PIP refusal and appeal

[InkyPinkyPonky24]

I have suffered with agoraphobia since I was 14 years old on and off. I have had it bad again for the last 2 years and can't go out on my own as I need to hold onto someone. There are years of medical evidence for this that I have sent to the DWP which can't be refuted. For the activity of planning and following a journey, I should have scored 12 points but they awarded me 0.

I also suffer widespread pain and need to use aids when bathing. I can't stand up for long and take regular pain killers for this pain. I have spine issues that, on a bad day, stop me from even walking around the house. Again, I was awarded 0 points for everything despite medical evidence.

I appealed earlier this year but I still have not received a hearing date. It must be around 7/8 months now since my appeal application.

Has anyone been denied PIP similar to the above and then been granted it at the tribunal? How long did it take from application to hearing?

So you asked DWP to look at it again, they call this Mandatory Reconsideration, they stuck with 0 points and you'd completed form SSCS1 for the First-tier Tribunal?

Tribunals are taking well over 6 months to give a hearing date which can then turn up at short notice. The last one I saw was lodged with the Tribunal Service in October 2022 and heard in June 2023.

Success rate at tribunal, particularly for those able to attend either in person or by video, is very good indeed.

Be prepared and identify which activities for both Daily Living and Mobility you think they've underscored you for. The DWP assessment guide is on line. Various websites including Citizens Advice and Disability Rights UK have excellent content on their websites.

Good luck!!

If you're still waiting for Mandatory Reconsideration I would call them. They filed my DD's MR under 'extra evidence' and didn't even look at it!
We called after hearing nothing for 4 months.

When we went to tribunal it took at least 6 months then we received a letter saying she'd been awarded PIP.
We didn't attend, DD has ASD and wouldn't have coped.

Thank you both. I have already done the MR and got no points again despite medical evidence. I really do struggle every day but it's like the DWP are telling me I don't.

Should I have had a hearing date by now then since I applied for the appeal in January round about? I've had documents from the tribunal but just no hearing date.

Why dont you ring them and ask what’s happening? You should receive DWP’s counter arguments to your appeal prior to the actual appeal. I appealed on behalf of my son in in 2020. The hearing was about a year after the original decision. I think the backlog has worsened since then

Did you ask for a hearing you could attend either in person or by telephone/video?

Six months plus fits with my experience. Might be worth a call to HMCTS to see where you are in the queue. We only had about a fortnight's notice.

Oh wow that was a long wait for you. Yes I have had the DWPs response and I have submitted my own statement detailing how my conditions affect me along with additional evidence. I just don't understand the conclusions the DWP came to which goes against everything in the submitted evidence. It feels like they didn't even read it 🙁

I will call them tomorrow and see what is happening. I have asked to attend in person (over video call) along with my husband so he can also explain what he has to do to help me and how it all affects me etc.

DWP assessments are a law unto themselves.

I saw someone who had a Work Capability Assessment for Employment Support Allowance. She'd had a heart/lung transplant and just about managed, with some support from her sister, the few metres from the 'Blue Badge' spaces and across the office Atrium and sit down.

DWP said she could sit/stand reach, fetch carry etc and was capable of work!!

Sometimes they're unbelievable!

That's absolutely appalling. I've heard similar stories too and I just really don't understand how the DWP reach these decisions.

OP. If you think DWP’s response is total twaddle (I did) you can still add further comment to refute what they say. I left it to a week before the actual appeal so they didn’t have time for a response. They weren’t present at the appeal. I did seek advice from https://www.fightback4justice.co.uk/ if you’re feeling a bit alone in this. We won my sons appeal after a zero rating in their original decision