Cruel, Evil PIP Interviews, Should They Really Be Recorded? 

As a customer/victim of this barbaric practice, it was made very clear that I was not allowed to record the interrogation.

I had my WCA assessment recorded. Strangley, the assessor, when I told her I wanted it recorded, was really pleasant, and all her questions did relate to my condition and how it affects my employability. Dont give them the chance to make up a report that suits the DWP.

Definitely get a recording. As someone else on this feed said, they began to insist on an old-fashioned cassette recorder, then they refused any recording devices, so I’m glad they’re (seemingly) changing the rule. Way back, my son recorded his assessment on his mobile and sent a copy to the tribunal he went to on appeal, and they accepted the recording and admitted that the assessor had lied about his condition. So, yes, ask for a recording

We insisted on a recorded PIP interview when my mum switched from DLA to PIP a while ago. We had to buy a very old cassette player from eBay because they wouldn’t allow a recording on a CD. The quality was so poor that we couldn’t hear a word of it. I’m glad to see they have changed that at least. In her case the assessor lied outright in his report, stating that my mum told him she could walk for a minute without stopping. She said no such thing. I was present for the whole interview and can swear to that. Why in earth would she say that when she can barely walk two steps and only then with help? He never asked for her to show him how ambulatory she was at any point, but merely decided for himself how far she could walk. They granted her the lowest mobility component on the strength of his lie. Thankfully her doctor sent them a scathing letter with proof of her seriously limited capabilities and they backed down. If we could have made a proper recording at that time, he could not have lied. Please, always insist on a recording.

The DWP don't want the assessment recorded because then their decisions would be subject to scrutiny: they can't claim something was said when it wasn't or leave things that were said out. Their favourite excuse is 'we don't have the equipment' so this MP and DWP representative are talking bollocks.

Opt to have it recorded every time. The blatant falsehoods that were made when I had my first PIP were many. I now have a secret camera / mic in what looks like a fountain pen. So far I've used it twice but haven't needed to use the recordings. I have another PIP assessment coming up soon and, oh yes, it'll be getting dusted off and fresh battery fitted. I realise that recordings such as these are not allowed but I wouldn't trust the assessors as far as I could throw Therese Coffey.

Customers have options, if there is no option you are not a customer. As for recording it depends on who owns the recording. My conversations with my healthcare providers (GP, Neurologist, Neurosurgeon) are confidential, shouldn't any assessment also be owned by me only?

The last thing they want is to have video evidence of this inhuman disgrace.

Customer? that is vile in its self.

I worked in a government law enforcement agency and if an outside party wanted to record an interview, they were allowed to but they had to give us notice so that we could also record it. The concern was the person would take a recording and edit it to make themselves look good and make us look bad - if we had our own copy, there was no concern of that happening as we could expose the truth. If I was going through one of these PIP interviews, I would want to record it as I would be able to show that I provided all required and necessary information and I could refute any government assertions to the contrary. Also, if the interviewer was really bad, I would be able to prove that.

The assessments are done by a private company...hence...customers.

They don’t want recorded interviews, and they want to cover up the report that denies them the help the claimant needed.

The reason for this "oh look how fair we are?" Rubbish from them. A huge amount of people needing to interact with the dwp is highly stressful in it self "communication/social" interactions an this system basically says we'll tell you if you can manage to ask. It's a disgrace both pip and UC.

Any interactions with anything to do with the government, you should record for your own records.

Having read the comments here I am not surprised. Just to clarify these assessments are not done by medically qualified personnel or even Civil Servants they are undertaken by either Crapita (Capita) or Arseos (Atos) who took over from a french company many years ago when they walked away from the contract because of the bad publicity the company was getting. Reports are not actually made in the first place they are simply a tick sheet & to qualify you need to get a high score otherwise, your claim is disallowed or if in payment, suspended. The reason for this is that it would cost a fortune if the government did the job properly in the first place and secondly the department knows that there will be a high amount of appeals however even with a high amount of successful appeals if only 10% of claims are stopped the government considers the job done in reducing the benefits bill. The whole Jobcentre ethos is a bullying culture. It comes from the top where one level of management bullies the next level down and so on until you get to the advisors who bully the public. I worked on benefit fraud before I retired. Shortly before I retired one of the advisors told me about one claim & I had to go down to witness this myself. A woman had brought her husband in to sign on because his sick claim had been disallowed so he was required to look for work, the one problem was that he was suffering from advanced dementia and couldn't even sign his name properly & didn't even know what day of the week it was. Of course, he would win the appeal but this could take 18 months or more, in which time he could have died & once again the department would work on the basis that either the family would not bother to pursue the arrears of benefit or the dept. would drag its heels on paying out the arrears.

