PIP assessment - Scary — Scope | Disability forum
If we become concerned about you or anyone else while using one of our services, we will act in line with our safeguarding policy and procedures. This may involve sharing this information with relevant authorities to ensure we comply with our policies and legal obligations.

Find out how to let us know if you're concerned about another member's safety.
Please read our updated community house rules and community guidelines.

PIP assessment - Scary

ladylee25
ladylee25 Community member Posts: 2 Listener
OMG! I had a PIP assessment and it was the worse assessment i have ever experienced. It started of with a gentleman asking me aload of questions. He was very serious and showed no emotion at all. He just start flying questions at me, I was physically sweating at the end of it because on was too intense. My two carers came with me and even they said that they felt the pressure too and they wasnt even being assessed. 

The types of questions he asked me were: 
- Can you change yourself? 
- How do you move around? 
- Do you socalise? 

There was so many question and he was trying to trick me by saying things in different ways. I dont think I could ever go through that again. It was too stressful. i understand that they want to ensure that the right people have it but they are more likely to make us disabled people worse because of the stress we have to endure. 

Comments

  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
    Hello ladylee25, welcome to the scope cumunity, we all have had acessments and reading your story I would advise anyone having this type of acessment to ask the acessor to repeat the question, explain what do you mean by socialise, or move around I don't understand your question, you will have to slow down, they should get the hint or maybe they where trying to increase their throu put of acessments?For a bonus?
  • whistles
    whistles Community member Posts: 1,583 Disability Gamechanger
    My assessment was 45 minutes and was fine. 
    My carer did need to answer for me in some aspects involving memory because I didn't know the answer.
    They do need to go into details.
    I did find some aspects embarrassing though. I am naturally a private person.
    Do not follow me, I don't know where I am going.
  • GizmoTiddles
    GizmoTiddles Community member Posts: 159 Pioneering
    edited May 2018
    He @ladylee25    my assessment also lasted around 45mins   The assessor did ask probing questions but they didn't faze me and gave as good as I got on the whole I thought it a fair one thouht I do think he was a bit peeved as I emphasized repeatedly how my illness effected me .
    How how long it  took me to walk a given distance in my garden .
    Which he couldn't argue with
    I achieved a good result 
    Gizmo 
  • ricky1040
    ricky1040 Community member Posts: 121 Pioneering
    i kinda think those questions are reasonable. but i do know it can be scary. i kinda wonder weather there should be different questions for dofferent scenarios. i can understand why the government felt they had to do something because of the scammers just a shame its effected us so badly. if the actual process was more adequte i think its a good idea. just seems that its very much not 
  • ricky1040
    ricky1040 Community member Posts: 121 Pioneering
    i was just proper honest made sure i was allowed to verbalise everything and not cut off. explained the dofferences i face day to day from the worst to the best days. i just hope the whole spectrum is considered and they dont just take my very best days. 
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    ladylee25 said:
    OMG! I had a PIP assessment and it was the worse assessment i have ever experienced. It started of with a gentleman asking me aload of questions. He was very serious and showed no emotion at all. He just start flying questions at me, I was physically sweating at the end of it because on was too intense. My two carers came with me and even they said that they felt the pressure too and they wasnt even being assessed. 

    The types of questions he asked me were: 
    - Can you change yourself? 
    - How do you move around? 
    - Do you socalise? 

    There was so many question and he was trying to trick me by saying things in different ways. I dont think I could ever go through that again. It was too stressful. i understand that they want to ensure that the right people have it but they are more likely to make us disabled people worse because of the stress we have to endure. 

    All he wanted was a YES/NO answer. Did he ask you to elaborate on your answers? 
    My 3 assessments have been like that - closed questioning. The reason they ask those types of questions is to try to avoid you giving out any information that may help your case. If you had said NO to moving around, he should have then asked more closed questions so that at the end you would eventually agree to his statement.

    That type of questioning is extremely useful where the person being interviewed is reticent with their replies as in a police interview. 
    Do you know...?
    Where you at.....?
    Did you do it alone?
    It is not really suitable for a PIP assessment to use that line of questioning where the assessor is trying to understand your difficulties. They can only get that information from you by asking open questions that require more than a YES/NO answer.

