Guide: How to make PIP contact you with email only - no letters, no calls, no face-to-face

TastyPermission

I have just successfully got the DWP to promise that they will contact me by email only. That means no letters, no phonecalls, and no face-to-face assessments. If your disabilities mean that you can't take phonecalls or have any other difficulties with the communication PIP usually uses, email the address format.pip@dwp.gov.uk.

The magic formula to include in your email is:

1. "I am writing to request a reasonable adjustment in communication." (that's the legal jargon for them meeting your needs)
2. "I have [condition/s] and am defined as disabled under the Equality Act 2010." (that's the law that forces them to comply - you don't need specific diagnoses but can say e.g. "auditory processing issues" or whatever brief summary describes you)
3. "Due to my disabilities I am unable to communicate with the DWP by phonecall [or give any other communication types or formats you can't do]." (be specific but brief, you don't need to explain exactly why this need follows from your disabilities as long as you state that it does)
4. "Therefore, I need [your specific communication requirements] when communicating with the DWP." (tell them exactly what you actually need - for example, I said that I need asynchronous text-based communication such as email for both when the DWP contacts me and when I need to contact them directly. I specified that this includes assessments as well as any other contact about my PIP status or application.)
5. "Please contact me to confirm that the DWP will [meet your needs as requested]." (always ask for receipts)
6. "[Your full name], [your National Insurance number]." (make sure they can find your case)

Please share this information with anyone you think might need it! It's actually illegal that they don't already have it public alongside their phone number and postal address.

Spoonie_Turtle

Please report back on whether they follow through on their promise.

"Asynchronous text-based communication" doesn't rule out letters?

tacpot12

Well done, and thank you for posting this guide. I can see this being very useful for some people who struggle with different forms of communication. 

However, it is worth considering before asking for reasonable adjustments whether they are really necessary. There is a risk that doing so will slow down communication, to the claimant's detriment, and it will cost the DWP more. As citizens, we should all be trying to ensure that we don't burden the government with extra costs unless there is a good reason to do so. For some people, there certainly will be very good reasons to do so, and I think the guide will really help these people and it will help the DWP because it means that the communication is as effective as it can be.

TastyPermission

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Please report back on whether they follow through on their promise.

"Asynchronous text-based communication" doesn't rule out letters?

They are indeed following through, and emailing me for everything. That description doesn't rule out letters, but I also reminded them that they're legally required to provide an equal service for disabled people, which means getting a response as timely as a phonecall would - i.e. not taking weeks or months as a letter would.

TELLIT01

I'm amazed that DWP are allegedly agreeing to no face-to-face contact.  I don't understand how a condition can be positively confirmed without, even if that is via video link.  To do so would open the doors to all manner of fraud.

poppy12345

TELLIT01 said:

I'm amazed that DWP are allegedly agreeing to no face-to-face contact.  I don't understand how a condition can be positively confirmed without, even if that is via video link.  To do so would open the doors to all manner of fraud.

Most assessments are by telephone so there wouldn't be any face to face contact in this case and it's been this way since the pandemic.