To think this is just cruel of ATOS (PIP assessment related)

[ATOStheCRUEL]

So, I have to go for a PIP assessment to somewhere 40 miles away. I am blind and severely deaf. I can't get there by myself and I don't have many options for people to come with me.

They sent an appointment for a random day of their choice. I telephoned to change it to a day when my husband could take me. Since I'm deaf, it was quite hard to understand the person I spoke to, but I got it changed.

Now my husband's work can't give him the day off due to client pressures. I telephoned to change the appointment again. The woman I spoke to said that the rule is that you can only change your appointment once. They won't change it again and if I don't attend 'then the decision about whether to award you benefit will be made on that basis' (i.e. they won't give it).

I nearly cried over the phone. She was really unsympathetic and kept saying 'well that's the system'.

Isn't that just cruel? The whole reason I need PIP is because I have very little mobility and can't travel without help. I can't just get a taxi because a taxi driver won't hold my arm and take me into the building and see me into the room with the advisor, and wait outside the door for me and bring me back and see me back into my house. Let alone take me to the toilet if I need it during the several hours.

I am going to have to ask my 80 year old mother to drive up from her house 200 miles away in order to take me to the appointment.

I think the people running ATOS and the politicians aiding and abetting them are wicked.

OP - the assessment is not to establish proof of your disability but to assess how it impacts your daily living. If you attend, you MUST tell them what you have gone through to get there and what support your mother is providing for you.

Tell them about your worst days, not your best. Be aware of what specific questions will be used to infer. I was asked if I could make a sandwich - to then evidence I could prepare a simple meal. I don't carry a handbag, I put my car keys on the desk. Holding keys equalled average strength and dexterity despite medical evidence showing 20% function in both hands.

I went alone, big mistake. I asked for help from the front door to the waiting area, and from there to the room. It's a deliberate distance to evidence that someone can walk more than 10 meters. I can't and stopped, asked for a chair etc and someone else walked with a chair with me. This was about 12 months ago, I now use a wheelchair. Much easier.

Don't push yourself to do more than you can. If you need someone to hold your arm and guide you, make sure they see this. Ask them to slow down if they speed off etc.

Best of luck, I know how stressful this can be. xx

Hi I was told I couldn't bring my own tape recorders but could hire one - there is advice on their website about this. Maybe ring and ask. You also need to ring and tell them you are taking someone with you to your interview. It may say on the letter you are welcome to bring someone with you but hidden away on their website FAQs it states you have to tell them before hand and they must bring I'd. Saw someone turned away as they hadn't done this so they had to go in alone. I took my mum in and she made notes including the time the question was asked. The assessor didn't like it but as I have. Memory probs it was pointed out if I had need to appeal I would need to look at these notes to remember what I said. Have you looked on fightback Facebook page they give good advice. Good luck.

I don't want my mother to come into the interview with me. She has severe anxiety problems and hearing me describe the difficulties i deal with every day will give her endless sleepless nights with worry about what happens when she is gone.
I will look into hiring tape recorders. I'm not sure I could set them up though, would the interviewer be willing to do that? I guess not.

You must take someone, pref not your mother then. Can you get support from a friend, charity, other relative? Is there any way for your husband to press harder for the day off? I rang atos to request permission to record and was told two ordinary tale recorders was acceptable. Upon my request they then email the assessor for consent. You would need to contact atos again for confirmation that the assessor consented.

OP you absolutely must have someone with you in the interview.

Call your local disability advice service as I suggested above - they will be able to provide you with a representative to be with you.

The problem is not everyone has someone to go in with them. I don't. My family are abusive and friends long ago got sick of being told to meet my care needs.

My county no longer has anyone to help with appeals. NO ONE. If you need to appeal then you must go to the county court. Alone waiting with criminals, with accompanying police to have your appeal heard where you represent yourself, it's soul destroying. Last time I had a breakdown.

My county has one of the highest rates for benefits being withdrawn.

The assessment centre in my county is closing. The new one is almost two hours away and not accessible. I refuse to let anyone into where I live (there's a reason for that), it's so small I cannot move if there's another person here with me and it becomes claustophobic fast - I have a bedroom, tiny bathroom and kitchenette.

My GP told me when we discussed this due to being rural the dwp are refusing home visits in my county. Even those the GP must visit at home must travel or lose benefit.

It's true you can only change once whereas they can change appointments multiple times.

My experience of capita (crapita) for assessments is far worse than atos. I guess it depends who you get.

I knew an assessor years ago and she said it wasn't so much the assessors it was the decision makers who could over ride what was on the system (then at least) and during training it's drummed into you that you are not there for the customer, all training, duty of care etc doesn't apply to customers. She lasted three weeks, two of which were the 'specialist training'.

(Sorry for essay and, for slight hijack op. Just making the point not everyone has the option of someone to go with them due to service cuts).

