DWP have backed out of PIP Appeal? — Scope | Disability forum
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DWP have backed out of PIP Appeal?

sleepy1
sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
Hi all, not sure if this is just good news for me or perhaps many others as well who are waiting for a PIP tribunal.

Got a letter today from Tribunal Services saying the Appeals Officer has revised the decision on your case and the new decision is a more favourable one, your appeal has now lapsed.  I thought initially how dare they as I have only sent in a very brief outline of my appeal and not had the chance to submit any further evidence.

Having spoke to someone at TS was told that the appeal has lapsed because the DWP have withdrawn from the case without giving any reason.  Just checked my bank account and have been paid a PIP back payment from when they initially stopped my claim, which puts me back to the same position before they cancelled it.

Not sure why this has happened but it did cross my mind that it might be more to do with this:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/19/esther-mcvey-makes-disability-benefits-u-turn-over-payments


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Comments

  • Pippa_Alumni
    Pippa_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,793 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @sleepy1, great news! Thank you for sharing this with us, and I'm glad your payments have been sorted without having to go through the full appeals process.
  • missm
    missm Community member Posts: 39 Connected
    great news for you maybe they have started to look at peoples awards again 
  • janice_in_wonderland
    janice_in_wonderland Community member Posts: 265 Pioneering
    Hi @sleepy1

    This is really good news to share and I'm pleased for you to have reached a point of relief it's finally over 

    Bw 
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Thank you Pippa, it is great news for me as I was dreading the appeal. Not really sunk in yet to be honest and in the back of my mind I'm thinking hmmm how long will it be before the next inquisition!

    Hopefully mine is not an isolated case and the same letter will be whinging its way to many others.........Who will no doubt be doing Stan Laurel impressions as we speak 
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Hi Janice and Missm, I'm very slow at typing so think your posts may have been missed while doing so, sorry guys.
    Yes certainly am relieved (for now) and many thanks for your warm feelings.  As pleased as I am hope its not just me and many others will have some of the same good news.
  • keira
    keira Community member Posts: 133 Courageous
    That's great news. You must be feeling really relieved.

    Thanks for sharing that information and as you say hopefully others will be receiving the same letter.

    If you don't mind me asking was your appeal for the planning and following journeys descriptor?
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Hi Keira, yes very relieved atm.
    My appeal was that I was unable to get to the harasssessment centre in time for my appointment......so that could may well come under that descriptor.  Good point!

    Had to cancel first appointment because my son who was going to take me was unable to due to work commitments. I asked for a home assessment but was told NO.  Why?  Because you have a son that can take you!  Long story cut short I was unable to plan or execute a simple journey 

  • keira
    keira Community member Posts: 133 Courageous
    Thanks for the reply. Did you just receive your appeal bundle recently?




  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    Good news, @sleepy1 !  Even the DWP on this occasion accepted that they had screwed up.
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Hello again Keira 
    Sorry for late reply, went off to call PIP to get more info but ended up falling asleep and have not long woken. Will try again tomorrow as I want to find out why they decided to drop my case so I can determine if this is an isolated one or if it is some directive being enforced following the DWP backtrack.

    In answer to your question, no I did not receive any appeal bundle ( seems it did not get that far) only a letter to say my appeal had been logged.  All I did for the appeal was jot down a few very brief points of why I thought the DWP were wrong to stop my previous award.  Spent most of the weekend shuffling bits of paper around and writing notes to add to my evidence for the appeal.  Then got the letter today to say the appeal had lapsed.

    Someone somewhere must know why?


      
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Matilda, yes it is good news for me and wanted to share it.  My gut feeling is they are now aware that the system they have put in place is not working and will end up creatining a lot more problems than the ones they sort to resolve.

    I just wish I had more energy to do a lot more X rosie
  • cobra
    cobra Community member Posts: 36 Pioneering
    sleepy1 said:
    Hi all, not sure if this is just good news for me or perhaps many others as well who are waiting for a PIP tribunal.

    Got a letter today from Tribunal Services saying the Appeals Officer has revised the decision on your case and the new decision is a more favourable one, your appeal has now lapsed.  I thought initially how dare they as I have only sent in a very brief outline of my appeal and not had the chance to submit any further evidence.

    Having spoke to someone at TS was told that the appeal has lapsed because the DWP have withdrawn from the case without giving any reason.  Just checked my bank account and have been paid a PIP back payment from when they initially stopped my claim, which puts me back to the same position before they cancelled it.

    Not sure why this has happened but it did cross my mind that it might be more to do with this:

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/19/esther-mcvey-makes-disability-benefits-u-turn-over-payments


    Great news @sleepy1 I'm so pleased for you
    Thsnk you for sharing your news
  • dottydotty
    dottydotty Community member Posts: 321 Pioneering
    sleepy1   Excellent news for you , Hope yours is  the first of many more good news  posts ..      
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Hi Cobra and thanks for highlighting the point I was trying to get across,

    Mark Atkinson, chief executive of disability charity Scope, said: “It’s absolutely right that the government has accepted the high court’s ruling over the ‘discriminatory’ changes made to PIP last year. This announcement is a victory for the many disabled people who have been unable to access support they are entitled to.

