A full-time university student said they were ‘at a loss’ after been denied Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for the second time. They said they ‘couldn’t explain how upsetting’ the situation was, and they ‘just wanted to get by’.
They explained the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had turned down their initial application, and they had applied for mandatory reconsideration – a free process that gives people the opportunity to explain why they disagree with the decision, in hope of getting a better outcome. However despite ‘going through every point and example with a fine tooth comb’, the decision remained the same.
Taking to Reddit, the user said they’d had “very in-depth help and guidance” and had even given assessors “suggested scoring”. She added: “I’ve provided medical evidence, I’ve provided examples for everything that I struggle with, and they’ve countered by scoring me zero for everything again.”
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She continued: “I can understand them not agreeing with our suggested scoring, but zero indicates they don’t even consider it. And then they tried to loophole everything by saying my physical difficulties don’t count because they aren’t mental health difficulties? I actually have both.
“I just want to get by. The last six months have been so stressful and I honestly don’t know what to do.”
Fellow forum users suggested she challenged the mandatory reconsideration decision with a tribunal. One wrote: “I’d recommend (without seeing anything) that you proceed to tribunal. You have nothing to loose and the DWP occasionally back down before the tribunal date when another case worker reviews everything before the tribunal.”
Another wrote: “I agree you should definitely fight for yourself at the tribunal. To give you peace of mind, I scored 0 first time, 2 on mandatory reconsideration and 24 or 26 – can’t remember exactly – at the tribunal. So it’s definitely worth it!”
Those who believe the decision of the mandatory reconsideration was wrong have the option to appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. The tribunal, which is supported by HM Courts and Tribunal Services, was independent of government and would see a judge listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision. This appeal usually needs to be lodged within one month of the date of their mandatory reconsideration notice.