I'd been receiving standard rate of daily living from October 2023. It wasn't enough to cover the cost of my disabilities and I was only 1 point off enhanced daily living. Sought legal advice/representation and it was agreed I stood a pretty decent chance of getting a higher award, so I appealed and took it to tribunal. After my hearing recently, it was decided that I was not entitled to any PIP at all from Oct 2023, and it was taken away. Will I have to pay all the money back? Do they always have people pay it back or only sometimes? It's been a month and I'm still waiting to hear back from PIP on whether for certain they want the money back or not. I am distraught.

For anyone curious: The Statement of Reasons has been requested to see if Upper Tribunal is possible. I am currently waiting for it to arrive.

During the hearing, fair warning was not given and we have reason to believe the medical evidence was not appropriately considered. We will see what the Statement or Reasons say and then go from there.

My son was denied PIP recently due to a flawed assessment. On 15 Sept DWP received my extremely detailed Mandatory Reconsideration pointing out every single inaccuracy and discrepancy in the assessment, but the loss of my son’s DLA, my Carer’s Allowance, and the Disabled Child Element on UC now means we are losing £1000 a month. I’m a widow with health challenges of my own now being expected to fulfil work-related activities despite my extensive caring duties remaining the same. I’ve submitted a fit note and will have to undergo a WCA.

Due to financial hardship and the severe stress this is causing, I contacted my local MP to see if they could push the DWP to look at our case urgently. DWP guidance says they can escalate and prioritise cases where there is financial hardship and that it aims to respond to MP correspondence within 15 working days.

My MP claims they wrote to DWP on 23 September. Twice since then I have rung DWP to ask if MP involvement has been noted on the file and they say no—the most recent call was today. 17 working days after my MP asked them to review my son’s case urgently. DWP says we are still in the normal queue and the MRs are typically taking 10 weeks now.

The MP’s senior caseworker doesn’t seem phased by this and just assures me they did write to them and hopefully they will have a response soon. Is there anything else I can do? If anyone has experience with MPs writing to DWP on their behalf, I would love to hear from you. Thanks.

Hi, I’m just wondering if a mandatory interview is the same as a standard review.
Iv been on LWRCA for over 14 months and got a message to say I’m having a mandatory interview call next week.

Hi, I'm currently in the process of claiming PIP. They have agreed to communicate with me by email as a reasonable adjustment because making phone calls and sending physical letters are unsuitable for me.

The alternative format team seems to be taking between 2.5-3.5+ weeks to reply to emails with basic requests such as requesting a copy of my assessment report (took 18 days) or an update on my claim (24 days and still no reply).

I'm not sure if anyone else on here also has email as a reasonable adjustment with DWP or if there are any DWP staff who deal with this team but it would be great to know if these response times are normal or if there is some temporary issue going on?

I had a missed call from 0800 023 2635 yesterday afternoon, there was no text or email before or after the call and there has been no further contact since then. The person calling didn't leave a voicemail. I have emailed the AF team about this but it will likely take weeks to find out what the call was about.

Thanks for any advice/help you can provide! :)

Hello all,

I claimed for PIP on 24th July and the decision came through that I only scored 4 points on daily living and 0 on mobility. I suffer from low anterior resection syndrome following total mesorectal excision surgery and stomach reversal surgery to treat rectal cancer. My symptoms from that include incontinence, clustering, pain, fatigue, nerve pain in my legs and a whole host of other things. On bad days 4-5 days a week I can't leave my house and I need my husbands support. I also suffer from anxiety and panic attacks relating to my partner dying at 30 and my cancer diagnosis has made it worse to the point that I'm almost agarophobic.

I wondered if anyone had any tips for preparing a good mandatory reconsideration letter? So far I have limited the letter to the activities I would like reconsidering, and have outlined the points I got and where I believe the descriptors are more accurate to my situation. I am also submitting more evidence of long term mental health intervention dating back to 2017. My original evidence included clinical letters from my surgeon, my MacMillan cancer nurse, treatment plans outlining my condition, my blue badge, and my repeat prescription list for medications for the bowel and anxiety.

If anyone has any tips from successful MR letters they have written I'd be grateful ❤️

I've been asked to fill out the start date and end date of the med 10, but I got it from hospital? And they want me to post the work capability assessment instead of uploading it. Has anyone else experienced this?

