Comments, complaints and suggestions about your Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment

The following information can also be found within the comments, complaints and suggestions booklet (PIP), which can be picked up in any of the consultation centres.

Our role in your PIP claim

Your claim to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been referred to us by the Department for Work and Pensions if you are claiming in Scotland, North East England, Yorkshire and Humberside, North West England, South East England, South West England or London.
The following diagram is an overview of the PIP process and shows our role and the Department for Work and Pensions’ role in the Assessment Process. You can also see a version of this image in an alternative format on our YouTube channel, along with a voice-over and captions.

You can access a full size version of the image here.

During the Assessment Process, our Health Professionals will review your ‘how your disability affects you’ form and any other information you have provided, such as letters from other people involved in your care. If our Health Professionals require further information before they can write the report, we may request further information from the contacts listed on your ‘how your disability affects you’ form.
For most people we arrange a face to face consultation so that we can discuss in more detail how your health condition or disability affects your ability to participate in daily life.
More information about Personal Independence Payments is available at: www.gov.uk/pip

More information about the Atos Healthcare approach to PIP is available at: www.atoshealthcare.com/pip

After the Assessment

The Health Professional will complete your report and send it to the Department for Work and Pensions. The Department for Work and Pensions will use the report as well as other information provided, when looking at your claim.

What to do if you feel the decision on your claim is incorrect

If you are unhappy about the decision made by the Department for Work and Pensions you can ask them to reconsider it. To do this, you should contact them on:
Telephone: 0345 850 3322.
Textphone: 0345 601 6677.

Even if you disagree with the Health Professional’s report, it is important that you discuss this with the Department for Work and Pensions as they will advise you how this has informed their decision and how you could request a reconsideration.
You can obtain a copy of the report from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Comments, complaints and suggestions about our service

We are responsible for the assessment process which includes responsibility for how face to face consultations are carried out.
Our Customer Charter is displayed on our website. In meeting the Customer Charter, we will treat all people fairly and equally.
If you have any comments on the service you received please do not hesitate to let us know. Your views are very valuable in planning improvements to the service and any suggestions you make for improving the service will be studied with care.
Any comments or complaints you make about the service will not affect your claim for PIP in any way.
We are always grateful to receive appreciative comments and positive feedback which we pass on to the staff members concerned.

What to do if you are unhappy with your assessment

If you are unhappy with any part of our service or simply feel that we could do things better, please let us know. We are always looking to improve our service and your comments will help us achieve this.
We are responsible for providing the Department for Work and Pensions with a report that details our Health Professional’s objective and impartial view on how you are affected by your health condition or disability.

How can you contact us?

If you want to make a written complaint about the service you received, you can write or email us using the details given below, making sure that you include your name, National Insurance number and the date of your consultation.

> Postal Address: Customer Relations Manager, Atos Healthcare, PO Box 1006, Stockton-on-Tees, TS19 1UL
> You can contact our Customer Service Centre via our website.
> Or you can email us: [email protected]

Who to ask for help if you want to make a complaint

Our staff and our Partners in the consultation centres will be able to advise you about making a complaint.
There are also other organisations and people you can contact for advice, such as:

> A friend or family member
> Citizens Advice
> Welfare Rights Workers

If you are asking somebody to contact us on your behalf, please remember to give your signed consent to that person, either on the feedback form which is part of the booklet, or by separate letter.

Our response to your complaint

Our aim is to deal with your complaint fairly and in a timely manner. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and keep you updated on progress throughout our investigation.
We will try to respond to your complaint within 20 working days but there are some circumstances when our investigation will take longer, for example if we need to obtain copies of any relevant documents from the Department for Work and Pensions; or obtain information from the Health Professional or other employee involved.
When we have completed the investigation into your complaint we will notify the Department for Work and Pensions if we find that your report potentially contains inaccuracies. Please be aware that we cannot change the decision on your claim or request another consultation; you should contact the Department for Work and Pensions for further information on these two matters.

What to do if you are dissatisfied with our response to your complaint

If you are dissatisfied with our investigation into your complaint you can contact the Customer Relations Manager named on our complaint response. You should explain to them which parts of your complaint you feel have not been dealt with to your satisfaction. Our Customer Relations Manager will arrange for a Senior Manager to personally review the investigation into your complaint and undertake a further investigation if appropriate.

What to do if you want an independent review of your complaint

If you are still dissatisfied with the way in which we have dealt with your complaint you can contact an Independent Case Examiner to find out whether you can refer your concerns to them for further investigation.
The Independent Case Examiner’s purpose is to act as an independent referee for people who feel that they have not been treated fairly by Government Agencies or Businesses, or whose complaints have not been dealt with in a satisfactory manner.
They can be contacted by telephone on 0845 606 0777 or via the website at www.ind-case-exam.org.uk