Did not attend - panic and fear

I was supposed to have had my assessment Saturday.
But I have severe anxiety disorder, panic disorder and agoraphobia. ATOS know that but the only place they do the assessments is over 40 miles away and in a big city. I really did want to go but I was just too scared to make the journey; a crowded city on a Saturday when I am used to living in the middle of nowhere really freaked me out.
What can I do about this situation? Is there no consideration for people who have to make long journeys to scary places?

No, I wanted to ring them to explain today. It's a 3 hour journey by public transport (each way). consisting of two buses and two trains. I never go on public transport, I just agreed to go when they phoned because I was too stupid to stick up for myself. Maybe they do it on purpose to stop people with mental health issues attending.

Hi Gelfin,

If you ring them, you could ask about going by taxi - this has to be arranged in advance for your fare to be reimbursed, and you may need confirmation from your doctor that you can't manage public transport because of your condition.

I didn't feel up to ringing in advance, although I did write about it on my ESA50. They didn't reimburse me. They also did not accept that a taxi driver taking me door to door was being accompanied on the journey. (They actually asked if he got out of the taxi and walked up to the door with me!)

But they concluded that I'd have no problem going to interviews or work on public transport on the basis that I turned up for the assessment without someone coming in with me.

I think that if you do travel to an assessment, it would be helpful to go with a welfare rights person or someone from MIND or similar. In addition to helping you to get there at all, they could take notes, observe what happens, and help you to cope and stick up for yourself. They could also contribute some evidence themselves. Then if you found you had to appeal, you'd have a witness.

But I hope you succeed in getting a home visit. Go for that first.

Good luck!

Hi Gelfin,

Hopefully the below will help you and others who may experience something similar.

I am familiar with some of your problems and I was also invited by ATOS to an early AM assessment centre some distance away (50 miles but would require more than one mode of public transport) which would have required struggling through rush hour in two cities on a Monday morning - something I couldn't do.

I'm assuming they just didn't read the PIP2 info and automatically assigned a slot for assessment, so my carer called up ATOS last week using the 0300 freephone number on the letter to request a home appointment.

He had to provide my personal details to pass security, usual sort of things: name, address, DOB, NI number as well as provide a contact number for him.

He was then able explain the situation on my behalf. Was asked a few yes/no questions then asked to give details of my conditions, why I couldn't attend and what would happen if I attempted to - quite similar to the thought process for providing info on your claim form.

Some of the follow-ups asked about being able to go outside with support and how GP appointments are attended to assess whether a home assessment is necessary.

A few days after the call I received two letters: one confirming the request for home assessment had been granted and one advising of a home visit in a two-hour window two weeks from the date on the letter.

As far as I know, I didn't need anyone to provide a letter or anything like that for them to consider a home assessment, just had to speak to ATOS on the phone and give them the info that way.

Good luck!