DWP tries to blame Royal Mail for PIP delays but do we believe it?
It’s a sad consequence of having to fight a court case that I don’t have as much time for some of the subjects that made This Site’s name – such as the persecution of benefit claimants by the DWP.
This particular issue is one on which I have personal experience, though – as, I dare say, has anybody who has had to deal with DWP letters.
My case differs from that outlined by Disability News Service, though – in that the DWP contacted Mrs Mike to tell her that her PIP review was due, and could she return the form within a month of the date of the letter?
The letter arrived no less than 10 days after the date on it. That left three weeks to get the review done.
It is not enough time. Not only do PIP claimants have to navigate the form, which is worded in an open way but which is marked according to very specific requirements, but they must also seek corroborating evidence from carers, community helpers and healthcare professionals.
All of this takes considerable time.
As her carer, I knew that we needed to seek expert help in writing the form, so I contacted Citizens Advice and was immediately told that I would have an appointment to talk to someone in a few days’ time – and that I should seek an extension on the deadline at once.
I can’t say that conditions are the same across the UK – I live in Wales – but once I managed to get through to DWP (there was an inevitable wait of more than an hour) the department could not have been happier to extend the deadline.
I think I was given a couple of extra weeks.
I therefore advise everybody to do this – especially if receiving a letter with a deadline that appears to have been delayed in the post. It makes the argument between DWP and the Royal Mail irrelevant.
And I needed the extra time. Mrs Mike has a condition that can only get worse, but it wasn’t until I spoke to somebody else about it that I realised the extent to which her condition had degenerated.
Help I had provided as a favour when she was feeling particularly bad had become a habit – meaning that he condition has worsened – and the very shape of our days had changed as these accumulated.
The changes had been so gradual that I had not taken them into account – but they mean a great deal when dealing with the DWP.
I therefore advise everybody going through a benefit review to seek expert help from Citizens Advice or an organisation that is similarly qualified.
Finally there was the question of corroborating evidence. I provided a letter, as Mrs Mike’s carer, describing the obstacles she faces getting through the day, and the ways I have to help her.
We sought letters from community organisations and some professionals but received no interest in return.
And we contacted Mrs Mike’s doctor, too. This seemed likely to be problematic. “Oh, you’ll get no help there,” people said. “Doctors have been discouraged and disincentivised by the DWP! If you do get a letter, they’ll charge you a fat wad of cash!”
Not a bit of it was true.
We received a letter in due course, containing a printout of Mrs Mike’s medical history and a medical opinion that was adamantly in favour of her receiving the highest degree of benefit available to her.
Finally, when it was time to post the completed form, I took it to the post office and paid extra to ensure that the DWP would have to sign for it, to confirm receipt.]
This is very important. I know from personal experience and the experience of others that the DWP finds it easy to claim non-receipt – as it did in the case of the claimant in the DNS story.
This cannot happen if you have evidence that somebody signed for it. It bypasses any concerns about whether delays were caused by the Royal Mail or the DWP because it provides proof of delivery within the time stated.
The decision took about a month to come back. It confirmed Mrs Mike’s benefit would continue at the highest rates possible.
So that is my advice for anybody going through the benefit review process:
- Seek expert advice on filling out the form because they must provide specific information that the DWP must see before it awards any points.
- Contact the DWP and ask for an extension on the deadline if its letter arrived late.
- Seek evidence from anybody who has experience of the claimant’s disability. The worst that can happen is they decline to provide it. Don’t be put off asking your doctor.
- When you post the form back, make sure the DWP has to sign for it to confirm that it has been received.
These are measures that work.
They deprive the DWP of any excuse to blame another organisation for delays in processing a claim.
And they ensure that your benefit payments are disrupted by any nonsense if the DWP claims that you haven’t returned your form.
Source: DWP and Royal Mail dispute cause of PIP delays – Disability News Service
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The DWP are the absolute pits – the rottenness and evil legacy of Iain Duncan Smith still lingers on. We now have the most corrupt government for over 200 years. But, hey, whose bothered?
There’s another point. They received my PIP renewal form, and a week or so later I got a phone call asking me to do a telephone interview. Most of my form said ‘see attached sheet’ with ALL the information typed on the computer – I’m dyslexic and can’t write so I can read it myself, let alone anyone else read it. What they were saying on the phone was that they hadn’t received the attached sheets, but they acknowledged having received the form, and the attached letter from a consultant – and my ‘attached sheets’ were stapled to the consultant’s letter. So they’d either mislaid them, or deliberately lost them. Every sheet had my name and NI number as part of the header – they could have easily been re-attached if they’d been found lying around.
I had put a great deal of thought into those 12 pages of information, a telephone interview to do the form off the hoof, would have severely disadvantaged me. I said no, I would send those sheets again. A week later I had a phone call acknowledging they’d received them and two weeks after that my PIP was renewed.
I felt that the whole thing was about wanting to force me into a way of doing the renewal which would have lost me PIP with insufficient there to get me the points.
Very good website called “Benefits and Work” -needs a subscription but is absolutely worth it. CABx good , but don’t always understand the nuances of how disability affects a person especially the hidden impairments.Its important that the doctor knows -because you have spelled it out exactly how your impairment affects you on a day to day basis and that’s what dwp want to know. Rarely do docs know this, or have it down in your notes. They are not allowed to ask you after they get an enquiry from dwp,but important that they have it somewhere where they can refer to it. When I was doing advice work It was a bit too much for the doc to extract from all your notes how your impairment affects, for example, your ability to cook a meal.In my experience -and yours too, I imagine-a Diagnosis is rarely sufficient.
Their one time favourite is we sent it out so one never received it while further down the line fighting to get your benefit back you sat them then find out they lied about the letter they supposed to have sent you ouch dwp liars
Are we now an uncivilised country……
Excellent advice Mike.
Like you, I’ve learned all of this through experience, not all of it good.
Getting proof of postage is absolutely imperative.
My personal PIP claim was extended for 5 years, guess they finally relented about me never getting better, only worse !