To ask for positive PIP / DLA experiences.

[ItsTheSmallThings]

Just that really. DSD had an assessment and have heard nothing but negative experiences. Has anyone had a positive experience?

I remember being sat with my son at his assessment. I watched a girl run a cross the road outside. She came into the reception and crumpled onto the floor asking for a chair saying she couldn’t walk. The receptionist had clearly seen her running in the street outside too. It was comical to say the least.

I applied for PIP it took a while for me to get up the courage to even try and claim as it was for my mental health and I heard all the stories of people being turned down constantly. Prepared myself to be refused and to go to appeal and I got it straight away after a medical over the phone - High rate care and standard mobility. They're not always monsters.

I got standard rate for daily living earlier this year and found it quite plain sailing. As a pp said, you can find the guides online on the scoring, descriptors etc. They're judging it based on how you are on the majority of your days, so you have to be quite specific eg usually one or two days a week I am almost bedbound, three days a week I am a bit better but cannot venture far and I usually have two good days a week where I am able to wash/dress/cook normally.

It took a good while but I had a video assessment which turned into a phone assessment as the assessor was having technical trouble. She was actually really lovely and explained what will happen and was just over an hour on the phone. She sent the report to DWP almost straight away so I phoned up and asked for a copy, and it took about 3 more weeks for them to basically just agree with the report and award PIP for 3 years

It's just something my supervisor said!

This was commented on on my first PIP report. While my mobility at that time was poor, I could walk slowly but painfully down the corridor. It was noted I walked with no issues, along with various other untruths. I asked for my 2nd medical assessment to be recorded, amazingly that came back accurate to what I had said.

It doesn't beat my DD's report though - Non-verbal ASD. Her universal credit assessor reported that she spoke accurately and clearly throughout the assessment! Since that experience I will always ask for it to be recorded

I had to take them to the tribunal stage and the tribunal ruled in my favour.

I had plenty of evidence from GP, hospital consultant and psychiatrist when I made my application as well as copies of tests results from MRIs and scans.

The DWP first claimed to have lost my initial form so I had to redo my application.

Then they said they had found it.

They then failed to book an assessment for me for months until I chased them on the phone.

Then at the assessment the person who conducted the interview completely ignored or distorted what I had told her and wrote something that had no resemblance whatsoever to my situation & contradicted medical advice & records.

So I was determined to go the tribunal stage and I won. They had to pay me thousands of pounds in backlog.

I would say that you need to be persistent as the private companies who got the contracts to assess people are often not fit for purpose and the whole system seems to be geared towards fobbing people off.

I work in welfare rights and do a couple of PIP applications a month.

One of my clients had an incredibly positive experience. Two to three months after the form went in, she got a phone call from someone at PIP, who asked her a few questions, but nothing like the questions she would have got at an actual assessment.

Two days later, she got another call from someone different at PIP, who told her that they were going to award her enhanced daily living and lower mobility.

I think it may have been connected with the fact that about 6 weeks before the first phone call, she had been awarded limited capability for work and work-related activity for her UC. The same thing had happened to a colleague's client, who was in the same position, a few weeks earlier. We suspect that they used information from that assessment in reaching their decision for PIP.

I have no experience of this personally, but am heartened by the positive experiences so many people have reported.

As others have said, it does tend to be the negative ones that we hear/read about.

My experience was 50/50. Stressful in the sense that the paperwork and gathering enough evidence was difficult but I had my mum to help me. Bit of background, I was a healthy working mum of 2 five years ago. My family came down with a bad cold, I caught it and was floored but because everyone else was ill I carried on as best I could. Ended up with a sinus and ear infection, which led to mastoiditis which then ended up in bacterial meningitis. I was gravely ill in hospital for 3 weeks. Side effects from the BM have been unbelievable. I have numerous neurological conditions, one that requires lumbar punctures every 4 weeks and is basically debilitating.

My paperwork for PIP was awkward and difficult and the stress of waiting was unreal. BUT when it came to my face to face appointment with the assessor, I had only heard awful things. However I was lucky enough to get an assessment with a lovely woman who's previous work history involved time spent on a stroke unit where she'd seen first hand just how debilitating my neurological condition could be.

My health still hasn't improved (gotten worse) so I've been on PIP for four years. I have to say it's been very easy after the initial application because nothing has changed and I'm still unable to work. If you need any help with anything feel free to give me a message.

Can I ask a q for you knowledgeable people. My DH got his assessment back in September with nothing awarded, sent off the mandatory reconsideration but haven't heard back yet and he's been 7 weeks. He's going to call up in morning to chase, I've heard that it's unlikely to be changed at this stage though but appeals are much more successful. Is it normal it takes this long to hear again?