I'm legally blind and cannot read any writing text I cannot see any letters on an eye chart but the DWP always send letters in normal font which is actually illegal, I have to get a neighbour to read my mail for me.

Agree with you, it should all be recorded. The tories, our tory government really don't give a s*** about us or our country, it's as simple as that. They are selfish, greedy and dishonest. And even customers shouldn't be treated like that

As to recording? An emphatic yeas. As to having the assessors report provided with the decision letter? Another emphatic yes; having to apply for it and wait for it to arrive eats into the time you have to write your appeal; it would far from slowing the process, speed it up for those who wish to request a Mandatory Reconsideration. As to getting the wrong persons report? on one occasion, I did not receive any report as requested; it was sent to another claimant who shares my surname, and I only found out because his advocate contacted me. I was within hours of the appeal window closing and there followed a welter of stressful phone calls to convince the DWP and the Tribunal Service, that there was a mistake and to continue with my appeal. It did not feel like a mistake, as plenty of my paperwork ended up with the wrong department during other WCA periods.

A couple of thoughts. Do these assessors actually write an assessment report? If so, printing/making an extra copy to include in the refusal, sorry ‘assessment results’, letter would take no extra time. Also, by routinely including the assessment report with every claim, there would be a closer association between the report and the result documents, reducing the possibility of sending the wrong details to the wrong claimant. And the minister’s difficulty with making these processes ‘clear’ and ‘open’ for the claimant reminded me of the late, great Douglas Adams - the claimant’s recording and assessment document are available at the DWP, down in the cellar with no lights or stairs “in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet, stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘beware of the Leopard’” Surely, the reason that there should be an opt-out system is that a recording and a copy of the assessment report, plus the criteria under which the report was assessed would keep everybody ‘honest’ (Probably why the minister and this corrupt Tory government would not want the records).

Customers get a record of their transaction.

Customers are a source of profit to a company that tells you all you need to know about this interaction.

We are not customers. We are not customers. “On any device”? This is progress. If it’s true.

I gave up after five attempts to get PIP the lies they told about me in their reports were staggering. Your so right I was diagnosed with MS in 2012 up until that point I believed I was paying into a system designed to help if you fall. How wrong I was. They want us dead and are doing a great job of achieving their goal. With the cost of living crisis now upon us I doubtt I will be here next year

It should an opt out! Not in a lot of vulnerable people would be to shy and quiet to asked for it to be recorded!.

I think I mentioned it earlier? In regards having the PIP, ESA, Tribunals recorded that way both the interviewer & yourself could have another chance to see if what is often written down after you left the offices was true & accurate. Which in my history isn't the case. They usually chose what they want & leave out important stuff to you. But that would introduce another tier or office staff when you inevitably make that claim against the 75% decisions that are wrong. I was never told I could record it on my own equipment like a mobile or that I could request it be recorded. They never seem to take your work or life history into account, just those 30 minutes in that office at that time. If you suffer from ADHD, PTSD, anxiety, depression etc what happens if you cannot look at them or speak? #EnoughIsEnough #GTTO #NHSpay15

One world famous Irish political person in Ireland was giving an interview to a paper. The Interviewer asked her, did she mind if the interview was recorded, NOT at all, as soon as tape recorder was switched on, the interviewee took out her own tape recorder. I see we both have the model tape recorder interviewee said. Bring your own tape recorder to interview, turn the table on interviewer.

You are required to tell them you are recording during a telephone interview. They made it sound that you are in breach of something or other if you don't inform them about your intention to record. I have written on other posts about recording. I believe that all interviews are recorded even when the claimant (not customer) is not informed. I did not tell them I was recording but my tribunal form will filled in with reference to specific aspects of the assessment. If the tribunals legal representative representative , had listened to the interview, he would have seen ,moreover, heard that my points were both valid and sound. He obviously had heard the recording the assessor made and I was awarded my PIP by the legal representative. He did seem quite taken aback at my initial PIP refusal and appeal refusal but he resolved it all in about 10 minutes ! The whole thing gave me nearly a year of worry and stress which I'm sure others here have experienced. I thought with my degrees in philosophy of language I would be ok. I was but I made a huge mistake not getting advocacy and support as my mental health suffered due to this. Please get someone in your corner. When my renewal comes up I will definitely seek help and support. I will never go through a process like this again on my own.

