refused pip!

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Hi,
Its been a while since i've talked on here so i'm going to try and make it a habit to come and interact on here as often as I can but I received a letter today from pip (personal independence payment) as I turn 18 this year my mum thought it would be a good idea to apply. So we applied last year in march time I think and they refused me which disgusted both myself and my mum as I was clearly being told my disability/mental health doesn't affect me that much and that I should just get on with it! As you can imagine this made my mum and family furious being told that it doesn't affect me when I can't leave the house alone, I physically can't go on any public transport as I struggle with anxiety and often get panic attacks, can't communicate problems without the help of my mum, can't make friends due to my struggles with communication, struggle to understand things that are not simple, and there is honestly so much more that I can't remember at the moment but if I suddenly remember i'll add it. So my mum appealed it and we got the letter today saying they've refused it again and justifying themselves (they also said because I was meant to take my GCSEs whilst I was still in school it means that I understand that sort of stuff and handle that kind of stress. But my parents pulled me out of school after getting a bad gcse result back due to having a complete meltdown and they just knew the stress would be way to much for me and would cause my mental health to go downhill again) and I'm so upset and angry that this is the people WE have to turn to for help and when we do they tell us to get on with it!! Why can't people understand that not only PHYSICAL disabilities affect people. Sorry needed to get that off my chest as i've been in tears over it this evening. (btw I have been properly diagnosed)

- Anna

What you need to do is get the support of a specialist. A lot of people are failing the PIP assessments because they're going alone and don't have the right support.

Also, since these PIP assessments are carried out by private companies which are just out for profit, you need to put on quite a bit of an act sadly, if you don't look ill they just send you away and deny you, especially if you're going to the assessment without either a specialist or a CPN, I'm not sure if you qualify for the support of a CPN but it's worth asking about.

It's ridiculous either way though. They're sending away very mentally ill people and people are killing themselves over the failed assessments. It's disgusting our government lets this go on.

Keep bothering them until they give in. I think up to a certain point you are allowed to take them to court about it.

If your appeal was unsuccessful then the next stage is usually for it to go to a tribunal.

As Lunella said, get some professional support and as much of it as possible. If you contact the Council on Disability they may be able to help. It may also be worth contacting NAS for some advice as I'm sure they'll either have or know someone who deals with this sort of situation.

Hope you get something sorted.

On my first attempt at applying for PIP, I failed because I was deemed too functional by the assessor. She asked me some rather basic math questions, which 99.99% of people would answer correctly.

However, my second effort was approved after my ASD support worker helped me to complete the form. Bizarrely I didn't have to be seen for an assessment on that occasion.

I sometimes wonder if it is an unwritten policy to refuse applications first time in the hope that a proportion of applicants give up at this stage and go no further.

Politically, there seems an unfortunate perception to which politicians pander that the majority of claimants are, if not fraudulent, at least trying it on as an alternative to working for a living.


This then compounds with the integrity of many genuine people who, while not wishing to take a wrongful advantage, know that there is assistance they need. Being ethical people they may give accounts of they efforts they make from their side for independence. This is then used by the somewhat rigid scoring procedures as evidence of areas the person can help themselves and thus does not actually need assistance.

An unfortunate observation made to me by a friend who has needed to navigate the system following a collapse in their health, that it decides not on merits but on how articulate the person claiming can be. It also ends up depending on the person not showing the pride in what they achieve despite their circumstances, but instead listing quite dispassionately each aspect where the condition presents hardship, and then backing this with ideally written accounts from their GP or specialist. If the person making the assessment chooses to go against an account from a GP or specialist and they are not an equivalent "Competent Person", then they have set up some good grounds for their decision to be challenged and overturned on appeal. Also, if they have some medical background, they will feel safer writing their reports including the judgements of a fellow professional.. I think of it as the difference between the handyman making a judgement on electrical work which is acceptablte and a qualified electrical inspector judging the same item of work. The handyman is the employee of whichever third party company is engaged to administer the system and the inspector is each doctor, nurse, specialist advisor, consultant, who can give a submission accompanying the application.

This is how it is in the States, too. Plus they give an onerous and redundant quantity of paperwork hoping people won't bother with it all or will miss deadlines. Here we have lawyers who specialize in this, too.