    “The regulations introduced last March made crude and unfair distinctions between those with physical impairments and mental health conditions.”

    He argued that thousands relied on PIP to live independently and meet “often substantial extra costs” as a result of their condition or impairment.

    “While those affected by these misguided changes will now receive the payments they are entitled to, the fundamentally flawed PIP assessment process still needs radically overhauling so it accurately identifies the extra costs disabled people face,” he added. 

    Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary, Debbie Abrahams, said the government was wrong to bring in the new regulations and ignore the view of the courts “time and time again”.
    But she added: “Serious questions remain including: how many people have been adversely affected by the government’s reckless decision to oppose the tribunal’s original judgment? How much public money has been spent on lawyers, trying to defend the indefensible? And how quickly will people with severe mental health conditions receive the support to which they are rightly entitled?

    “This is yet more evidence of the duplicity and disarray of the Tories’ social security policies.”

    .................................................................................................................................


    IMO Mark Atkinson should have the word sir in front of it, but my guess would be he would not give a flying duck about that.


     
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Hi everyone and thanks for all your lovely messages.

    After speaking to someone at PIP it turns out that they have now reconsidered my case and decided that I should have been entitled to a home visit.  The assessment people will contact me to arrange my interrogation in the next few weeks.  Can't wait ; )

    Sorry if I mislead anyone into thinking DWP had started reassessing all the PIP cases they got wrong, I really thought it might have been the start of that but it appears not.

    Back on the merry go round again  
  • dottydotty
    dottydotty Community member Posts: 321 Pioneering
    sleepy1  good luck with your assessment , keep us posted .
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Hi all
    Just sending an update.  After being told by someone at DWP my pip appeal had been cancelled because they agreed I should have been allowed a home visit and a letter explaining this was in the post (still not received).  I did however receive a new Award Review form to complete on 14/02/18 soon followed by a new f2f appointment letter for 23/02/18 at an assessment center around 50 mile trip away.

    Spoke to someone today at pip and was told the appeal was lapsed by tribunal services because they (DWP) were now able to offer me another assessment and whoever told me it was for a home assessment got it wrong!  Was told they are working with very limited resources and to arrange home visits are very costly and I would need to be able to provide substancial evidence to justify the huge cost involved.  (perhaps if they stopped mucking us all about that might save a bit of money).

    Gist of it is last time I could not make it to the assessment center less than a mile away so how do they now think I can get to one 25 miles away, also even if I did manage to complete the new forms they have sent me the assessor would not have that information in time so will only assess me on the same information I give previously, so what is the point?  Answer was our assessors are totally independent and any information you send in to us following the assessment will be looked at by the decision maker.

    Fed up of all these lies : (






  • dottydotty
    dottydotty Community member Posts: 321 Pioneering
    sleepy1  what an ordeal for you . Is this the new DWP tactics .   I am still awaiting my MR decision , rang PIP  today and they said it could take weeks  even months . I am tempted to just reapply for Pip .Have nothing to lose as have no award in place , they took it away from me . Hope you get your home visit . and  Good luck .
  • sleepy1
    sleepy1 Community member Posts: 297 Pioneering
    Hi Dotty, thanks for your kind wishes, very much appreciated X

    I would seriously think twice before putting in a new claim.  You say you have nothing to lose but from my understanding you certainly do because if you previously had an award that was taken away you will be kissing goodbye to any back payments that you would be entitled to should you have the MR go in your favour or win at an appeal. 

    I won my last appeal (in the end) and they had to pay me a large sum that was back dated from when they first stopped it which helped me pay off the debts that I would not have had if they had listened to me and more qualified healthcare people instead of some bonus grabbing toerag from Atos.

    I spoke to my decision maker after they took my award away and she kept telling me all you need to do is put in a new claim (insert own swear word).  That's what they want you to do so they can meet targets and collect a bonus from the money you should have got.

    Please consider getting more qualified advice before making a new claim as I can only tell you from my own experience and each case will be different.

    Love and best wishes Rosie


  • dottydotty
    dottydotty Community member Posts: 321 Pioneering
    sleepy1  Thankyou for your advice .. I will await my MR decision and take it from there .  Reason  I was going to reapply now is that  in August  I will reach 65 and  will not be eligble to apply for Pip  . Time is not really on my side .if I lose an appeal  .    Once I reach 65 I can apply for Attendance  Allowance  but I has no mobility attatched to it .  Plus now have rent and council tax debt ,so thinking of quickest way forward . Best wishes .x

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