Atos Medicals - Questions, Answers and Support
- Thread starter Zabo
- Start date
WouldBe
Dislicksick
There is but god knows how long it will take to get through that.
I'll look into it next week.
WouldBe
Dislicksick
AFAIK it starts from when you applied for it.
Jackobi
swallows anything
There is but god knows how long it will take to get through that.
I'll look into it next week.
EDIT: Nevermind, I noticed that you've had a tribunal already.
Last edited:
Jackobi
swallows anything
As long as you submitted the application form within the time limit specified, your payments will start from the date which you phoned and asked for the form.
Thanks WouldBe and Jackobi
Letter came today - been given standard rate daily living, as I thought. I got 10 points in total; only 2 ("needs prompting") for "mixing with people". Think I should have got 4 points there ("needs social support") - which would have given me the points for enhanced rate - as I'm definitely not able to socialise "reliably, in a timely fashion, repeatedly and as often as needed" without that support, or even with that support much of the time, although I do just about manage on my good days (which are nothing like 50% of the time).
Not sure whether to risk an appeal or just be grateful for what I've got.
Letter came today - been given standard rate daily living, as I thought. I got 10 points in total; only 2 ("needs prompting") for "mixing with people". Think I should have got 4 points there ("needs social support") - which would have given me the points for enhanced rate - as I'm definitely not able to socialise "reliably, in a timely fashion, repeatedly and as often as needed" without that support, or even with that support much of the time, although I do just about manage on my good days (which are nothing like 50% of the time).
Not sure whether to risk an appeal or just be grateful for what I've got.
friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
friendofdorothy
Solidarity against neoliberalism!
if you've been awarded 10 pts surely they can't take those away. Does anyone here know if appeals can make things worse?
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
Of course they can, this is the DWP we're talking about.
iona sorry you didn't get enough points
It shouldn't be this hard for people to get the support they need.
I got enough points for standard rate daily living
That's more than many others get first go round.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
At least that's something xI got enough points for standard rate daily living
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
Difficult. Don't know what I'd do tbh. Glad you got something though, as you say, a lot don't first time round, in the current climate.
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
I got my appeal in last week, it felt like a huge weight that had been hanging over me had been lifted. It's only an appeal against them deciding I didn't have a good enough reason for not attending the assessment though, to decide whether they will actually arrange me another one. And I have to go before a tribunal to argue this, it's madness really. Think I might change my mind and ask them to decide it on the papers though. Not sure what else I can say about why I didn't attend, and why I feel I gave a good enough and reasonable reason (even though the advice seems to be that attending in person gives you a better chance of being successful). I've given them pages of reasons and evidence.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
They can make things worse, but current odds are running at just over 60% of appeals being revised in favour of the claimant, so a two-in-three chance of winning, more or less. Thing is, tribunals refer to case law, and actually scrutinise all the paperwork, whereas the DWP's "decision maker" merely refers to a manual to decide whether or not you should score on certain grounds. The issue there is that however fluent and detailed your answer, you may lose out because the "decision maker" interprets your answer outside the context in which you've answered it.
WouldBe
Dislicksick
Just got a letter from the DWP explaining what I scored on my ESA assessment that I requested. I was awarded just 15 points for not being able to walk 50m and no points for anything else including stuff covered by their work psychology report. I was only awarded 4 points for pip (walk 50-200m). Why is there no fucking consistency between departments? 
I don't know what I believe I should have been awarded, tbh
The whole process is such a headfuck, they make you feel like you're a blagger who's not entitled to anything and at the same time you get so used to fighting for what you are due that it's hard to tell when to stop.
I don't think I should have got just 2 points for that descriptor, but the wording makes it difficult to tell - for me it's more a case of managing, barely, without support or promoting on a good day but not being able to mix with people at all even with support much of the rest of the time. I don't fit neatly into one category. And how often is "regularly, as often as required, etc"? I genuinely have no idea what would be considered "normal" and how far away from that I am. I don't think I feel "severely limited in my ability to carry out daily living tasks" compared to some other people so maybe trying for enhanced rate is just being greedy? Or maybe I'm way more fucked than I realised and I definitely should've got it.
Gonna speak to my support worker this week and see what he thinks. Letter is dated 2nd October so I've got a couple of weeks for the MR if I do decide to.
