Any advice regarding claiming PIP?

[EvenMoreFuriousVexation]

Hi all, I thought this would be the best place for this thread.

My son is 25 and has significant MH issues which have been affecting him for most of his life. He has never been able to work. He does hope to at some point in the future but will need a lot of support.

He has recently got his own place to live (he was driving me insane and vice versa) and he has been claiming UC since the beginning of this year (while still living with me.) He has had a work capability assessment over the phone, and the DWP have decided that he is not capable of seeking work at the moment, he will just continue receiving UC and won't need to have weekly appointments (which is good news as he found them very stressful.)

They have advised him that he should claim PIP. I thought this was part of his claim already but apparently it is a separate process. When looking how to claim, it seems this has to be done either by written form or on the phone, it's not possible to do online.

I have never navigated the benefits system and I'm finding the whole process incredibly confusing - it's very obviously designed to make it as difficult as possible for people to claim. I know several people who have given up claiming a benefit to which they were entitled as they found the whole process so demoralising.

DS has mild learning difficulties, severe anxiety and PTSD. He also has stress-linked IBS and GERD. He completely forgets to do any self-care unless I remind him. He forgets appointments, leaves letters unread, leaves a mess wherever he goes, forgets to check doors are locked, etc. He is terrified of getting lost and hates public transport so if he doesn't know where he's going he often has a panic attack if he's on his own. He takes a lot of taxis because of this.

Having read the PIP criteria I do think he qualifies for both parts of the award, probably at lower rate.

I suppose I'm just asking for advice - is it better to do a phone application or the form? I would have to help with either. What sort of questions would they ask? Is it similar to what he was asked for the capability assessment - eg is he able to cook a meal, get dressed, leave the house, has he attempted suicide, does he self harm, etc? Or is it something completely different?

I'd just like to know what to expect - DS finds "the unknown" very scary and he was very upset after the capability assessment asking about suicide etc.

Thanks in advance :)

The PIP process is absolutely terrible, it is stressful, if you start it,take it all the way, as you will be knocked back at every opportunity. I really don’t think DWP training extends to what the health condition actually is, I was told to let them know if my condition improves, I have Multiple Sclerosis!

@longhairdontcare if you are so high up in the world of pip decisions then if, as you say, it's fraud to answer questions as if it's how you cope on your worst day, then you'd better contact all the local mental health teams, citizens advice bureaus, early intervention teams for psychosis etc and inform them that they are encouraging fraudulent activity, as from reading other posts, it appears I'm not the only one who has been told to fill in the form this way. I would never encourage anyone to lie and people who falsely claim benefits are despicable but the op was asking for advice on how to fill in the form, which, as with your expertise im sure you know, is an extremely difficult benefit to successfully claim and many claims end up at tribunal which is very stressful for claimants. Conditions can vary from day to day and to tell the assessor truthfully how your condition limits your ability to look after yourself on a day to day basis is not lying and its not fraud.

The best thing to do is Google a set of the forms, print them off & practice filling them in until you feel confident in what you are going to out, then ring up for the actual forms, you will need to be with ds when you ring. Another thing is to keep a diary over a week showing all the things you do for him & all the help he needs. Do you have copies of reports of his diagnosis? You will need as much evidence as possible, don't be put off applying. There has been a recent ruling that mental health conditions & learning disabilities have to be considered for higher level awards, look of Facebook for the UK ME & chronic illness benefits advice group, you will get good advice & help on the whole process of applying from people who have gone through applying, it covers everything from completing the initial forms, the assessment, mandatory reconsiderations & appeals.

@Callywalls

If you look a little further down the thread, you'll see a post by LongHairDontCare38 who says

" I sit on PIP tribunals
Don't write about your worse day.
Anyone who has told you this is encouraging fraud
Fill out the form honestly "

You know nothing about my circumstances or how I know about the PIP system and whilst I have every sympathy for your personal circumstances, I'm not engaging in a game of disability top trumps with you.

I stand by what I said, no-one should ever complete a PIP form (or DLA for littlies) by inferring the worst days are how the condition(s) present every day. Because it's not true.

The PIP system can be traumatic to go through, it's arduous and appears to be designed to discourage you from proceeding at every step, but when I see people advising other people to 'fill in the forms as though every day is the worst day' I will say something, every time.

@Callywalls

Ok fine. I am often on here giving people advice on claiming under different names. It is what I do for a living. But grand I wont bother again 👍🏼.