Hey Guys,

I was just wondering if anyone else applying for PIP for whatever condition had experienced a ‘regression’ and kind of burn out after the assesment?

I have been 1000x worse with my daily living and mobility since my assessment without even knowing the decision until earlier this week (0 points no shock there)

Now I’ve started the MR processes but I don’t even feel capable of that, since the assessment it has gotten to the point that my parents have started having to monitor my financials, medication and appointments ON TOP of their own (both also disabled and on PIP). I Feel horrible its come to being almost a child again and putting this additional stress on my parents (even if they enjoy and like helping me out)

Who reason for applying for PIP was to get someone to help manage all of this with me.

Any tips on the MR process for ADHD and Autism whilst working full time, burning tf out and barely making ends meet!????

I have received UC since March 2025.

In September 2025, I received a UC journal to-do notification telling me that I needed to check and confirm my claim details.

I have now received the same to-do notification.

Why do they ask for this at random intervals?

Why this instead of a review?

Does this mean a review is coming soon for me?

Hello.

I am currently in the process of applying for PIP. I am at the Tribunal stage and a week ago have been told that the DWP have responded, but im yet to receive the letter, but anyways.

I am unable to walk for anything more than 30-40 feet before i have to find something to lean or sit on. I've been like this for about 18 months now and have been on UC during that period.

I've had Sciatica in both sides since 2023 now but i could manage working through that and literally only just got my first diagnosis on one of the newer issues. My entire lower half of my body is in constant pain from hips to tips (😆) but its been stumping all of us. Diagnosed with Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome in my left leg, but the tailbone pain and dull aches are still a mystery meaning ive also got very little evidence to provide alongisde my claims.

Would getting a Dr's letter be worth it? I have read though that you can be charged anything upto around £60 and i just simply cant afford that.

Thank you for any help 😀

Hi everyone,

I’ve been reading lots of people’s PIP experiences on Reddit, particularly those who have gone through Mandatory Reconsideration and tribunal appeals, so I thought I’d share mine.
I applied for PIP in April 2025.
My initial decision came back in July 2025, and I was awarded 0 points.
I challenged the decision through Mandatory Reconsideration, and in October 2025, I received 4 points for Daily Living and 0 for Mobility.
The 4 points were:
2 points for engaging with other people face to face.
2 points for making budgeting decisions.
I still didn’t qualify for an award, so I submitted my tribunal appeal in October 2025. The DWP submitted its response in December 2025.
My diagnosed conditions include:
Autism Level 1
ADHD
Dyslexia
Dyspraxia
POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
Chronic sciatica
Depression
Anxiety
Chronic insomnia
My conditions affect me in different ways.
With my POTS, I experience frequent dizziness, near-fainting episodes and blackouts. I’ve had falls and episodes where I’ve lost consciousness.
My autism, ADHD, dyslexia and dyspraxia affect my communication, processing, organisation, memory, concentration, managing medication, preparing food, budgeting and following unfamiliar journeys.
I’ve also experienced difficulties with personal care, including washing and dressing, and chronic pain from sciatica.
I’ve provided additional medical evidence and detailed examples of how my conditions affect my everyday life, including safety concerns when cooking, difficulties remembering medication, falls, getting lost and difficulties managing money.
I also work part-time which has made me wonder whether the DWP has assumed that because I can work, I don’t have difficulties.
I understand that PIP isn’t based on diagnoses alone, but on how conditions affect your ability to carry out activities reliably.

Did you eventually receive an award? Did you find the tribunal considered your evidence more carefully? And has anyone been through this process with autism, ADHD, POTS or a combination of physical and neurological conditions?
I’d appreciate any experiences or advice. Thank you!

My assessor has referred to me as "He" instead of "She" many times in the PA4 report and this makes it very confusing when they are referencing the help my partner gives me😂😭 I had to read parts of the report multiple times to understand what was being said. Has anyone had a similar experience?

Also, I had a video assessment. My assessor was yawning constantly when I was speaking which threw me off big time and a few times I noticed her roll her eyes which honestly made me want to hang up the call and give up. Again, has this happened to anyone else?