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Going to Tribunal PIP

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9 months 3 weeks ago #287004 by Caval1er
Going to Tribunal PIP was created by Caval1er
Hi All, upon review this year the Mobility Component of planning and following journeys was removed. I asked for an MR and the DWP have stuck with their decision. I am going to Tribunal as I do not agree with their decision. I've reached out for help from a citizens advice welfare advisor, they have advised not to write a submission and to just provide a very brief explanation of why I don't agree with the decision, which is that if anything unexpected happens before leaving the house or during a journey I will have an autistic meltdown qnd will have to call mental health team for prompting and isupport, as I cannot cope with anything outside what I had expected to happen. Then, please refer to evidence enclosed (about 6 letters from psychologist, therapist, gp etc all answering each PIP question detailing my problems with planning and making journeys. They advised against writing anything more, as not necessary because I have so much evidence and we don't know what they've received from gp and that we will write a submission later once we get the document pack from dwp if needed. Advised no need to challenge the decision makers reasons for refusing it, or their inconsistencies in their report because the Tribunal judge isn't interested in that. Now, I also reached out to Social Prescriber at GP surgery who has experience of PIP appeals and he agreed with CAB. I had also reached out to a no win no fee charity who I spoke to this morning, they have disagreed and say I need to challenge all the dwp decision makers reasons for refusing and also asking things like how or why they think I am now better. I'm full of anxiety now as I don't know which route to take... could anybody advise? I know this may seem a bit OTT to keep searching for the right answer, but im very anxious and desperately want to get it right... would love your opinions please. Thank you!

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9 months 3 weeks ago #287012 by BIS
Replied by BIS on topic Going to Tribunal PIP
Hi Cava1ler

You are not being over the top by trying to find the 'right' answer. The problem is that you will always get different answers, and sometimes, you have to do what feels right for you. Personally, I absolutely would challenge the assessor and the decision maker's reasons for refusing it. You don't have to write reams, but I think you should say why you disagree. It's great to point the Tribunal to your corroborating evidence from your medical professionals, but I suspect that none of them have ever been with you on a journey, and therefore, I think you should challenge the assessor and decision maker's view about what you experience and also why they think you are better! You are the expert on you and how your condition affects you - don't let anyone take that away from you.

That is my view for what it's worth.

BIS

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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9 months 3 weeks ago #287015 by Caval1er
Replied by Caval1er on topic Going to Tribunal PIP
Thank you for your reply. The assessor said I could make a journey because I was able to hold conversation with him and there was no cognitive dysfunction and the Decision Maker said I could plan and follow journeys because I can't be as bad as claimed because I still have a driving licence and haven't been in trouble with the police. I did respond to both of these in my MR challenge letter. Neither of them said why or how they think I've improved. I'm wondering if I could leave the form the same and just add see MR challenge letter for more details? Really reached a stuck stage now, anxiety stopping me from moving forward...

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9 months 3 weeks ago #287017 by Caval1er
Replied by Caval1er on topic Going to Tribunal PIP
Thank you for your reply.
Gosh, I feel stuck now....
Wondering if is should include what I wrote for the MR which challenges their reasons. Maybe I could just add the MR document into the pack of evidence letters rather than update the Tribunal Appeal Form?

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9 months 3 weeks ago #287020 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Going to Tribunal PIP
C

No offence to Citizen's Advice intended but they have very limited resources and a lot of people trying to use them so they tend to cherry-pick the cases that they help with, this tends to mean that they do not have to provide significant testimony or evidence because the cases are self-evident.

The simple answer to your question is that there is no single template for providing information to a Tribunal.

I'm not a great fan of challenging everything said in the report, the panel have limited time prior to the hearing to review the information so go for the big-bangs, maybe three or four clear examples of how the assessor has clearly failed to take your limitations into account.

Make it easy to read, short paragraphs of only two or three sentences. Number everything so it is easy to refer to.

Lastly, don't lose track of the fact that your appeal will only be won by your showing that you meet the criteria so go through your previous testimony and make sure that it is clear that you do, if the assessor has commented on something think about how you can revise what you have said to deal with what they have said.

Understand the criteria, there are limited opportunities to interpret it, stick with what they say and use the Guide to see how you can stretch it.

Best of luck

Gordon

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9 months 3 weeks ago #287034 by Caval1er
Replied by Caval1er on topic Going to Tribunal PIP
Thank you for your reply Gordon. Feeling like I need to add more to the Appeal form now, as the CAB advisor didn't challenge the assessor or decision maker at all. He just one short paragraph saying what he thinks I should have scored and why, then please refer to evidence, which I have a lot of. I guess he's referring the tribunal to my evidence from therapists as confirmation that I meet the criteria. He said no need to add anything else..
Feel reassured if they only pick the people who they are confident will win, sad for those borderline cases who won't get help though.

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