I have been sitting on PIP/ESA/Fraud appeals for years now. I am so passionate about this because I want people to be engaged & have legal understanding of the laws.

I cant resist because I dont want anyone being caught claiming falsely

Reg 7- you must have these difficulties to the extent claimed 50% of the required period. The required period for PIP is 3 months before the date of decision & 9 months after

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/377/regulation/7

Im now leaving MN.

@blanktimes if you read my post I did not say fill in the form as if every day was your worst day. When completing the form you should let them know how you cope on your worst day but I did not say the word every.

@longhairdontcare38 I apologise if I've upset you. It was the use of the word fraud after the other poster accused me of being a liar that upset me. Please continue to advise people on here as you have given some really valuable information and if someone like you, who actually cares, is on the pip tribunal then that is very reassuring. I, too, was only trying to help the op. I had never had any experience of the benefits system till two years ago and it's all so confusing. I cannot stress enough I would never want anyone to lie about their condition, just make sure that they mention everything and how bad their condition affects them on a daily basis. There is such a stigma around mental health issues and claiming benefits and its notoriously hard to get awarded pip. Sorry again, I really hope you don't leave mn.

@Callywalls

This is a cut and paste of your post

"Callywalls Sun 06-Jun-21 12:19:54
As a previous poster said, when filling in the form answer questions as if it is his worst day. We were told to do this by our mh support workers and this was also stated on a guide that we were given to help fill in the form"

Your exact words advising someone on how to complete a PIP form were

when filling in the form answer questions as if it is his worst day

It's true, you did not specifically state "every" question, but neither did you specifically state the words "some" or "every alternate" or "every fourth" or any other qualifier.

In my opinion, anyone reading your advice and the advice you say you were given would infer from your words that you meant every question, which is why I challenged it.

Let me make my position very clear once more.
For anyone who is new to the PIP system and is advised to answer the questions as if it's the claimant's worst day :-

Do Not Do That.

When completing a form for PIP, everyone should answer all of the questions honestly. It really is as simple as that.

@Callywalls Nope I wont bother.

It is wrong to answer your worst day it must be how you are the majority of the time. @LongHairDontCare38 your support is invaluable to people. If you are still reading messages please consider staying. I think disability/pip are such emotive topics that people say things without meaning to. It’s a byproduct of ATOS/CAPITA insinuating you are liar.

My worst day is most days so I feel its an honest representation for me

My son gets it for MH. He gets enhanced and mobility. We didn't do the worst days only, we were honest about good days and triggers but it was a stress.

@LST you've hit the nail on the head there. That is exactly what the situation is for most people, their worst days are in fact most days. I'm not encouraging anyone to lie but the amount of people who downplay their condition or don't give enough information during their application is astonishing. That is why tribunals exist, because of all the cock ups made the first time round, but what a stressful thing to have to go through when you are so unwell in the first place. My advice to anyone claiming pip is to give as much information as possible and really stress how bad your condition affects you on a day to day basis. Don't feel ashamed, that money is there to assist the most vulnerable people in our society and rightly so. I was gonna tell everyone the tip someone who works at the benefits office once gave me, that ensures you will be awarded the higher level of ESA, not by lying or committing fraud but a question on the form that most people don't answer correctly, as the wording is so confusing, but I'll probably get lynched if I do. Good luck to everyone applying for disability benefits, with the attitudes on this thread, you'll certainly need it!!

Oh gosh I didn't mean to start a bunfight!

Thank you to everyone who has shared their experience. DS definitely has good and bad days, but the bad definitely outweighs the good.

Hi @EvenMoreFuriousVexation. I've just been awarded PIP this week at the higher rate and the lower rate for mobility. It's £120 a week. For OCD and depression, even though I worked.

I was very lucky in that I never had to have an assessment. I sent the forms off with tons of evidence (letter from my therapist, psychiatrist, and hospital doctor as I was an inpatient at the time). They wrote to me saying I didn't need an assessment as the evidence provided was enough.

I will say, get your son (with your help) to phone TODAY because your claim starts from the day you do that. And it takes forever. I called on November 4th, and got my success letter just this past week. So 7 months!!!

I didn't find the form that hard. Me and my partner did it together and just answered honestly, goods and bads. It took a few days as the form is so long. I read a lot of negative threads on here about it but tried not to worry and all was good :)

PS they backdate the claim to the day you called up, so even though it takes forever you'll get a nice lump sum.