I had my tribunal today - have they been stalking me on social media? — Scope | Disability forum
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I had my tribunal today - have they been stalking me on social media?

nene66
nene66 Community member Posts: 1 Listener
edited September 2017 in PIP, DLA, and AA
I attended my Tribunal today in Derby... I'm certain that they had been covertly  stalking and observing me via social media ... such were their questions... quite specific about events, holidays .. pets etc felt very unrelated and quite obscure. I wasn't given a decision... was informed it would be in the post first class etc.
whilst waiting in the waiting room after the hearing I could hear some of their deliberations etc. I believe they observed me approaching the building and leaving. It felt as though they were creating hypothetical situations to catch me out?
i know that they are meant to be completely independent but I don't think they are... how can they be... they're paid by the system ? 
My worries are that they are employing covert observatory tactics - observing and checking social media, internet and even staking out locally.
i know that this sounds paranoid but the buzzard questions they were asking could only be it yogeathet vid these sources then asked to catch me out... I'm. Incident that I've won anything... the whole hearing felt oppressive, I said to my partner .." the only way anyone will receive an award is if they are carried into the building from a hearse sat up in a coffin" ??

Comments

  • steve51
    steve51 Community member Posts: 7,153 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @nene66

    Welcome to our website and online community.

    I'm so sorry to hear about your ongoing problems with pip.

    You will find lots of other members on here in a similar situation with there plp's
  • CockneyRebel
    CockneyRebel Community member Posts: 5,209 Disability Gamechanger
    Hello and welcome nene

    I really hope that you get the award you deserve.

    Tribunals are independent, they look at all the evidence without the bias of the DWP and especially your testimony on the day.

    The DWP do not have the resourses for covert observation, they can't even cope with the ammount of applications they receive.

    Please let us know when you receive your decision.

    I wish you the very best life you can live.

    CR


    Be all you can be, make  every day count. Namaste
  • Nystagmite
    Nystagmite Community member Posts: 596 Pioneering
    I do remember being asked how I got there. (this was 2014) But don't remember anything about social media.
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    At my Tribunal the members drew heavily on the very detailed diary I had submitted with my PIP application.  Don't know if most Tribunals do this or not.  But in case a lot do you might want to bear this in mind if you have to go to Tribunal.
  • foxuk
    foxuk Community member Posts: 103 Pioneering
    In Cardiff the distance from the car parking is over the distance one is supposed to be able to walk and get DLA higher rate.
    The first 'innocent' question is usually 'How did you get here today?' The only correct answer is 'I was dropped off at the door by a friend/taxi'.
    A friend's niece just lost her claim for walking from her car (having to stop and rest many times). It's the same now as it was  a decade ago when I was warned about the trick by my adviser far a Tribunal. They now use the same building for face to face assessments.

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 740 Listener
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Nystagmite
    Nystagmite Community member Posts: 596 Pioneering
    We're not meant to have a life are we? Actually, I know we're not - I made the mistake of mentioning I visit my parents most weeks just so I can get a decent cooked meal. (and other things, honestly!) It's a 15 minute familiar journey. Apparently, that means I have no mobility needs at all. We'll just ignore the fact that I can't even cross the road safely where the chemist because I can't see whether the traffic is coming. 
  • Teddylo
    Teddylo Community member Posts: 23 Listener
    It seems that many assessors don't know their own guides in which they are supposed to refer to!
    What confuses me is occupational therapy advises to take short walks if & when able in order to try &  maintain muscle & strength in legs so as to preserve independence but the pip system just penalises people for trying to retain what they can. 
  • Topkitten
    Topkitten Community member Posts: 1,285 Pioneering
    I think all assessments have always been the same. Where we need to note down and inform them of only our worst situations, they take only 1 good situation and ignore the rest. They also put blocks in the way which, If we manage to negotiate them, count heavily against us.

    I remember having to attend a medical assessment in a wheelchair in which they made me go into a room which it was impossible to get into in a wheelchair. Meaning I had to get out of it, manoeuvre the wheelchair and then get back into it. Stupidly I did so which they made a big thing of.

    TK
    "I'm on the wrong side of heaven and the righteous side of hell" - from Wrong side of heaven by Five Finger Death Punch.

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