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PIP claim killed before taking off the ground. Appeal rights?
Quick question.
I know the DWP generally cant just disallow a claim before its made, as it dont subsist until made. Entitlement is then normally decided by a DM, and then decisions can be challenged and so on.
How does this work with PIP?
I have a client who lived in Bulgaria for a few years, but has come back to the UK six months ago and has R2R and Hab res.
Before going to Bulgaria she paid tax in UK etc etc. Genuine link to UK
I believe she will pass residency test via EU social security co ordination rules + link to UK
Unfortunately PIP simply refuse to proceed with the call and wont generate a claim. They have decided she has no entitlement and they arent even decision makers.
I will escalate this , however im just wondering on peoples thoughts regarding this procedure. How can you appeal/MR/challenge a claim they wont let you make?
Letter before action/threaten judicial review/seek legal advice as the new rules on JR have just come in, so these could potentially become even more expensive.
Its the principle of not allowing a claim to subsist in the first place that bothers me…....
FYI you can register a claim in writing:
Personal Independence Payment New Claims
Post Handling Site B
Wolverhampton
WV99 1AH
I’m assuming the call centre staff are reading from a script/flow chart type thing. How far into the call are you getting before they ask about this?
Thanks for that.
Client didnt give me detail as to at what point they halted the conversation.
Will sort as soon as client gets back to me
Can you post back to say how claiming by post goes? According to Citizens Advice national website:
“The DWP will only provide a paper claim form in exceptional circumstances, so you should tell them why you can’t use the phone when you write to them. If you don’t do this, they are likely to try to phone you.”
I must say I’ve not attempted to claim by post. Where we have identified claimants who have been unable to claim via telephone, we have been making claims by email. Would be happy to send the email address over to anyone but is a pilot project so would prefer not to post up here.
Claiming by email is straightforward - I would guess the process would be similar if claiming by post. They just send a paper PIP1 form out which asks all the questions they would have asked over the telephone.
I got the address from gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/pip/how-to-claim) and all they say there is:
You can also write asking for a form to send the above information by post (this can delay the decision on your claim).
Personal Independence Payment New Claims
Post Handling Site B
Wolverhampton
WV99 1AH
RE: Paper based pip claims.
I asked DLA when notifying them of a change of circumstances to issue a PIP1 form (we’re in migration area) as I had a deaf client and her husband has learning difficulties. They sent the notification letter to make a claim over the phone.
I wrote to the address listed to request a paper application form; they confirmed they received my application but didn’t send a form.
We finally ploughed through doing it over the phone (I showed her the declaration and consent transcripts I found online).
Useless.