments are not done by DWP.

Rubyroobs

It all sounds odd unless they have done a paper based assessment and just wanted to clarify a few things ? How long did the assessment last ? As above, PIP claims currently are taking several months to get an assessment.

TELLIT01

If you have a contact number on any of the correspondence you have received, I would try to call them, even if only to put your mind at rest.  Many people are still working from home and the postal service is rubbish at present so a letter may have been sent but not yet received.