Published on 12, July, 2020
How long is the PIP process?
I phoned up to request a form a few weeks ago and set up all my security details. The lady on the phone was very nice and said the claim form would be sent out and to ring back in a few weeks if it doesn't come.
It hasn't come so I rang up and they now say they can not verify who I am and I must have rung 3 times today and not gotten through the security questions. This is the first time I have rung in a few weeks. Then I get a phone call back and they can not verify who I am through the national insurance number and I now have a different set of forms and not the original one they said I was getting. Unless the person on the other end of the phone made a typing error I don't understand what is going on and am now in tears with the stress.
Given I have autism, fibromyalgia and permanently borderline anaemia even though I am on supplements I don't even know if it is worth going through the process or not or whether they will just say no as I can manage to work (through necessity not choice).
All I want is a little bit extra so I can get some extra high quality supplements and get my bills down so I can maybe drop a day or two at work so I can feel normal again and not live between fibromyalgia relapse and autism meltdowns all the time. But that is obviously too much to ask of life right now I just feel so hopeless and doomed to this cycle forever.
Julie
If you have a MIND near you they can be very helpful. Some places will help you with the form others will be able to refer you to someone locally to help you. They also might be able to accompany you to the assessment (I had the manager come with me to my ESA assessment as I have no family, and I had a MIND advocate sit in on my home PIP assessment with me. In West Sussex at least MIND have a county wide advocacy service.
I admittedly was claiming for social anxiety disorder not ASD (I still haven't decided if I have ASD or not) but MIND, although varies form place to place, can be fantastic.
There are also a couple of good websites regarding both PIP and ESA. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/ which have info but also guides (you do have to pay for these tho) and a forum. Also the benefits forum of https://www.youreable.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?2-Benefits-help-amp-advice-on-disability-benefits-incapacity-benefits-ESA-and-DLA is very good if you need to ask questions or for advice when things go awry with the DWP. There are a lot of helpful and knowledgeable ppl there.