When I wanted to record mine they insisted on only using an old police recording machine that I had to supply, and an nda would have to be signed, 2yrs back.

This is dreadful, how callous these people are. or are they people?

I tell everyone I meet from a state agency that my memory is shot and I'll be recording any interaction.

Now I know I can I will be recording all phone conversations(after I have informed them obviously) and all in person interviews

I waited 3 years for pip as I was too ill to battle with them.... eventually I got them to come to my home.. ..

It's like police interviews your tret like your guilty when you are in the room if you opt out then it's a strike against you

you are not allowed to bring along help from citizens advice. and my favourite part is how you get penalised if your claim fails as you basically loose one months benefits as they switch you back to UC

The other thing that is wrong with the system is the fact that letters do NOT make clear that the onus is on the claimant to provide evidence of their conditions, unlike under DLA

Yes they should so lies are not put on assesment wish i had recorded my own. Xx

I record my interviews with the privatised company that uses non-medical staff to assess me. I am now 73, and my next assessment is in December 2027. So I'll be 78 and I am supposed to be better than now after my disabling stroke?

I had to appeal and on third had a panel of 3 doctors inteŕviewing me. I did not feel good that day but struggled in zo main town. Took citizens advice bureau ladyvwith me. Came out room, took 3-4 steps to right to get to lift and collapsed. Had to get wheelchaired out of building. Why did it not happen on way in? I did however get pip but I certainly didn't know visits cld be recorded but my last mtg had enough pple there as witnesses

Absolutely should be recorded . I’ve had my transcript back this week and it would appear that it doesn’t relate to me . There are also key words in the transcript which I haven’t used used , certain key words have also been changed . I’ll have to take it all the way to get it sorted .

Everything about this government is cruel, spiteful and disgusting in this day and age in the 5th richest country on the planet, I honestly don't know how these vile excuse of humanity sleep at night.

I believe that every single PIP assessment should be video and audio recorded by law, a copy of the audio provided to the claimant right afterwards and video kept by the assessors to be called upon if the decision is taken to an appeal or tribunal.

Here in Scotland the process has been removed from the hands of private companies motivated by profit. All assessments going forward will be done by Scottish NHS staff and will have a very different feel . Bad enough putting people through the horrible PIP process who are already suffering from physical , mental or both issues that already has them living a life of stress. If the Tory government spent a fraction of the time , effort and money into pursuing the tax fraud many many millions of pounds would be saved

The only frauds in these accessing rooms is these want to be drs who are not qualified to judge you

I had a run-in with the DWP after returning from living abroad after many years. I was unlawfully sacked because of a serious illness, became homeless in the process and had to return home, although I did win the court battle. The lovely, compassionate and intelligent human beings that I dealt with at the Jobcentre were bloody amazing and extremely understanding. They helped direct me towards gaining a business grant and I'm now back on my feet. However, numpties still work in those offices and can make life changing decisions with the stroke of a pen, so I would strongly advise recording any assessments (where allowed) as it can't do you any harm. If an assessor is incompetent, they will be assessed on their own conduct when challenged.

The DWP don't want to provide 'customers' with a record of their PIP assessment because a) Most of the DWP assessors are not qualified to make assessments -- re: pysiotherapists judging mental health conditions b) Most of their observations are templated, unfounded assumptions, or just downright lies (c As a senior appeal court judge once famously opined, in a newspaper interview ' _Most of the DWP's evidence is of such low quality, that it would simply be thrown out of any court of law_ ' !!? I have personally experienced these conditions, multiple times. Always request a recording of your interview IN ADVANCE, and always request to re-schedule when, on the day, they tell you '... _Oh, the tape machine's not working today_ !...'. And always ask a witness to sit in with you.

A PIP interview is not a criminal investigation. 'Customers' as they like to use that phraseology appear not to have any rights. A Customer is a consumer of paid service that expects goods or service in return. Why are they using this phrase instead of what it is which is applicant or claimant? They're using the phrase 'Customers' as some sort of shield to enhance what is actually a humiliating and demeaning process of justification and denial of entitlement to the welfare state.

