Pip tribunal and dwp telephone call.

Dear Filey, just read down this thread. Km ABT has already written exactly what I was going to add, do not let this person into your home without a third party as a witness. Please come back to let us know what happens.
Best wishes, Denby

Hello Filey,

I was interested in your post because you kindly responded to one of mine last week and we are in a similar position re representation for our autistic sons. When my son first applied for PIP, the DWP call handler actually suggested I should apply to be his appointee and, although they made it very difficult, they did eventually agree. It is not just about handling money for most people, I feel, it is about having someone to speak on your behalf, in order to navigate your way through a very difficult claim process, especially if you have to keep challenging their decisions. People with autism often appear very capable, especially to those who only meet them briefly (like PIP assessors), but are also very suggestible and vulnerable to manipulation and this can be quite dangerous for them in many ways, including managing their finances (but, of course, you know all this). I'm sure DWP caseworkers are aware of this, so they ought to be careful how they proceed, otherwise it might appear that they, themselves, are using the claimant's disability to manipulate them.

I was also interested in the responses to your query, in particular the one from LL26 because I was thinking along the same lines. I have a friend who works in the financial side of adult social care and she explained to me that an appointeeship is very similar to a lasting power of attorney, but applies only to benefits and many claimants opt for this because it is free. She seemed to think it was a choice on the part of the claimant and that it would be very difficult for the DWP to deny them this choice unless they could prove wrongdoing. (The government website does not bear this out though, stating that it is only for cases of severe mental incapacity.) However, my friend also has Power of Attorney for several of her elderly relatives and, like LL26, reckons that everyone should set one up, just in case. I'm not too keen on the idea myself, but this is supposed to be done before a person loses mental capacity, as it becomes much more difficult afterwards. As I understand it, it does not prevent someone dealing with their own affairs while they are capable of doing so, but it does allow someone else to liaise with various agencies and, most importantly, banks and other financial institutions, on their behalf. However, I did not realise it also covered dealings with the DWP - I thought you needed an appointeeship as well for that - which was the most interesting part of LL26's reply.

I hope all goes well for you.

Wendy

Thank you for you messege and yes its a huge strain and not nice for us is it.

Hi, thank you for that very helpful reply and I am going to look into that now. Thank you so much. Its just so frustrating when you feel there's absolutely nothing you can do. I will not give up the fight though, its makes me more determined! Thanks again. I feel very unsettled having a visit from dwp at my home, I must say!

Hi, thank you for your kind reply. Yes, it's a hard road we take to defend our autistic children, adults. And I agree with you totally. I shall fight this every step of the way. And yes, it's more about me handling his pip affairs and forms etc. My Son is 29 and says himself that he needs me as appointee as he would be totally over whelmed by the whole pip process and would not be able to cope with doing all this on his own. He would rip up the form and walk out the toom! It's along battle thats for sure and thank you again. Your reply has been helpful.