Question moving from DLA to PIP - 16 year old

Alice_Holt

InAPickle76 said:

As his official appointee there was no need for him to speak on the phone. The whole purpose of being someones appointee is because they are mentally incapable of looking after their own claim. Nothing has changed regarding appointees for many years.

I did say to the call handler that he has autism and won't be able to answer the questions but they insisted on speaking to him - I did think it was a bit ridiculous as I had clearly stated his difficulties on the appointee application form!! Maybe it was an inexperienced call handler?? 

      Maybe it wasn't a DWP employee, but one of the DWP telephone services outsourced to Serco:

     https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2021-11-30/debates/0ED9212B-7FB8-43F8-AE5E-6907E5D0CC87/OutsourcingDWPTelephoneServices

   Which rather emphases the point not to rely on any information given by such call-handlers (note the question from Baroness Blower).

  I wonder whether a caller (assuming their call is actually answered within a reasonable time) should first establish if it is a DWP employee at the other end. And if not, has the Serco call-handler the ability to transfer the call to a trained DWP employee in the event that any clarification is needed. 
  

poppy12345

InAPickle76 said:

As his official appointee there was no need for him to speak on the phone. The whole purpose of being someones appointee is because they are mentally incapable of looking after their own claim. Nothing has changed regarding appointees for many years.

I did say to the call handler that he has autism and won't be able to answer the questions but they insisted on speaking to him - I did think it was a bit ridiculous as I had clearly stated his difficulties on the appointee application form!! Maybe it was an inexperienced call handler?? 

Did you receive anything official from DWP saying that you're his appointee? All letters should be addressed to you, if you are.

InAPickle76

poppy12345 said:

Did you receive anything official from DWP saying that you're his appointee? All letters should be addressed to you, if you are.

Yes I had a confirmation letter from DWP to say I was his appointee and all correspondence has been sent to me. I just wanted to let the OP know what happened with me just in case the call handler is insistent they speak to their child. I hope not, and that mine was just an anomaly x

peteuk

InAPickle76 said:

Are you her official appointee done through DWP? If so then she will not need to be with you when you ring to start the claim. If you're not her official appointee and she's unable to manage her own claim then i'd advise you to think about becoming her appointee. You'll need to contact PIP for this. https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

When we applied for my son, despite being his appointee (he has autism and struggles with social communication), the call handler asked to speak to him and he had to answer a couple of questions to give his consent for me to answer questions on his behalf. Bit pointless really as he couldn't really process what he was being asked so I was mouthing the answers to him to give to the call handler!!! Not sure if this is different now though - this was 2 years ago x

Regardless of who the appointee is, PIP assessment training advisers the assessor to speak directly to the claimant.  Certainly to pass security and then answer as much as possible.  It does somewhat fly against the idea of having an appointee.

poppy12345

peteuk said:

InAPickle76 said:

Are you her official appointee done through DWP? If so then she will not need to be with you when you ring to start the claim. If you're not her official appointee and she's unable to manage her own claim then i'd advise you to think about becoming her appointee. You'll need to contact PIP for this. https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

When we applied for my son, despite being his appointee (he has autism and struggles with social communication), the call handler asked to speak to him and he had to answer a couple of questions to give his consent for me to answer questions on his behalf. Bit pointless really as he couldn't really process what he was being asked so I was mouthing the answers to him to give to the call handler!!! Not sure if this is different now though - this was 2 years ago x

Regardless of who the appointee is, PIP assessment training advisers the assessor to speak directly to the claimant.  Certainly to pass security and then answer as much as possible.  It does somewhat fly against the idea of having an appointee.

That's bonkers! If that happened during an assessment for my daughter she would sit there and nod through everything but say nothing. I would also put in a complaint. The whole point of being someone's appointee is because they can't manage their own claim.

peteuk

poppy12345 said:

peteuk said:

InAPickle76 said:

Are you her official appointee done through DWP? If so then she will not need to be with you when you ring to start the claim. If you're not her official appointee and she's unable to manage her own claim then i'd advise you to think about becoming her appointee. You'll need to contact PIP for this. https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

When we applied for my son, despite being his appointee (he has autism and struggles with social communication), the call handler asked to speak to him and he had to answer a couple of questions to give his consent for me to answer questions on his behalf. Bit pointless really as he couldn't really process what he was being asked so I was mouthing the answers to him to give to the call handler!!! Not sure if this is different now though - this was 2 years ago x

Regardless of who the appointee is, PIP assessment training advisers the assessor to speak directly to the claimant.  Certainly to pass security and then answer as much as possible.  It does somewhat fly against the idea of having an appointee.

That's bonkers! If that happened during an assessment for my daughter she would sit there and nod through everything but say nothing. I would also put in a complaint. The whole point of being someone's appointee is because they can't manage their own claim.

Its not only teenagers who have appointees, equally theres a difference between not coping with a whole assessment and answering a few questions. But yes it doesnt make sense.

poppy12345

peteuk said:

poppy12345 said:

peteuk said:

InAPickle76 said:

Are you her official appointee done through DWP? If so then she will not need to be with you when you ring to start the claim. If you're not her official appointee and she's unable to manage her own claim then i'd advise you to think about becoming her appointee. You'll need to contact PIP for this. https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

When we applied for my son, despite being his appointee (he has autism and struggles with social communication), the call handler asked to speak to him and he had to answer a couple of questions to give his consent for me to answer questions on his behalf. Bit pointless really as he couldn't really process what he was being asked so I was mouthing the answers to him to give to the call handler!!! Not sure if this is different now though - this was 2 years ago x

Regardless of who the appointee is, PIP assessment training advisers the assessor to speak directly to the claimant.  Certainly to pass security and then answer as much as possible.  It does somewhat fly against the idea of having an appointee.

That's bonkers! If that happened during an assessment for my daughter she would sit there and nod through everything but say nothing. I would also put in a complaint. The whole point of being someone's appointee is because they can't manage their own claim.

Its not only teenagers who have appointees,

Obviously i know that. My daughter isn't a teenager now but she was when i first claimed for her.