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A Personal Independence Payment claimant was denied PIP after a Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) assessor wrongly turned up at their house. Amy McDonald, aged 36, from Birmingham , told Yahoo News her PIP application was once rejected because an assessor wrongly turned up at her house instead of the assessment site. Amy, who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and endometriosis , is one of 48% of people who have their initial PIP claim rejected. "I needed to rethink what I wanted to do and what I was capable of doing that would work around my health conditions," McDonald told Yahoo News. READ MORE Thousands of Blue Badge holders issued update over free bus travel "But when I’d talked with the government's work coaches, they didn’t fully understand that there are certain things I can’t do because I have invisible disabilities. I spent a lot of the time explaining it all and it was quite exhausting." "It took me three applications to get PIP. When I underwent my PIP assessment, I was shunted from department to department. No one seemed to understand," McDonald said. "Once, I turned up for PIP assessment scheduled at an office, but instead, the assessor turned up at my house. "Then, because I wasn't at the house, they rejected my application. I had to start again." PIP is a four-weekly payment to help you manage if you’ve a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition. PIP is worth over £9,500 per year, tax-free, and you can get it whatever your income. How much you get is based on how your condition impacts your life. McDonald and her partner Matt run the The Tattooed Gent in Erdington . McDonalf said: "I ended up getting my mum to help me with the application and come to the interview with me. "That eventually meant I was heard and listened to. There was such a lack of communication, questions that made you feel like they minimised what you were going through, and were used to prove the pain was not as bad as you thought." The benefit is made up of two components – you can get one or both: For each component there are two rates: 'higher' and 'lower', depending on how severe your condition is.
