PIP
Posted , 7 users are following.
I am new to this group and am desperate for some advice please
I have a son who is 27 and has Autism he has been on DLA since he was a child He also suffers with stomach problems and is on a high pain killer for this he is currently under the gastroenterologist he suffers great pain and week long bouts of diarrhoea he also has body Dysmorphophobia he gets extremely anxious and is very germ phobic he can at times soil himself
So we had the appointment through for his pip assessment even though I had asked for a home visit I rang Atos and they insisted they would not come to the home as he had anger issues he is the most placid person ever I then asked for an appointment at a nearer centre DWP have sent 2 visiting officers out to our home over the last few months they obviously had no concerns about anger
Since the new appointment was made he was assaulted in his own home by a family member through no fault of his own we visited hospital and the GP the GP gave him a sick note for 2 weeks or concussion I rang Atos today to say he wasn't well enough to attend Monday at 8.59 that we had a sick note but they said no as the appointment had been altered already they can't change it again. Any help I would be grateful
0 likes, 6 replies
mike09523 william30373
Posted
Call them again and ask to speak to a manager. If they ask why say you wish to make a complaint.
They are right in so much as you have changed the appointment and that is only allowed once, but, you do have mitigating circumstances.
Mike.
Scally william30373
Posted
Hi, I was in a similar but slightly different position to your son. I altered my first appointment as it was miles away - the ridiculous automated system even though I'd told them I wasn't able to travel. Another appointment was made very close to my home which I was ready to attend but I missed that because I became unwell at the last minute. I wasn't able to contact them on the day because I was too ill but I contacted them and explained the next day and asked them to send me another appointment. They flat out refused due to the fact that I'd changed it once already and they said they had already sent my case back to DWP. I contacted DWP, explained my situation and that there was a genuine reason for not attending. They agreed that my claim could continue and sent my case back to ATOS. I just caused delays and more anxiety for me that could have been avoided if a little common sense had been used by the people at ATOS rather than this rigid adherance to the one change when their own system often forces you to make the first change because they don't consider your requirements.
You may have the same situation as me, a delay because it has to be decided by DWP but as you have a sick note I don't imagine they would have a problem with it. I didn't have a sick note, I just explained the situation. You might be able to avoid it getting to that situation if you phone DWP at 8am on Monday morning and explain what's happened before your son 'fails to attend' his appointment. I'd hope that they would contact the ATOS and agree to them allowing you to rearrange your appointment again over the phone, before they get into the process of sending the case back and forward.
I always hope for someone with common sense being the one to answer the phone at DWP or ATOS. It doesn't often happen but you may get lucky, there must be some of them that are capable of looking at the bigger picture. I hope you are able to get it sorted but I think it will be DWP rather than ATOS that you need to speak with, ATOS are very rigid about this.
william30373 Scally
Posted
Thank you for your help it was very useful it's terrible the way genuine people are treated by Atos I won't give up
AlexandriaGizmo william30373
Posted
Hi I'm not sure it would be moved again as it seems to be one of the rules. You. can change it once but that's it, I rang the day I got my original appointment and asked for a home visit and was told that I would not be allowed to change it again.
The reason I was allowed to change it was because I needed a wheelchair and walker and had extreme pain and had to change from sitting to standing about every 15/20 mins and as it would have been nescassary for me to have a taxi that would have been impossible.
I hope you don't mind me asking but have you or any health professional ever implied verbally or on paper that your son has ever under any circumstances been even remotely aggressive. It is strange that they have said they want attend a home visit due to this reason, is your son claiming ESA or any unemployment benefit.
denise15811 william30373
Posted
ATOS are the worst for agreeing to a home assessment but if you'd sent a letter from a GP explaining the reasons why a home assessment was needed they would have agreed.
It would be ATOS you should ring first about the appointment on Monday and not DWP because they have your son's file. As has already been said they will probably refuse to cancel this appointment because the rule is a claimant can only cancel an appointment once. Your son is claiming DLA at the moment so this may affect those payments. If there's no way at all you can attend this assessment and ATOS say they're returning the file then ring DWP and explain what's happened. If your son's payments stop in the meantime it would be DLA you'd need to ring.
chan23331 william30373
Posted
Hi William just try your best to attend even if u show up and your son is not well or he is not havering a good day don't even get him dress just go in his pj s and just let him bin his self when he is not havering a good day cause u will not be able to apply please just try your best to go . Xx