pip assessor lies

[1littleduck]

Hi all.
I have read a lot of your posts regarding lies made by the pip assessors and I am joining your club.
My rejection letter was received on Friday and is a total fabrication to which I am going to fight all the way.
I had an assessor pointing, shouting and threatening me because I had a panic attack. They stated that I demonstrated good power and movement in my legs when I spent the whole duration of the assessment sitting with my feet up on the couch.
Could I make a suggestion. Is anyone familiar with starting a campaign and raising signatures for the government to make a new law stating that 'if an Employed assessor provides deliberate false and misleading information relating to any part of an assessment they can be personally sued for liable whether or not they are working on behalf of any company employed to carry out the task. If the company responsible for supplying the information requested deliberately alters the report, then the officer making the alterations should be named and is therefore also guilty of a criminal act and can be sued as an individual'
I am sure this, providing false documentation, is a criminal act but not clear weather an individual can be sued for it, but saying that, If we manage to get such a law passed through parliament then the days of the sheer fabrication, dishonest reporting and dam right lies of the PIP reports would be a thing of the past.

I know we will need 10,000 signatures for this to be debated in parliament and would think we could well exceed this if we tried.

I’m awaiting my decision now. Reading yours has just made me feel sick to my stomach. Although my assessor was lovely (which scares me even more- was she too nice?) it doesn’t make the wait any less easier.

I have just had my refusal through, the assessor lied about everything, i have had to appeal by don't hold out much hope really, cab said they have had loads of people in to say the assessor has lied in theirs too, it shouldn't be allowed.

There should absolutely be a consequence for the assessors. But the government are unlikely to pass any laws about it because they want people to lose these benefits. That's not to say that a petition wouldn't at least make them tacitly admit it...

In the meantime, make a formal complaint to whichever company did the assessment and also to whichever medical association the assessor belongs to. If they are lying, they need to be struck off. I still regret not taking my complaint against a 'mental health nurse'- who absolutely screwed my daughter over with no compunction in her report- all the way. We won the tribunal but by that point I was too exhausted to continue.

I would suggest that it should be allowed to take someone with you to the meeting and for the whole meeting to be videoed

I hope your letter is good news, I expected the result I got as I had an assessment a few years ago for ESA and got much the same rejection, I went to a tribunal and won so even if they turn you down do not give up.
I have just joined this site and it is full of good advise and draws on a lot of experience so you are in safe hands. :)
We have to try to put a stop to these people and as the government, in reality, work for us they should, at least, provide a honest organisation to carry out anything which effects people's lives.

I understand many of these assessors are nurses, I am surprised none get reported to the NMC

you can take someone with you but the rules on recording the assessment are designed to make it impossible
AFAIK you have to use a non digital method capable of making 2 simultaneous recordings, ie a twin deck cassette recorder

An assessor claimed my neighbour had two fully functioning legs, ankles and feet and he was capable of walking with ease but 'refused' to do so during the assessment. He lost his leg above the knee 30 years ago! He won easily at appeal, with help from Welfare Rights to fill the forms in. The panel was disgusted at his treatment. Good luck and don't give in to this incompetent evil shower!

if enough people sign the petition then they have to take notice of it, and once we get near the target amount then that's the time to get the national newspapers involved... push it and we will get our law!
I just don't have the expertise to start it, but am good at getting to the end of it.

You can record your assessment with permission. The problem is with PIP assessments that they just see an hour snapshot of your life and base it on that. I attended an assessment with someone and she told the assessor she could barely walk and received enhanced rates for both. Within a few weeks she had put in a claim for carers allowance to care for her elderly dad ! My point is just that the lies work both ways.
In your situation I would make a formal complaint and ask for an MR if you think the decision is wrong. If you know the assessor was a nurse you can report to the NMC.

You are not unreasonable. The stories I could tell you of my dad's assessment would make your toes curl. Always be prepared to get all the help you can to fight the bastards and their lies.

I have a lovely friend who worked as one of these assessors for 15 months and it nearly broke her. The training is poor and the workload horrendous, she has managed to escape now although she left with no job to go to.

I had a reassessment a few weeks ago and am waiting to see. I don’t even know what my assessor was because they never gave me their name or profession.
The first one I had contained lies but I didn’t challenge the award made.

Every one of my 3 PIP assessments contained lies as well as simple incorrect gathering of facts. I see those as 2 different things.

Eg report said I struggled walking due to damage of my left hip. It's my right hip. Incorrect fact.

Report said I was able to prepare a meal without any adjustments. I said I would struggle to prepare a meal. When asked if I could make a sandwich instead, I said only if the packet of ham was already opened for me. The PIP guidelines state it is a hot meal, microwave meal not ok as a substitute. The sandwich question was irrelevant and the response was fabricated.

I found the whole process very distressing and having been through it a number of times now, I'm loathed to complain to NMC. For my own mental health sake. Self preservation.