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
It's such a head-fuck WouldBe, it's a joke that there is such inconsistency (although joke is much too polite a word, maybe just bollocks is more suitable), I'm sorry you're going through both PIP and ESA.
I think evidence from ESA reports can be taken into consideration for PIP decisions, but I'm not sure if you're at the end of the road with PIP or whether there is further you can/are able/want to take it.
Edit: Cross-posted with iona, notice that head-fuck seems to be the term that springs to mind not just with me
I think evidence from ESA reports can be taken into consideration for PIP decisions, but I'm not sure if you're at the end of the road with PIP or whether there is further you can/are able/want to take it.
Edit: Cross-posted with iona, notice that head-fuck seems to be the term that springs to mind not just with me
chainsawjob
Kipping in the dunes
Yes it's very difficult to tell with the descriptors whether you meet the criteria for however many points iona. I hope your support worker will be able to advise you. Or I have found Benefits and Work to be very good for advice online. I have membership and access to their guides to filling in the ESA forms, and what you need to show to meet the criteria, how best to describe how things affect your day to day functioning, let me know if it would help to see the guides.
xsunnysuex
Life is a horizontal fall.
Does anyone have any recommendations for recording equipment please? My brother received his home assessment appointment for pip today, 19th Oct. Cheaper the better as he's been without much money since suffering his stroke in April. Thanks muchly. 
WouldBe
Dislicksick
Use anything you can get your hands on. Apparently there are no rules regarding recording assessments so there can't be any rules regarding what you use.Does anyone have any recommendations for recording equipment please? My brother received his home assessment appointment for pip today, 19th Oct. Cheaper the better as he's been without much money since suffering his stroke in April. Thanks muchly.
If you need to go to tribunal the tribunal can accept evidence that would be rejected by a court of law.
WouldBe
Dislicksick
Fortunately I've been awarded ESA support group so don't need to worry about that.It's such a head-fuck WouldBe, it's a joke that there is such inconsistency (although joke is much too polite a word, maybe just bollocks is more suitable), I'm sorry you're going through both PIP and ESA.
I think evidence from ESA reports can be taken into consideration for PIP decisions, but I'm not sure if you're at the end of the road with PIP or whether there is further you can/are able/want to take it.
Edit: Cross-posted with iona, notice that head-fuck seems to be the term that springs to mind not just with me
As for PIP I will be taking it as far as possible because it's clearly wrong. I'm sure they didn't take into account the thorough work psychology test into account. I've looked us what a mini mental state exam should consist of and it's 11 questions, none of which I was asked in any shape or form and their attempt at testing my maths didn't take into account that I had learned the answer through simple repetition. The OT didn't seem to know what she was on about. She suggested I needed to climb the stairs more to improve my quads. I immediately knew there was something wrong with that statement but it took me 3 hours for it to finally dawn that the reason I had a downstairs loo fitted was because I was finding it increasingly difficult to climb the stairs to start with. If climbing stairs was good for my leg problems the hill walking should also be good for me except it was while hill walking that the knee problem started in the first place. One of the first things the GP did was remind me we were only a stones throw from the bypass which is one of the places I suggested in my mandatory reconsideration letter would be a good place to top myself.
Yeah thanks a fucking lot for that doc.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
They are without conscience.Fortunately I've been awarded ESA support group so don't need to worry about that.
As for PIP I will be taking it as far as possible because it's clearly wrong. I'm sure they didn't take into account the thorough work psychology test into account. I've looked us what a mini mental state exam should consist of and it's 11 questions, none of which I was asked in any shape or form and their attempt at testing my maths didn't take into account that I had learned the answer through simple repetition. The OT didn't seem to know what she was on about. She suggested I needed to climb the stairs more to improve my quads. I immediately knew there was something wrong with that statement but it took me 3 hours for it to finally dawn that the reason I had a downstairs loo fitted was because I was finding it increasingly difficult to climb the stairs to start with. If climbing stairs was good for my leg problems the hill walking should also be good for me except it was while hill walking that the knee problem started in the first place. One of the first things the GP did was remind me we were only a stones throw from the bypass which is one of the places I suggested in my mandatory reconsideration letter would be a good place to top myself.
Similar threads
- Poll
