PIP form.......your experience knowledge....please help!

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cornishman
cornishman Member Posts: 34
edited 27. Feb 2017, 05:22 in Living with Arthritis archive
Dear Forum.....is there anybody that has been successful in being awarded Pip benefit for RA?

The nightmare begins for me! I have been claiming DLA for past 5 years and fear I'm about to lose it becasue of new strict guidelines and assessment. I am still disabled with active RA disease, not working and on Meds Enbrel and Prednisone along with steroid monthly shots in affected areas. I need the money so bad to survive literally. I know it's a privilege not a right!

The Pip form is daunting...I haven't touched it yet in case I say the wrong thing! I don't even know if I should fill it in...just in case the assessment panel think I can write.....therefore I'm fine!

Please would you write me your experiences and knowledge on this minefield I am entering. I don't know where to begin......how to behave?

Kind regards
Cornishman

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  • daffy2
    daffy2 Member Posts: 1,636
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Hi there ,sorry to hear you're being faced with this. I'm not in the benefits claiming situation(yet!) but if you have a look at the Benefits and Working Matters board you will see what others have written about the process, and suggestions of how best to deal with it. Getting in touch with Citizen's Advice seems to be a starting point, and gathering as much evidence from consultants and GPs as possible.
    There was something on the news headlines this morning to the effect that current claimants shouldn't lose out in the transfer to the new system but I'm not sure what(if anything) was being proposed to ensure that is the case. In the meantime make use of the support and advice on the forum from others who've 'been there, done that, got the T-shirt'.
  • bubbadog
    bubbadog Member Posts: 5,544
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I've not long been through it and been awarded, best thing to do is go through questions 1st and write your answers on a pad rather than the forms 1st so you can change anything you want to write. Answer the questions about how you cope on a bad day so they know how bad it can be. And when finished photo copy your filled in form so you have a copy for when you have to go through it again and you know what you wrote. It's always handy to have a copy of those forms!! Good luck with it.