PIP authorisations

A lot of our work is done over the phone as we cover the whole of Derbyshire and obviously can’t see everyone face to face.

When we are requesting MRs we write to DWP, sending authorisation where it is immediately available, and sending it on afterwards otherwise.

One of my colleagues has found this week that where we’ve sent MR request letters to PIP which state clearly that authorisation will follow, PIP have sent out their own form to the client to sign and return.

These forms apparently not only require the client’s signature, but also the rep’s signature.

Two claimants have reported that they’d called PIP that day to tell them that they had sent in our service’s authorisation form, but PIP said that their own form also had to be returned.

This is….new: and not helpful.  Has anyone else seen this phenomenon?

Aw bless them!

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forum-archive/indexcd06.html

I believe there was a template version as well that imposed a time-limit for each authority. Neither have any status in law. It’s down to the claimant to decide what authority they give and if the DWP then impose something onerous on top of that then a challenge is, once again, in order.

I went through a period of using a form of words which emphasised that I’d been authorised without time-limit. Ultimately nobody challenged that. I also lodged a formal complaint in every case where they took this blocking approach to authority. Every complaint upheld amid much recrimination and “they were only doing their jobs” toned letters.