  • Waylay
    Waylay Community member, Scope Member Posts: 973 Pioneering
    @ricky1040 The % of fraudulent claims for ESA and PIP is 0.7%
  • ricky1040
    ricky1040 Community member Posts: 121 Pioneering
    is it.  wow. the way its potrayed youd think was 30-40 percent wouldnt ya!? thanks for the info. 
  • ricky1040
    ricky1040 Community member Posts: 121 Pioneering
    propbably purposely made that way to influence public oppinion. 
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    Waylay said:
    @ricky1040 The % of fraudulent claims for ESA and PIP is 0.7%

    That's not entirely true. The DWP have absolutely no idea what the fraud rate is. All they can do is look at the number of cases of fraud that they know about to come up with that figure. The cases that never come to their attention is unknown.

    what they should be saying is that the estimated amount of fraud is a minimum of 0.7%.
    However there is no way that they would make that statement  as it would lead to questions of what then is the actual figure (known & unknown) and what are the DWP doing about investigating it?

  • whistles
    whistles Community member Posts: 1,583 Disability Gamechanger
    Considering pip can't award the majority of claimants with the correct award, that figure is likely to be wrong. 
    Either the person was honest and they decided not, or dishonest and missed. 

    Do not follow me, I don't know where I am going.
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    It is easy to exaggerate a little here and a little there plus it is quite possible to get the GP to agree that those little 'increases' in difficulties actually do exist as you could also with Social Services. This could give rise to a slightly higher award than is really appropriate.
    That is fraud.
    If the DWP 'reduce' the quoted difficulties that gives rise to a lower award than it should be it is called good housekeeping!


  • Waylay
    Waylay Community member, Scope Member Posts: 973 Pioneering
    @ricky1040 Yup. I'm sure that the DWP does everything in its power to make these stats as high as possible! A while ago they combined fraud with DWP error, which made it somewhere around 4%, I believe. Gross.
  • ricky1040
    ricky1040 Community member Posts: 121 Pioneering
    @Yadnad I cant believe you see it like that.  There is nothing easy about disability. I tens to tey and hide mine and say im ok when im not as i dont want to seem a burden or in fact be a burden to the people i care about. in the same line of thinking that cos i hide pain im more disabled. i dont think so. exaggeration is a choice. i choose the moral high ground with my assesment and was properly honest. i think the assessor picked up on it and was appreciative of it. but yanno what i was actually advised to exaggerate as the process is unfair and assumes things. but i guess the proof of the pudding will be when i get my result. currently laying on my sofa cant move my right leg at all and have been awake all night with pain. but am sure am just exagerating. 
  • ricky1040
    ricky1040 Community member Posts: 121 Pioneering
    @Yadnad i know that was wuite the rant but also fair enough your entitled to your oppinions
  • Shlbly
    Shlbly Community member Posts: 136 Pioneering
    ladylee25 said:
    OMG! I had a PIP assessment and it was the worse assessment i have ever experienced. It started of with a gentleman asking me aload of questions. He was very serious and showed no emotion at all. He just start flying questions at me, I was physically sweating at the end of it because on was too intense. My two carers came with me and even they said that they felt the pressure too and they wasnt even being assessed. 

    The types of questions he asked me were: 
    - Can you change yourself? 
    - How do you move around? 
    - Do you socalise? 

    There was so many question and he was trying to trick me by saying things in different ways. I dont think I could ever go through that again. It was too stressful. i understand that they want to ensure that the right people have it but they are more likely to make us disabled people worse because of the stress we have to endure. 
    Hi my assessment was awful, I had my daughter there and a list we had compiled, however every time we tried to say something, he cut us off saying ‘if it wasn’t in the last year, it wasn’t relevant’ after he had done this three times, we shut up and just answered yes and no to his questions. Not once was I asked how I cope/do anything. And now the appeal people have said ‘I can cook, wash and go the toilet with my disabled grabber’
    I would like to see them try that one, oh and I have ‘some’ mental health, I have seen Psychiatrist’s since I was four.
    And yes they do make disabled people worse, I have had a harendous eighteen months since this all started, two referrals back to mental health and physical health has detiorated badly too!
  • whistles
    whistles Community member Posts: 1,583 Disability Gamechanger
    edited May 2018
    You see mine asked questions on my schooling and when I started work. 
    Did I go to a normal school. Eh yes.
    He was trying to determine if I had a learning issue-i never said I did on the forms! I might be strange but I didn't think that ticked a box!!  :)

    As for making things worse. That's one of the reasons I didn't challenge the award. I felt totally wrung out by the time the award was awarded, I had been in touch with my gp over it. 
    No way could I manage 18 months of waiting.  The award will be reviewed in two years anyway, so I had to look after what health I had.
    Do not follow me, I don't know where I am going.

Brightness

Complete our feedback form and tell us how we can make the community better.

Do you need advice on your energy costs?


Scope’s Disability Energy Support service is open to any disabled household in England or Wales in which one or more disabled people live. You can get free advice from an expert adviser on managing energy debt, switching tariffs, contacting your supplier and more. Find out more information by visiting our
Disability Energy Support webpage.