It really isn't that simple. So much is subjective. Who would do a job when if they got it wrong they could be sued - personally - for libel/slander and might end up with a criminal conviction or subject to pay damages??? It is a ridiculous idea. (It's not like assessors are paid six-figure salaries is it?).

babyroobs interesting you say that about your friend. As I was reading this I wondered where they actually find these people as I find it hard to believe but there's so many similar stories!
I wondered whether the job turns good people bad or if it just attracts the exact opposite of what you'd want in an assessor!

I had a PIP assessment in October, I was on DLA from 2007 & got moved over to PIP in March 2017 with a home assessment & got awarded enhanced care & mobility. I've had a copy of the assessment report from my latest claim & it should start with once upon a time, it's full of lies. The assessor says she observed me walk 22 metres unaided from the waiting room to the assessment room, normally, without stopping, my gait is normal & I walked at an acceptable speed. She actually just stuck her head out the door, shouted my name & disappeared, I had to hold on my mum's arm & had to stop twice & lean on the wall, I was born with a dislocated hip & limp badly, my legs agreement straight due to severe arthritis in my knees. When I finally got to the room she was sat typing. Every question she was typing the answer before I'd had chance to answer the question. I've reported her to the Nursing & Midwifery Council & put a complaint in to the assessment company, I haven't received a decision yet but I'm expecting to lose my motability car, I will be housebound then, I've got CFS/ME, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Depression, Anxiety & PTSD. It's wrong that they are allowed to put us through this cruel process when we aren't claiming anything we aren't due to.

Mine lied about certain things, I still got PIP but lower rate than I was on with DLA..

My partners lied through her teeth - one example was that because he is my carer this shows he is motivated and capable...

It doesn't. It shows that as I have a partner living with me full time not currently in receipt of any disability benefits, I have NO CHOICE but to have him as my carer even though he is not motivated OR capable and as a result we both struggle/suffer!

Apparently he was well, bright, clean, engaged well with the assessor and made good eye contact.

Reality - he stank as he had a meltdown about having a shower, put on comfy but dirty clothes rather than the clean but not comfy clothes, stared at the floor the entire time and mumbled frequently.

Awaiting Mandatory reconsideration - which will be another Fuck Off from them I am sure because adult autism and depression simply don't exist as far as ATOS/CAPITA/DWP care.

I am another one who got refused, mine wasn't outright lies, but the facts were distorted, 18 months later and I am still waiting for my tribunal and looking like I am going to have to start gearing up for a fight for ESA in the new year.

I am lucky in the fact that I will hopefully be able to go back to work at some point, so won't be relying on these forever, but the whole process has made my mental health hit rock bottom on several occasions and due to the latest saga (I have had 2 cancellations on the tribunal) I have been slipping further down.

I have also received a PIP rejection full of lies, some of which I found very offensive. They also claimed I do not have disordered eating as I wasn't underweight. They didn't weigh me nor take into consideration that my medication causes severe weight gain.
The assessor was extremely 'nice' and I even thanked her for making me feel comfortable. What a fucking joke. Don't trust these people.
I've asked for a reconsideration and argued my case against each point but this caused so much stress as a lot of my problems stem from being raped and almost killed. They could not care less though and made a mockery of what I've been through.

I also agree that the lies work both ways. Someone in receipt of PIP reapplying on grounds that she hadn't been outside the house for four years since her traumatic rape by ex-partner and could only be spoken to by female assessors, workers, medical practitioners etc. Fair enough - but she had since - somehow - conceived two other children.
I accompanied someone to an assessment as she was “terrified of falling" due to dizzy spells and inability to walk far. I took three hours out of my day, paid my own tube fares and held her arm while she walked. Once we were out of the assessment centre I offered to accompany her to her home. She lit up a fag, said that no she was fine and walked confidently off to the underground station.

I know that most people do not do this. I know that. BUT there are enough that do to make the job impossible given the training and salary paid to the assessors.

I would campaign for a change in the system completely and absolutely. I think the whole process is degrading and humiliating and also, pardoxically, open to abuse.

They are notorious for it. Definately appeal but make sure you are using correct criteria. Use the government website, cab, welfare rights advisor, helpline for your disability or benefit and work guides.

My son'r PIP assessment was a farce and he was awarded zero points even though he had had a lifetime award of DLA for HRC and HRM. At Tribunal they stopped going through the form when he'd got enough points for enhanced rates of both. DWP representative was hopeless knew nothing of the case and panel were far from impressed. It's an incredibly cruel and unfair system.

My sometime oxygen dependent baby boy has just had his DLA refused.

He then nearly died two days later after developing croup so so that was fucking fun week.

I was told on the phone it's common for parents to exaggerate asthma symptoms. Which would be a fair point to make if he had asthma but he doesn't he has chronic lung disease...

They also claimed I do not have disordered eating as I wasn't underweight

I went for an assessment and was told I don't have disordered eating as I eat 'A biscuit a day and am a healthy weight'

At no point was I asked what I ate in a day, so I have no idea where biscuit came from and they didn't weigh me, so not only do they have no idea what I weigh, but, it's also obvious to see that i'm very underweight!

Various letters from different consultants and GP's were ignored and they concluded from this, that there is no reason why I can't work over 60 hours a week.