PIP Helpline Advice

Spidey76

My son has ASD and now he’s 16 his DLA is changing to PIP. After we’d talked it through we agreed that I’d act on his behalf. I now need to ring the PIP helpline to confirm that he wishes to continue to claim. I’ve spend 75 minutes on hold last night only to have my call cut off at 5:30 which is when I assume lines close. The letter we’ve had says he needs to be with me when I make the call. He doesn’t get home from school till nearly 4pm and with my work we’ve got 4 more days to attempt this before they assume we don’t want to continue his claim. When I eventually get through does he have to be there and will they do anything to confirm this? I’m not trying to game the system, just genuinely concerned that I won’t get through to them before the deadline.

poppy12345

The PIP claims line is open between 9am and 5pm.

PIP new claims

Telephone: 0800 917 2222
Textphone: 0800 917 7777
Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 917 2222
British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet
Calling from abroad: +44 191 218 7766
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

The best time to ring is first thing in the morning, though i appreciate that maybe difficult if you're working at this time. Your son doesn't need to be with you when you ring to start the claim. When you ring you just ask if you can become his appointee and they will arrange that. I don't know if they are now doing house calls for this process, i know they used to before the pandemic.

Spidey76

Thanks for replying. I’ve already been confirmed to act as his appointee it’s just the letter said he’d need to be there when I made the call. Reading it again it’s possible I’ve misread it. They write as if writing to him but all the information is for me so it’s already very confusing! My son is already getting a bit stressed at the thought of the process so I’m glad we took the step of me being his appointee. I’ve got a weekday off early next week so I’m going to try first thing then. Thanks again for your reply. 

poppy12345

Spidey76 said:

Thanks for replying. I’ve already been confirmed to act as his appointee it’s just the letter said he’d need to be there when I made the call.

As you are now his official appointee then he definitely won't need to be there when the claim is started. The whole point of having an appointee is the appointee is responsible for all phone calls, reporting changes, returning forms, answering questions during any assessment. The only time he will be expected to be there is if he needs a face to face assessment.

HillStreetBlues

This might be a useful read DLA TO PIP
https://www.a1benefitsupport.com/dla-appointee-s

poppy12345

HillStreetBlues said:

This might be a useful read DLA TO PIP
https://www.a1benefitsupport.com/dla-appointee-s

That's a great link. I had assumed the OP had applied to be the son's appointee but this may not be the case. OP have you applied to be your son's appointee for the PIP claim? If not then you will need to do as i advised and contact PIP to arrange this.

peteuk

poppy12345 said:

Spidey76 said:

Thanks for replying. I’ve already been confirmed to act as his appointee it’s just the letter said he’d need to be there when I made the call.

As you are now his official appointee then he definitely won't need to be there when the claim is started. The whole point of having an appointee is the appointee is responsible for all phone calls, reporting changes, returning forms, answering questions during any assessment. The only time he will be expected to be there is if he needs a face to face assessment.

Even though you’ve been confirmed as appointee, it is usual practice for the claimant to be present and to answer as much as possible.  

poppy12345

peteuk said:

poppy12345 said:

Spidey76 said:

Thanks for replying. I’ve already been confirmed to act as his appointee it’s just the letter said he’d need to be there when I made the call.

As you are now his official appointee then he definitely won't need to be there when the claim is started. The whole point of having an appointee is the appointee is responsible for all phone calls, reporting changes, returning forms, answering questions during any assessment. The only time he will be expected to be there is if he needs a face to face assessment.

Even though you’ve been confirmed as appointee, it is usual practice for the claimant to be present and to answer as much as possible.  

A claimant is expected to be there at a face to face assessment i agree. They are not expected to be there during a telephone assessment. 

If a claimant has an appointee then the appointee is there to answer all questions. So i disagree that a claimant who has an appointee is expected to answer as much as possible.

My goodness, if my daughter had to answer the questions during an assessment, she would sit there and nod or she would say "i don't know" The whole purpose of a claimant needing an appointee is because they are either severely disabled or mentally incapable of managing their own claim.

calcotti

poppy12345 said:

peteuk said:

poppy12345 said:

Spidey76 said:

Thanks for replying. I’ve already been confirmed to act as his appointee it’s just the letter said he’d need to be there when I made the call.

As you are now his official appointee then he definitely won't need to be there when the claim is started. The whole point of having an appointee is the appointee is responsible for all phone calls, reporting changes, returning forms, answering questions during any assessment. The only time he will be expected to be there is if he needs a face to face assessment.

Even though you’ve been confirmed as appointee, it is usual practice for the claimant to be present and to answer as much as possible.  

A claimant is expected to be there at a face to face assessment i agree. They are not expected to be there during a telephone assessment. 

If a claimant has an appointee then the appointee is there to answer all questions. So i disagree that a claimant who has an appointee is expected to answer as much as possible.

My goodness, if my daughter had to answer the questions during an assessment, she would sit there and nod or she would say "i don't know" The whole purpose of a claimant needing an appointee is because they are either severely disabled or mentally incapable of managing their own claim.

PIP assessment guide says that an assessment should be conducted primarily between the HCP and the claimant rather than the appointee where possible but the HCP should seek to avoid having an assessment. A consultation cannot proceed of the appointee is not present.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-1-the-assessment-process#identifying-claimants-who-require-additional-support-with-the-pip-process

1.15.19 The appointee should be considered in line with guidance about companions being present at consultations. Consultations should predominantly be between the HP and the claimant. However, the companions may play an active role in helping claimants answer questions where the claimant or HP wishes them to do so. This may be particularly important where the claimant has a mental, cognitive or intellectual impairment. In such cases the claimant may not be able to give an accurate account of their health condition or impairment, through a lack of insight or unrealistic expectations of their own ability. In such cases it will be essential to get an accurate account from the companion.

However mental health problems would I think be the most common reason for having an appointee so in many cases it will not be possible for the claimant to engage,

poppy12345

calcotti said:

However mental health problems would I think be the most common reason for having an appointee so in many cases it will not be possible for the claimant to engage,

Exactly. If they were capable of managing their own claim then an appointee wouldn't be needed.

Spidey76

Thank you all for your replies. There’s some really useful info in them. I’ll ring them first thing next week and see if they’ll let me go ahead with continuing the claim without my son being on the phone call. I fully expect he’ll have to be there for any assessment.

It’s his GCSE year so it’s already very stressful for him and I’m trying desperately to avoid overloading him. He has a lot of issues with anxiety and we’ve had our fair share of meltdowns in the last six months over mocks, college applications & choices etc. I really question the wisdom of 16 being the age that another big change will have to happen in his life but it is what it is. 

Just to confirm that I am his appointee. Mercifully that was a fairly straightforward process.