PIP

[newaccountwhodis]

Hi. New to the forum and PIP and am hoping some of the forum members can help me understand the claim process a little better, I applied for PIP in early December 2022. DWP told me that Capita had received my forms on December 9th. But i have not had a phone assessment scheduled yet. So i called Capita just to make sure everything was fine with my claim. They told me this morning that my claim "is in initial review" and that they "are requesting info from my medical contacts so they can do a Paper assessment". Is this a good/bad sign that my claim will be successful?

Thank you for your quick responses. I understand more clearly now.

Thank you for your quick responses. I understand more clearly now.

Had my phone assessment yesterday, does anyone know who i need to contact to request a report from it, to get an idea of how i did? and how long do i need to wait until i request this information?

Your outcome should arrive automatically, unless its changed you need to wait for your outcome letter before you can request your report.

Give it a week and you can ask for the report. You don't have to wait at all.

ok, thank you guys

@newaccountwhodis you’ll get a text message to say they have got your report. When you get that text you can ring them to ask for a copy. It’s the same number you ring to start the claim x

May I ask, mental health anxiety was mentioned in the thread. What do people get PIP for/what do you ask for PIP for, for Anxiety?

You don't ask for PIP for anything. You answer questions about how your condition/s affects
you.

Ah sorry, badly worded. I'm not sure how to word it. I suffer with anxiety and have been wondering if I'm entitled to PIP but then I can't figure out why they would award it to me, what would I use the money for?

@TooGosh

It doesn't matter what you would use it for, if you qualify you qualify.

Look at the descriptors and see if they apply to you

I will do, thank you. Sorry to derail thread.

Had my assessment last week, it was really rushed and don’t think it went well

Thanks Amy, I got that text message earlier today. Going to call them about the report tomorrow.

I felt the same about mine, the assessor seemed to be going through the questions very quickly. I tried to give as much detail as possible about my conditions and just hoping now that things will work out.

No worries

OP I hope you get an award but if they knock you back, be ready to ask for the MR and if necessary, a tribunal.

Over 70% of claims which go to tribunal are won by the claimant so it is worth doing.

When you get your assessment papers, be prepared for there to be a lot of made-up bollocks about what you said.

Mind you, you could be lucky. I wasn't. I had to fight and fight, and it took 18 months from when I first claimed to get to a tribunal. At that point I was finally awarded PIP and it was backdated all that time, too, so I got a lot of money in one go. Getting PIP alters the amount of other benefits, too, and they're backdated.

If you get awarded the Daily Living component at either rate, don't forget that someone can then claim Carer's Allowance for you.

@TooGosh If it's any help to you, consider how your depression and anxiety affects the way you live your life. For example, I wrote that I do not always feel like getting dressed due to depression, and need encouragement to do so.

For the mobility side of it, you could say that going out alone makes you anxious, especially in unfamiliar places.

Look at all the descriptors and work out how your own condition affects them. If you can get a Welfare Rights Officer to help you to complete the form it would be really helpful.

Thank you @TheShellBeach . That's all true, I'm also too practical and overthink so I wasn't going to apply as I didn't see how the money could help. As in, I can't go out at certain times, but I don't see how money can help that. But I'm starting too see that maybe that isn't the point. Thanks all, it's really interesting to read this thread.
I do hope everyone is getting a positive conclusion to their claims.

Thank you, i'll will definitely be asking for the MR if i am unsuccessful on this occasion. I'm glad to hear you won yours, especially after all that time.

Hello, I’m joining this thread, looking to see if anyone more experienced can advise me. I’d like to put in a claim for PIP. I’m very ill with cancer that keeps coming back, and this seems to be the only benefit I might be entitled to. I still work full time from home. I only have generic letters from the hospital -re appointment dates, surgery dates etc. I have had a hospital-provided psychologist, but that has finished now. I’ve emailed my GP practice three times -once last May, and twice in December, and my psychologist wrote to them too, in December, and neither of us have had any response. I feel very disillusioned with the whole medical community. My diagnosis and treatment has been both negligent and completely chaotic. I’m not mentally strong and I am not in any position to push. I’m not sure that I can face filling in any forms, but also I can’t see what evidence I can provide. At the moment, my damage is psychological- I cannot leave the house, or socialise, for example. I cannot go to the shops to buy food, so I’m increasingly losing weight. I cannot get in a bath. But how would I prove any of this? I haven’t left my house since early December. I have been turned down for Talking Therapies.

The money will help to pay for all the things you already pay for. You do not have to tell the DWP what you're going to spend the money on. They do not ask and it's irrelevant.
The idea of PIP is to compensate people who need to make adjustments in their daily living circumstances as a result of disabilities, regardless of what the disabilities are.

Please get yourself a welfare rights advisor to help you to fill in the form.

Hi there - see if you can find a welfare rights advisor to assist you in completing the form. It's a minefield to start with.
People do not claim PIP for particular health conditions, but rather for their inability to perform certain activities of daily living and mobility.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

Thank you @TheShellBeach this is a revelation!!

I get pip for mh and physical health and my money is spent on taxis to hospital appointments as my consultants aren't local this is usually a couple of times a month and I can't use public transport or drive due to mh. I also use it for deliveries as I can't go to shops or supermarkets ect. I also use it to pay a cleaner as I can't clean my own home. I will also use it for private therapy in the future when I get discharged from the cmht. Being disabled is very expensive.