I wanted to share with you my experiences of clients of mine trying to claim PIP.
I helped one person apply in July and they went to an assessment in October (after one was cancelled in September). It has now been almost 8 weeks since the assessment. We called DWP and waited for half an hour on hold. DWP told us that they had not yet received the medical assessment from Atos. I told them that 8 weeks seemed a long time for someone to send a form over. I was told that DWP had claims in April this year which still have not been awarded yet.
I am meeting my client again this week and we will phone Atos together to see why the assessment paperwork hasn't been sent yet.
I helped another client apply in August, they have not yet heard back. When they called DWP they were told that they were in the process of deciding whether she needed to go to a face to face assessment or not.
I am sorry it isn't the news PIP applicants want to hear, but I hope it gives everyone an idea that PIP is taking a very long time to process and you need to plan your finances accordingly.