When My wife (Lisa) had her Pip renewal back in Feb this year we had nothing but problems from the start. First we sent back the completed questionnaire LIsa had her face to face interview but the DWP stopped her current award completely and said she had not returned the forms ! However she had already had her face to face interview at home so DWP CLEARLY HAD RECEIVED her forms which were also sent special delivery so were signed for. We then had a knock on effect to our other benefits so my carers allowance stopped as I am her full time carer, income support stopped also housing benefit and council tax were affected. It took a couple of weeks for DWP to realise the error and reinstate Lisa’s current award until the nw decision had been made. LIsas PIP WAS THEN DROPPED FROM ENHANCED ON BOTH DOWN TO STANDARD FOR BOTH. So she had to return the Motability car which Lisa needs as she has severe motability issues. We then asked for the assessors report with was full of lies and contradictions from the start, also the assessor wouldn’t give us much time to answer questions and rushed us through the assessment. Lisa’s G.P cannot believe Lisa has lost her enhanced awards but at the time Lisa was too ill to take it to tribuneral. We feel that Lisa has been robbed of something she is entitled to as she is bed bound most days and struggles with everything on a day when she is bed bound and that is 5_6 days a week. On good days 1-2 days a week as it fluctuates Lisa still needs assistance with day to day tasks. I feel that Lisa’s pip award was based solely on the assessors report and NOTHING else. When she was first awarded the enhanced back in 2013 her ability to manage alone and her symptoms are much much worse now than back thin n yet her award has dropped. The assessors are NOT qualified GPS or consultants yet somehow they are allowed to presume someone is well when in actual fact they have no clue what they are talking about so why are they allowed to make such big decisions. The whole system is an utter disgrace and the private companies CAPITA AND ATOS NEED REMOVING FROM ASSESSMENTS AND PROPER QUALIFIED GOS AND CONSULTANTS SHOULD BE BROUGHT IN. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THE PRIVATE FIRMS ARE MAKING MONEY FROM TURNING PEOPLE DOWN AND DROPPING AWARDS SO WHY IS IT ALLOWED TO HAPPEN. WHO MAKES THE DECISION FOR DWP TO USE THESE FIRMS. DISGUSTING DWP BEHAVIOR

I am currently awaiting the outcome of my mandatory reconsideration but fully expecting to have to take my case to tribunal based both on what I have heard from others and experienced myself so far. My understanding was pip was based on how your condition affects your life and ability to manage independently but based on my assessors report and the dwps judgement it seems to depend on what diagnosis you have (ignoring current investigations) and how you look on the day of your assessment!! The fact I have basically been made out to be a liar is something I take huge offence at to the point that I am considering looking into taking things further outside of the dwp process. It needs to be understood that the vast majority of people who apply for this are at the lowest point of their lives, struggling to deal with not only severe pain and illness but also the enormous adjustments that they have had to make to theirs and their families lives and deserve to be treated with respect and like a decent human being, not some kind of fraudulent scammer!

I represent claimants that have had their benefits refused, usually due to not scoring the required points. Many claimants complain of not being able to give the full picture of their conditions at assessment. Usually told they just want a yes or no answer. Many claimants were successful at appeal and feel that mandatory reconsideration is a unnecessary formality. Mandatory reconsideration notices are usually template letters. Most claimants dispute the answers that they gave to the HP. The whole process is stressful and usually results in relapse. Physiotherapists are assessing mental health patients, have read for paranoid schizophrenia patients that they do not have a mental health issue. Welcome the Inquiry

I was disappointed when receiving my husbands report to discover he was assessed by a physiotherapist when his original appointment was cancelled as no doctors were available and he had to be seen by a doctor.

I recently had a face to face assessment for ESA and scored 0 points therefore meaning I would no longer be eligible to claim. I am currently waiting to hear the results of mandatory reconsideration (which I've heard can take several months). In the meantime I'm expected to live off pretty much nothing, it was suggested to me I should claim JSA, but don't feel well enough to do the hours they require, and would also mean giving up my self employment which I've spent lots of time and money training to do. The report made several remarks that I didn't feel had any relevance and took my words out of context, I had explained that 'sometimes' I had the energy to carry out certain tasks, but they stated I did those on an 'average day' making it sound as though I were already managing full time hours, which couldn't be further from the truth. I feel as though the system has dumped me and offered me no help or advice moving forward. I've since applied for working tax credits (another possible long wait) but was given little to no information about it until I researched and asked lots of questions. At the moment I feel in no mans land waiting to see what the future holds. Thankfully I have the financial and emotional support of my parents or I could be in a very sorry state.

After the stressful wait for results I scored zero. This I could have understood if they had not lied on everything. Apparently I managed to attend independently so my husband was totally invisible. They did not record any thing accurately and told me I could walk 200 meters. I have a blue mobility badge says otherwise. I have fibromyalgia and feel so depressed that my disabilities were not even acknowledged. The fact my husband has had to give up work to care for me and our children as I can't do the basic things like cook. I can't be left alone as I have fainting episodes. I just wanted to end my life when that decision came. Now I have to wait months to go through to tribunal. I've discovered this seems common. Why don't they just do the assessment properly and consult drs in the first instant and stop wasting peoples time and the countries money. These lying assessors should be sacked. Life for a disabled person is hard enough without these demoralizing degrading assessments.