Atos 'invite' me to a F2F after PIP Review, URGENT advice please

Hi,

After filling in and sending off the short PIP review form ATOS (or whatever they're branding themselves as this week) have 'invited' me to attend a face-to-face 'consultation' in Manchester City centre on 30th October, despite my very clear and very detailed statement that I suffer from Autism (with all it's attendant sensory disturbance issues), Social Phobia, and chronic physical mobility issues. I do not leave the house except for unavoidable medical appointments (and only then under very strictly controlled conditions) and I have not travelled further than 3 miles from home in well over a decade (Manchester is 12 miles away).

I know it's foolish to try and second-guess these people, but the worst I was expecting was a telephone consultation. This news has sent me into a blind panic and I don't know what to do. I have no support at the moment (I am currently on a waiting list for a support worker) and there literally is no-one to accompany me to a face-to-face. I am having a meltdown even just thinking about it. My GP surgery wouldn't be able to provide a support letter in time to stop it.

All I know is that I simply cannot, under any circumstances, attend a face-to-face far from home. What are my options?

If it comes to it, I will not attend and then appeal, that is how desperately I feel about the situation.

Thanks, it'll take a few days to be able to work up the courage to even just telephone them (I'm great on paper/any written medium, but hopeless with actual real life social interaction) but I'll try that and have to just hope for the best.

In the meantime if I contact the support service I'm with and tell them about this, maybe there'll be a miracle and they can provide me with a short-term case worker to get me through this?

IF it comes to it and ATOS won't budge, what would happen if I just didn't show up on the day?

Thanks, I will call but I'll also put it to them in writing (using the template in the PIP guide as a base point) just to cover myself. And I'll keep a copy to show the DWP if it comes to it.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, in their 'invite' letter ATOS makes no mention at all of the option to ask for a review of the type of assessment you'll get.

It's almost as if they don't want people to know about it...