PIP Long Delays Already

I attended my PIP assessment over a month ago. The centre I attended within the grounds of Ormskirk hospital has no convenient disabled parking, other claimants might wish to check if this situation has been rectified.

As of today, the 22nd July, my capita assessment has still not been received by the DWP. Yet I was assured by the Health Professional at my assessment that my report would be completed and sent off that day.

I phoned the DWP last week to chase up my case. They said that a reminder would be passed through to their processing team. Today's call has confirmed my suspicions that Capita, one of the most incompetent organisations going, have already encountered huge logistical problems thus creating a backlog straight away. The person I spoke to at the DWP today informed my they are receiving 'many' calls similar to mine.

I have a suspicion that the claims are being 'sat-on' until the review of mobility distance has been concluded on the 5th August. Lets hope its not spun out any longer.

As ever I find any dealings with these quasi/government organisations very, very stressful. As a sufferer of heart failure its stress I'm supposed to avoid in the first place...

Time for an update. And the update is that NOTHING HAS HAPPENED.

Thats right, my assessment has still not arrived with the PIP teams at DWP. I phoned them yesterday 22 August 2013 for the third time. I was given a very similar response to that which I have received on the two occasions I phoned in July.

For reference, in 2009 I applied for DLA (for the same conditions I suffer from now...) however it went to appeal (not much of a surprise). At the time I was also fighting for my ESA (14 months to get an appeal overturning the decision that there was nothing wrong with me). And I was being chased into bankruptcy having lost my home etc etc because of my failing health. I let that claim (DLA) lapse as i couldn't cope with everything.

Now I find the pressure piling on. Life is hard enough coping with my heart failure, diabetes etc. I suffer from depression with my life seeming to spin into chaos with the slightest stress. After another night mostly weeping and panicking I find myself starting to get very angry - not good for my heart.

The person I spoke to yesterday at the DWP told me it was ATOS who carried out my PIP assessment. I'm wondering now whether it was C(r)apita or ATOS who did my assessment. Perhaps if the DWP are contacting ATOS for it and Capita did do it that might explain why they have not received it. No, hold on, whoever did it should have forwarded it to the DWP weeks and weeks ago...

And so it drags on.

My assessment by ATOS on the 19/06/2013 has still not yet arrived at the DWP. DWP appear indifferent to its receipt. There appears to be no system in place to chase up papers/assessments languishing in limbo.

I got a contact number for ATOS and called them 0300 3300120. The initial person i spoke to was not able to help and so i was passed to the line manager.

It transpires that my assessment is somewhere in the audit trail, the precise word used was 'corrected' when i asked about what the problem was. Quite how it needs to be corrected without me present is a question that remains unanswered.

I am currently deliberating my next step as i've now had more than 3 months of fobbing off. Since my assessment in June I have received NO CORRESPONDENCE and NO PHONE CALL from the DWP or ATOS.

It matters not that I will never get the chance to challenge IDS et al in a public forum, although i would relish the chance of that. So i'm left with stirring my MP up or contacting the BBC/press.

I'm tired of feeling like the victim of bullying. Nobody does it to me in the 'real' world, so now i'm disabled why should i put up with it from the state???