Very good advice and I’d just underline the need to get a copy of the assessment report. It isn’t likely to make you less angry but without it you can’t know where you have been ‘marked down’. With the report you can even ask for more supporting evidence from your medical professionals. When I got my last report my initial reaction was ‘I don’t want anything to do with these people anymore’ but I was helped to get over that and decided I was going to fight it – which I’ve done successfully. In some ways, it is the 30 day time limit for asking for a Mandatory Reconsideration which is the most challenging thing especially as it is 30 days from when the letter was written and not from when you received it!
The other thing to remember is that it isn’t just you and you can draw strength and encouragement from forums such as here and on the excellent Benefits and Work site. It can also be worth reading some of the more extreme examples of the appalling treatment of claimants.
You can find a full report of a recent tragic case on the Disability News Service. The coroner said: ““The only thing that got in the way of her receiving the benefits she was entitled to was the processing of her claim.” For that and other issues in that case see:
Philippa Day: DWP civil servant denies PIP ‘culture of scepticism’