What these pple do not realise is when u r so ill the last thing u r fit to do is complete a lengthy appltn form be interviewed loads of times if appealing and then to ask for copy of report. As u say it is designed to make u give up. Pple just want to get in there and get it done. Same when someone died. Family upset and morning but meanwhile having to get insurance claimed, death registered, will administered etc all when u just do not feel mentally íor physically fit to handle it.

Wish I'd asked for a recording for my PIP assessment she was proper sneaky , oh I know all about kidney failure I'm a nurse , what the hell has being well kempt go to do with it and I was wearing a donkey jacket .

Very interesting that the 2nd lady giving evidence call claimants "customers". Is that what people going through a PIP assessment are classed as by the DWP?

i was told buy capita it was illegal to record the assessment because they have rights

I know that the pip assessors used to hate care coordinators attending their interviews with mental health patients. It’s a crying shame as I also know that about ten years ago the DWP who administered DLA the benefit that pip replaced were the most helpful and friendly department that would go out of their way to help applicants

You can insist on a recorded interview, and they record and send a CD (yes a CD), that is what my daughter did. Then you can dispute the result when they automatically reject the application first time round. Like you MUST send all documentation in recorded and signed for.

The DWP are hoping that you don’t know anything about the system. For example I learnt That the decision not to have a paper assessment is based on them reading your paperwork. As you probably guessed this doesn’t happen. So it’s always best ask the Dwp if anyone has read your paperwork Via their system. If you find out they have not read your paperwork and have asked for a face-to-face interview, you can ask for your paperwork to be read and the interview to be cancelled.These are the cheeky chats at atos asking everyone to come for interviews face-to-face. Also the cheeky chaps at the DWP dealing with appeals, tend to label your evidence Not as the title in the contents page, but as evidence. Sent to the judge looking at the contents page, it looks like word salad.

Fumbling their words and chopping their hands, giving hand gesturing restrictions, demonstrating a boxing off of their points, a defensive emphasis

For those of you who might find my experience helpful. (Scotland). I recorded my disability interview with ATOS. Their report was sent on. I was refused the renual of my disability claim. The ATOS report was a crock of lies. My partner and I sat down and transcribed the recordings into a written report describing everything as verbatim. The appeal tribunal accepted our written rebuttal of ATOS's report and not only reinstated my claim but awarded extra point that they thought was merited. Everything was backdated. They are determined to get people off of disability awards thereby compromising the legitimate claims of the deserving. They will put barriers in your way. Thank you to CHAI for their invaluable and dedicated help

As to slowing the process by giving a copy of the report, if you use a computer it would be printed at the bottom of the letter, unless you use pen ink and carbon copy paper.

Appreciate you covering these meetings, eqsy to get lost in the wider political bs

You should record your it your self because they lie through there teeth because I’ve heard they get a bonus for keeping the claim as low as they can I’ve had them lie on me

Doctors are able to send a report to dwp but they fund difficulties to send that to ppl !!

Isn’t it obvious that interviews should be recorded, especially in the current atmosphere of unfair assessments, bearing in mind the huge numbers of decisions that are over turned on appeal asking the question why are so many cases are turned down in the first interview. It couldn’t be that the assessors are working to a quota could it.

When you think about it a recording protects both sides, if a claimant is lying the DWP have proof, so why aren’t the DWP calling for recording? Could it be that one side has more to gain (or lies) more than the other?😔😔😔

Morning blase bro hope you're better today

“Customers”?

Just bring your legal aid lawyer into the interview with you.

Like deployed 👍

All I hear are good questions and curious lies .

What a shit show. The word "customers" is infuriating. Politicians tailoring the language as though there is an implication of "customer" choice? The most inhumane process designed by psychopaths. Perhaps Patel could suggest some improvements: a dinghy test? A general knowledge quiz on Rwanda?

Yes yes yes yes

Sorry bit confused by this should the assessment be made in regard to disability by medical & O T Not intermediate untrained staff ?

ive to get one go pro will be going with me

People interviewed by the Police are routinely recorded. For obvious reasons. Lies can be confirmed/ refuted. Just pointing this out.

"customer"?

What, pray tell is a PIP interview? I never heard of them in Ireland.

It's a joke unqualified people judging claimants

where do they get these women from, what is their training regarding people`s disabilities well being, Yes they should be recorded;

Common law is gods law. Misconduct of office is a crime?