To ask for help re Personal Independence Payment?

[GripNeeded123]

My 63 year old mother is currently in the process of applying to transfer from DLA to PIP. She submitted her application in January and had a face to face assessment in March. She then received a letter last month saying that the DWP had all of the information it needed to decide its case.

She has now received another letter requiring her to attend another face to face assessment, as they haven't got enough information to decide her claim. The stress of this process is causing her condition to worsen significantly.

Does anyone have any experience of being required to attend a second assessment? It doesn't seem reasonable to me. Also, does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this? Can I complain?

Thanks for any advice.

I'm a Welfare Rights Officer and have been dealing with PIP since its introduction. I have to say I've never heard of this

I'd contact them and ask for an explanation from a decision maker or case manager - your mum would need to be present to give consent. If you're not confident contacting them yourself contact your local authority or CAB and ask for their Welfare Rights

Thank you. I have spoken to Atos and raised a complaint but will contact the DWP on Tuesday. The only problem is that I find it is very difficult to speak to anyone that knows anything about the case - they all just say, I don't have access t that information.

Unfortunately that is common as you call through to a contact centre which is separate from the processing centre where the case managers and decision makers are based. I usually have to ask for a callback which can take up to 48 hours. Persistence is key and always keep a note of who you speak to. Good luck

I have just spoken to the DWP who told me that there wasn't a decision maker in charge of my mother's claim and that it wasn't the DWP who would make a decision to ask for a second assessment, rather ATOS have asked for this second assessment die to new medical evidence coming to light.

This is completely contrary to what ATOS have told me - they said th DWP sent back the claim to them on 1 May.

I have asked for a call back. But I had to really insist upon this, as I was told they wouldn't be able to tell me anything different.