Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

That is who I phoned. :(

It was getting to the end of office hours so I'll have another go tomorrow,

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

I wouldnt consider it entirely new practice, its possible it was stopped for a while, but I know this is not new because back several years ago when I was claiming IB, I claimed DLA and failed, then within weeks I was called in for an IB assessment as well as been hassled to attend the job centre for a work focused interview. They openly admitted on the phone that the failed DLA claim was the trigger, as soon as I had the new assessment which qualified me for IB again, they backed down on me attending the job centre.

For this reason I have always advised people who are in the support group of ESA to think hard about claiming PIP/DLA, especially PIP due to the stricter criteria, as the risk is large if you get turned down and it affects the ESA award. Generally if they can get by without PIP/DLA then I tell them to not put in a claim regardless of entitlement.

I can provide an insight into why this is happening.

Starting about 2 and half years ago, almost everyone on ESA was been automatically considered still qualifying when they were due for reassessment, because the system was completely overwhelmed they had to suspend reassessments for an indefinite period of time so they could catch up on the backlog of more than half a million pending assessments. As I recall I believe its an automatic 2 year defferal set by the computer come reassessment date. This meant of course people who might e.g. have had a 6 month prognosis suddenly get a 2.5 year period without reassessment. So they probably didnt see it as a major issue as the person would get reassessed anyway in due course. But with what happened, I can understand why this is happening, as if the person was left alone, they could potentially be automatically deferred whilst having been deemed to have no problems on their most recent assessment.

Also its always been the case you assessed whilst in the waiting room etc.

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

It took half and hour to get through this morning, then 20 minutes of hanging on as they "checked the claim status".

"Incorrect trigger by the system", so payment of DLA will be made within a few days. "Sorry for the inconvenience".

The computer makes the decisions now it appears, based on "triggers" with no human oversight. "Errors happen from time to time, it's good that you spotted this one before it got any worse".

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

Glad you got it resolved.

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

Yes ditto that. :tu: I know how I'd have felt had Osem Jnr # 2 received that. I'd definitely be taking this up with my MP and passing the word around to charities/support groups etc. that this can happen, the reasons why and it's not necessarily as bad as it might seem. The more people are aware of the possibility, the less likely they are to be knocked for six unnecessarily if similar happens to them.

So highly unfortunate it was, unpleasant it was and stressful it was for you all. But an example of some awful change in policy which signals yet another attack on society's most vulnerable it wasn't and we should all be thankful for that.

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

I'm so pleased you have got this sorted, although saying that you should not have had to phone in the first place.

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

I have now been waiting for the DLA to PIP phoneline to put me through. 25 minutes so far. 4th attempt today.

And their message/on hold music is corrupted to heck!

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

I'm sure a few people here will be interested to find out how it goes so please let us know Taf and best of luck to you. :tu:

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

As well as this awful policy re-emerging, another part of the problem is computers making decisions and inexperienced/unprofessional staff doing the face to face interviews.

There have been cases of the assessors turning up for work drunk, lying about having carried out assessments face to face when it was over the phone and lying about what took place when interviews did take place.

http://www.thefedonline.org.uk/fed-n...unk-atos-nurse

This is now so bad that many claimants want to record their interviews, but the DWP place strict criteria upon doing this.

The Radio 4 programmes 'In Touch' aimed at the sight impaired community and the 'You & Yours' consumer programme have featured this as the equipment needed that meets DWP criteria is obsolete!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07mvxx0

Homophobia also raises it's ugly head too:

http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com...essment-alone/

Don't forget, the Government outsource these assessments to private companies whose main concern is the £300 they get for most assessments.

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

26 minutes into the SIXTH attempt to get an answer from them.... I'm sick of the muzak!!!

---------- Post added at 16:53 ---------- Previous post was at 16:48 ----------

32 minutes into the sixth call today and the phone answered! Total time on hold was 195 minutes.

"Due to the high volume of calls we will give you a callback tomorrow"

AAAAAGGHHH!!!!!!!

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

I suppose this is one symptom of a de-motivated Civil Service with employees that have not had a pay rise for 4-5 years or so and have had their conditions of service progressively and unfavourably re-written. Working hard to maintain standards that the public expect is difficult in the face of diminishing returns and staffing levels.

Please remember when you get through Taf, that these people are under as much duress as the recipients of inappropriate forms.

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

:banghead:

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

[QUOTE=Kursk;35863031Please remember when you get through Taf, that these people are under as much duress as the recipients of inappropriate forms.[/QUOTE]

I am always calm and courteous. It gets better results.

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

Yep, they have cut the numbers of civil servants employed, so there are less people to do the tasks asked of them.

Making major changes to the system, then expecting more productivity from fewer people inevitively leads to the sort of service that Taf is experiencing.

Also, more and more errors are being made as older experienced members of staff leave*(along with their many years of experience) and are replaced by cheaper young people.

On paper, this can be claimed to be cheaper and more efficient, but in reality this leads to the incorrect advice and waiting times that Taf and many others are experiencing.

*This is especialy relevant with regards to Housing Benefit. As it is intended to eventually abolish this, staff have been looking for other jobs over the past few years as they would not automatically be redeployed or be offered jobs in the civil service.

Re: Worrying news for ESA claimants converting from DLA to PIP.
 

Erm, Housing Benefit is mainly administered by Local Authorities, not Civil Servants.