A PIP assessor was suspended last week by Capita after he allegedly challenged a claimant’s son to a fight, damaged her home and laughed at her account of wanting to end her life.
Cheryl Matthews from Cardiff has fibromyalgia, cranial hypertension, and a degenerative spinal condition.
Due to her limited mobility, Cheryl received a home visit from a PIP assessor as part of the process of reviewing her existing PIP award.
However, when Cheryl told the assessor that she had been in so much pain she had begged her GP for pills to allow her to take her own life, Cheryl says the assessor just laughed and said “Irrelevant, irrelevant, irrelevant”.
The assessor also dismissed Cheryl’s account of being in hospital for one of her conditions as “Irrelevant” and dismissed the fact that she was being tested for lupus and had been treated for a kidney infection.
Cheryl’s 22 year old son heard the alleged increasingly disrespectful exchanges with his mother and asked the assessor to leave.
It is claimed the assessor then pushed Cheryl’s son and said: “You want a fight do you mate? I can give you a fight."
As he left the house Cheryl says the assessor kicked a safety gate at the front door across the garden and threatened: “"I'll be back for you mate - clearly you want a fight."
The police are currently investigating the allegations.
Capita immediately suspended the assessor and offered Cheryl compensation.
You can read more at the Disability News Service, who broke the story.
BBC Wales have further details.
