PIP Fraud- now even the DWP staff themselves are it!

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Clifford Redman, 57, claimed he had severe mobility issues and needed daily help - but he was caught out after being filmed going to the gym and on long walks https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2105390/dwp-fraudster-claimed-19k-caught-gym

Tip of the iceberg, serious reform needed.

You choose to live there though. I live where I do because I'm on a bus route because Im unable to drive

But so does the lady claiming PIP - she chose to live where she lives - how is she only affected by impulsive decisions when using public transport but able to drive perfectly well?

I know two people who do exactly this.

Friend's son was on CAMHS waiting list for years without any input at all. After intervention from their MP, he finally got assessed and was found to be autistic and diagnosed with PTSD and a whole host of other stuff. He uses his PIP to pay for counselling/therapy and for taxis so he can get to his sessions.

Second friend uses a chunk of hers to pay for a weekly acupuncture session which does more for her pain relief than anything the NHS has ever offered and for private physio.

They probably have other diagnoses that you have no idea about and it's the needs arising from these diagnoses that got them the enhanced rates

"They can not do any of that. Both are none verbal, unable to cook, dress or keep themselves clean."

For that type of need they will be entitled to enhanced in both and it will be more straightforward claiming PIP compared to some other claims.

"They need to stop giving £750 + every four weeks to people with anxiety for a start."

They don't. My son is in that 'group' because one of his disabilities is anxiety but it isn't the reason he gets the amount he does.

Cleaning isn't a PIP acitivity, so being unable to clean your house won't get you anywhere.

The activities and scoring system are here: PIP deescriptors and points

If someone is unable to carry out any actively safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable amount of time, they should score points for it, provided that they are unable to do it the majority of the time (which is always measured in days per week).

Surely that 1% only includes the ones that are actually caught fraudulently claiming?

I’m sure she poster knows this, considering she’s been through this process for her children.

I took clean to mean personal care e.g showering and bathing, which PIP does consider.

A few months ago on MN. I used to be a shameful "PIP basher" but I've had a change of heart reading about people's struggles and chronic pain. I was thinking to myself if I got cancer or got diagnosed with MND then I'd probably be unable to work.

I know someone who says that in 95% of the cases a disabled person can will themselves to work and should just use their wages to pay for their extra disability related costs and should just have less expenditure on other stuff. I think that you can only say that from a position of privilege as someone who hasn't experienced disability.

There will be the odd "cheeky fucker" here and there. Like someone using PIP backpay for a holiday (showing they managed fine without it) or someone we know getting PIP because they can't work a manual job, so they work a desk job and choose only to work 30 hours a week. I think PIP as a % of the total UK gov spending is minimal anyway.

'Even' your thread is so offensive to those of us with chronic illness battling to get a penny out of PIP. Educate yourself.

What do you think back pay should be used for?

I used to use some of my pip for a holiday because there's a firework championship near me every year and I find the loud noise painful.

I've now moved and don't hear it

And then there's those with physical disabilities who use their pip for holidays because they need adapted accommodation. Their holidays would be much cheaper if they weren't disabled

Double post

Because they are simpletons, rather than challenge themselves to see the bigger picture - they believe whatever they are told to believe without thinking one day they might end up disabled and be in our shoes.

This person was a student and had it for autism. They just used it and went on a holiday to Los Angeles California.

Couldn't you have bought noise cancelling headphones?

I have a pair. But I'm not wearing them for 2-3 hours 2 days in a row

Like someone using PIP backpay for a holiday (showing they managed fine without it)

I don't agree with this, I was short paid from work for a time, I didn't manage fine without, I went without gas & electric and was just cold and in the dark, I ate whatever was reduced and going out of date at the shop and didn't replace things like my shoes and just got wet feet.
I couldn't go back and relive those times with the extra money I had, obviously I bought shoes but I also had a short break away with the rest, I didn't manage fine without the extra money, it was a cold, hungry existence that would have had a real detrimental affect had it continued for more than a few months.

The same would apply for backdated PIP - people would just go without the things they can and when they get the payment, can't go back and change that, it's already done.

I've no skin in this game really, I don't claim benefits, and work full time, but I have some issues which are a challenge to work with, not for me, I have learned to work around it, but some people really don't like that I'm different and don't want to be served by me or work alongside me.
As the issues get worse with age I can see that increasing, and I can see a time when I may need some help because other people demand I work, but not where they have to look at me or interact with me because I'm a bit different. I make people uncomfortable,when I serve them because it's a little bit obvious that I'm in pain, I stutter and sometimes it takes me a little longer to formulate a response, they get annoyed.

Unfortunately there's only so many 'back of house' as it were roles that people like me can be shoved out of the way so our existence doesn't offend the great and the good.

And ?
It's back pay why shouldn't they have a holiday?

My goodness. I was in hospital with someone who was similarly badly affected by OCD. I’m so sorry you and your son are going through this and really hope things get better for you soon.

you get different descriptors for Mobility element that entitle you to different things.

both my son and i get enhanced mobility for instance. Mine entitles me, should i choose to use it, to a Blue Badge because i physically cannot walk more than 50 metres unaided/without use of mobility aids.

My son gets it because he can't use public transport by himself, cannot plan/carry out any journeys, needs to be supervised 24/7. He isn't entitled to a blue badge however, because he isn't a danger and CAN physically walk.

The fraud figure for the year ending April 2025 is 0.4%. It is a statistical estimate based on case reviews of a representative sample. The figure bas been in this sort of ball park for some years. So in summary the fraud rate on PIP is incredibly super low.

This finding will not come as any surprise to anyone who has ever applied for it. It is INCREDIBLY hard to get. You have to complete a form that is about the length of War and Peace - I had to take a week off work to fill out mine. You have to send mountains of evidence - hospital letters are usually not enough, so you have to get more letters from others such as your employer or your neighbour or your counsellor. You may also need to do a symptom diary for a few weeks. Then you have to go through a gruelling health assessment- mine was 3 hours. I have a fatiguing illness and due to the effort spent on the health assessment, I had to spend the rest of the day in bed and all of the next day. Eventually, you get a letter telling you whether you do or don’t qualify for PIP. In my case it was no. I then asked for a mandatory appeal - that was also no. A year later, I then went to a tribunal at court (another exhausting experience). The tribunal disagreed with the Department for Work and Pensions and I got awarded PIP a month later. The DWP is so harsh and strict, that many people have to take their application to tribunal and more than half of them win, which demonstrates that the DWP is actually saying no far too often.

If this person had been meeting disability costs from savings etc then this reimbursement should rightly be spent on whatever they like. If they hadn’t incurred any costs and this is just free money, then it shouldn’t be given. It of course isn’t ‘pay’ under any circumstances!

My son was diagnosed with Autism at 5 year old - referred through the education system He didn’t need to see a doctor till he was about 16 year old for some unrelated issue and the doctor had no idea he was autistic until I told him. My son has received DLA/PIP since 5 year old with no evidence from GP - just from psychologists

You're not asked on the form about extra costs. It's purely based on needs