Have you asked local church groups / cab. I know my local Catholic Church runs a volunteer scheme to take people to appointments/ sit with them etc , take notes or ring your cab and ask them what to do .

joan my local CAB closed due to lack of funding. Church won't get involved due to level of need being overwhelming and deciding how they choose the people to help - can't help everyone and churches closing means they're snowed under with work.

There are, sadly, areas like mine where there is no help with representation at benefit medicals and people have no choice but to go alone. I don't know where the OP lives and possibly they have access to CAB but not everyone does.

I went to a thing like this before, my husband couldn't come and I contacted a nursing/care agency. I think they were called something like care 24/7 or something similar. She came to my house, was lovely, took me to the appointment, brought me home - all in her nurse's uniform. I got highest rates for both components and I think it cost me something like £70 which although is plenty of money, in this case it bought future security and greatly reduced stress on the day itself. Wishing you the best of luck. To be honest, given your conditions, I'd be surprised if they actually intended for you to be assessed- as you have all the paperwork and diagnostics etc. Maybe call the DWP itself and not ATOS and find out if you can just send them your reports instead.

My mother will take me to the interview and into the interview room but I will ask her to leave the room during the actual interview.

The interviewer will probably have some difficulty talking to me - they'll have to repeat themselves a few times etc.

I will take my own notes since I don't think I could manage the whole tape recorder business without help. I will have to keep my finger on the page so I don't write over my own writing. I might need the interviewer to write their own name on the paper as it's difficult for me to understand names and other words that don't have any context. And the interviewer will have to stop talking while I write because I can't listen and write at the same time - I need to concentrate quite hard to listen.

Do you think that the interviewer will accommodate this? Perhaps it will help them appreciate my every day difficulties.

You request ATOS for the interview to be recorded, then they give you the tape when its finished (I think).

OP where are you in the country may I ask?

Afaik, not all Atos centres have recording equipment, so if you request a recorded interview, if they don't have a machine at the building, they may have to reschedule the interview elsewhere.

I will take my own notes since I don't think I could manage the whole tape recorder business without help. I will have to keep my finger on the page so I don't write over my own writing. I might need the interviewer to write their own name on the paper as it's difficult for me to understand names and other words that don't have any context. And the interviewer will have to stop talking while I write because I can't listen and write at the same time - I need to concentrate quite hard to listen

This is all very good evidence for the 'communicating' module on your PIP form. Explain all of what you have written here to the ATOS professional so that it's on tape. (It's fine to write it on a piece of paper and read it to the person).

Can I please repeat that atos do NOT provide any recording facilities. You have to request permission to record and then take your own equipment. OP I would think getting assessor to press record button would be far easier than taking your own notes. Also I am not sure how your difficulty with nite taking will support your claim as writing ability is not an activity that is assessed

There was a case about recording assessments and it said that under that ruling they must provide recording equipment. As far as I know nothing has changed as it was deemed unfair to expect claimants to bring equipment. The case was a few years ago but was quite clear.

I'll see if I can find the reference.

I asked about recording when I first rang ATOS and the person I spoke to said that I would have to bring my own equipment and that it would need to produce two tapes/CDs simultaneously.

I know that writing ability isn't in the assessment. But if I have to take my own notes, one side effect is that the assessor will see first-hand that my deafness means I can't hear while trying to write. S/he would have to stop talking while I write, and wait for me to be composed again before I can listen. Not sure if they would accommodate that, since it will inevitably slow down the interview.

Can I please repeat that atos do NOT provide any recording facilities

In that case they have changed the rules as I have personally accompanied someone to an ATOS interview that was recorded. She was told she was not allowed to take her own recording equipment.

I'll see if I can find current guidelines.

Recording my consultation

Yep, bastards have changed the rules. Who the hell has recording equipment that makes two copies at once?

Aside from that my other points stand OP. Whereabouts are you? You need to find your local Disability Advice Service.

You tend to have 45 minutes allocated for an assessment. I'm not sure why you will be making notes? I don't think they will be admissible if you need to appeal. That's why it's important to record it.

OP, where snouts in the country are you? I'm in South Northumberland (NE of the country) and currently on maternity leave. If you're anywhere close to me I'd be happy to take you and come in with you and note take. X

Ditto above. I only work part time and would be happy to help out if you were local

WTF! There are no devices capable of making 2 x CDs at once! Not that are affordable or portable. Why wouldn't a dictaphone/MP3 be acceptable?

The 2 x CDs at once seems to be ATOS rather than the governments requirements, too!

Weird!

manon thankyou for the link. There's no way I can carry recording equipment so that won't be an option for me either.

They are big and expensive that was why the case, which I was trying to find, was bought to court as it was unfair to expect 'customers' to bring their own as so many couldn't.