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4 points motability, what should I do?
- Violet77
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5 months 2 weeks ago #291998 by Violet77
4 points motability, what should I do? was created by Violet77
Apologies for the long post. I really need some advice please.
I have first applied for PIP in 2022 as I have been struggling with my mental health since I was stabbed in 2019. I explained extensively how everything affected me, including leaving the house which is something I CANNOT do by myself. I was given enhanced daily living and no motability. At the time I was just happy to have got it and did not think about Mandatory Reconsideration.
However, time keeps passing and my GP surgery has been completely useless on the matter (= they offered a Community Mental Health Advisor, which phoned me once every 2 weeks for 2 months. Then went on maternity leave. 4 months of radio silence. Then her substitute resumed the once every 2 weeks phone calls for 3 months, and she disappeared as well. Now, 5 months later, another one is contacting me and I am left with no help during these changes of staff), and is not giving me a proper diagnose when it's kind of obvious that I am suffering from PTSD as I did not have any of these problems before the stabbing.
I need to seek my own private help and therefore motability money would be a great help covering those expenses. So when it came to do a renewal (which switched PIP to ADP), I told them again all the difficulties I have leaving the house, that I need prompting to do so and someone always with me, even in the car, and I went from 0 points motability to 4 points, with this message from the decision maker ‘it was previously determined that you can plan and follow a journey unaided. This allocated 0 points. You have notified us in your change of circumstances form that going out causes a lot of anxiety and you are scared of facing people in case someone attacks you again so much so that you require prompting and reassurance from family members. Although you have no diagnosed PTSD or diagnosed cognitive conditions at present, we do accept your previous experience of being stabbed may cause you to experience overwhelming psychology distress should you attempt to complete this activity without that prompting and reassurance. We would not accept that you need prompting from another person to undertake a journey to avoid causing you psychological distress. This allocates 4 points.’
I am not really sure what to do. Should I get a private diagnosis and then do a mandatory reconsideration? I am scared of losing the daily living too if I do, but at the same time it is not fair that they basically dismissed my struggles when I have been telling them (and the GP) for a long time about my situation. That's why I do my mental health sessions from the Surgery over the phone. Leaving the house unless absolutely necessary stresses me out a lot and drains me for days.
My grandpa takes me everywhere. I cannot be outside as there might be big crowds of people and that terrifies me. The only time I am in the car without him is if my partner (of which I am the carer of) is in the car with me, because being with someone familiar gives me some sense of security. I do not own a car, it's her motability car as she is Autistic and cannot use public transport due to sensory overload. I wonder if they made their decision based on this, even though they did not mention it on the decision paper and I have been transparent about using the car as well during the review for the renewal.
I do not want to be like this for the rest of my life. Not wanting to sound morbid but my papa is not going to be here forever, I need to learn to move around by myself too and the only way to do so is to seek private therapy as the GP has not set up any proper treatment in the last 5 years and I am exhausted.
I can ask a loan from UC for maybe 2 private sessions but I cannot afford to do more than that motability points don't increase.
Any suggestion is highly appreciated 🙏
And again I apologise for the long post.
I have first applied for PIP in 2022 as I have been struggling with my mental health since I was stabbed in 2019. I explained extensively how everything affected me, including leaving the house which is something I CANNOT do by myself. I was given enhanced daily living and no motability. At the time I was just happy to have got it and did not think about Mandatory Reconsideration.
However, time keeps passing and my GP surgery has been completely useless on the matter (= they offered a Community Mental Health Advisor, which phoned me once every 2 weeks for 2 months. Then went on maternity leave. 4 months of radio silence. Then her substitute resumed the once every 2 weeks phone calls for 3 months, and she disappeared as well. Now, 5 months later, another one is contacting me and I am left with no help during these changes of staff), and is not giving me a proper diagnose when it's kind of obvious that I am suffering from PTSD as I did not have any of these problems before the stabbing.
I need to seek my own private help and therefore motability money would be a great help covering those expenses. So when it came to do a renewal (which switched PIP to ADP), I told them again all the difficulties I have leaving the house, that I need prompting to do so and someone always with me, even in the car, and I went from 0 points motability to 4 points, with this message from the decision maker ‘it was previously determined that you can plan and follow a journey unaided. This allocated 0 points. You have notified us in your change of circumstances form that going out causes a lot of anxiety and you are scared of facing people in case someone attacks you again so much so that you require prompting and reassurance from family members. Although you have no diagnosed PTSD or diagnosed cognitive conditions at present, we do accept your previous experience of being stabbed may cause you to experience overwhelming psychology distress should you attempt to complete this activity without that prompting and reassurance. We would not accept that you need prompting from another person to undertake a journey to avoid causing you psychological distress. This allocates 4 points.’
I am not really sure what to do. Should I get a private diagnosis and then do a mandatory reconsideration? I am scared of losing the daily living too if I do, but at the same time it is not fair that they basically dismissed my struggles when I have been telling them (and the GP) for a long time about my situation. That's why I do my mental health sessions from the Surgery over the phone. Leaving the house unless absolutely necessary stresses me out a lot and drains me for days.
My grandpa takes me everywhere. I cannot be outside as there might be big crowds of people and that terrifies me. The only time I am in the car without him is if my partner (of which I am the carer of) is in the car with me, because being with someone familiar gives me some sense of security. I do not own a car, it's her motability car as she is Autistic and cannot use public transport due to sensory overload. I wonder if they made their decision based on this, even though they did not mention it on the decision paper and I have been transparent about using the car as well during the review for the renewal.
I do not want to be like this for the rest of my life. Not wanting to sound morbid but my papa is not going to be here forever, I need to learn to move around by myself too and the only way to do so is to seek private therapy as the GP has not set up any proper treatment in the last 5 years and I am exhausted.
I can ask a loan from UC for maybe 2 private sessions but I cannot afford to do more than that motability points don't increase.
Any suggestion is highly appreciated 🙏
And again I apologise for the long post.
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- Gary
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5 months 2 weeks ago #292010 by Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gary on topic 4 points motability, what should I do?
Hi Violet
The first thing you need to do is get a copy of the assessors report called a PA4
When you have the assessors report, you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.
I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.
Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.
Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation.
Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide; benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip
For the CRMR1 form to initiate your MR; www.gov.uk/government/publications/chall...ork-and-pensions-dwp
We would advise you to seek help from your local Welfare Rights Organisation; advicelocal.uk as you have stated in your post, if you apply for a MR you can loose what you have already been awarded.
Gary
The first thing you need to do is get a copy of the assessors report called a PA4
When you have the assessors report, you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.
I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.
Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.
Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation.
Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide; benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip
For the CRMR1 form to initiate your MR; www.gov.uk/government/publications/chall...ork-and-pensions-dwp
We would advise you to seek help from your local Welfare Rights Organisation; advicelocal.uk as you have stated in your post, if you apply for a MR you can loose what you have already been awarded.
Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: KimABT
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