Independent Assessment Services

They completely disregarded anything I said to them over the phone and gave 0 points in things I clearly told them I had issues with and everything else I have very severe mental health issues and receiving their disgusting letter 3 days before Christmas has absolutely destroyed me I've never cried so much in my life reading the lies they had wrote on their vile piece of paper and I cannot eat due to stress atm they said they would review my assessment over 8 weeks but they rushed it along so quickly I had it in 2 they don't care about people like me

I had my pip assessment today with Chris..
I have to say that with all the negative comments, I was very nervous at the thought of having a rude and obnoxious gent asking me about my personal life.. I shouldn't have listened to any of these reviews, as he was absolutely professional from the very start until the end…well done Chris

I had to attend in person as my assesment was prior to the pandemic, my partner was with me as I don't always find face to face interaction all to easy, this is because I have social anxiety and having lung disease I can get a little out of puff with verbal conversations.
The assessor was a paramedic who clearly had absolutely no idea about Alpha 1, COPD, or GAD.
He went on to ask me questions used to assess patients with dementia, learning difficulties, and/or head injuries, none of which I have…
He then asked me how many metres I can walk before I need a break, I told him I can walk down to the shop, five minute walk takes me ten to fifteen minutes and I tend to stop once in normal weather and multiple times when it's cold, I also explained that I need someome with me to help me with walking.

Some time later we got the response and were shockef to see what it said.

Firstly, the assessor had changed my answers, he stated that I could walk long distances at a normal pace unaided.
That my conditions did not affect my day to day life in any way.
And that I could think and communicate clearly at all times.

The letter was written in such a way that used phrases such as "I have decided that you are"…

The decision was appealed with a letter written by someone who actually works for The DWP, explaining and correcting the errors,
Within around a week we recieved the exact response as the first time, literally verbatim, but with a different name on the bottom.

I was denied PIP after ten years on DLA, because of their lies, and their corruption, I have been unable to get to the hospital for crucial appointments, appointments I would have previously used DLA to attend.
I'm unable to follow the dietary requirements for my condition as I can't afford them, certain supplements, foods, and over counter medications that help.
I suffer multiple chest infections per year, I am perceived antibiotics frequently, I generally have a cough, I don't sleep right… All this could have been easier, thanks PIP Assessors!

I am trying to make a complaint about my telephone assessment yesterday. After being interviewed for 35 minutes the nurse assessing me had been pushing me to answer hypothetical questions to which I could only give answers to factual and true situations. She then asked me 3 times if I suffered from panic attacks to which I answered No. I told her I was feeling anxious because she wouldn鈥檛 accept any of the answers I was giving her. She then said she would have to stop the interview while she consulted with her supervisor. About 5 minuted later she telephoned me back and said 鈥渂ecause you said I am making you anxious I have to terminate the interview and you will have to have another assessment interview.鈥?I told her I was fine to continue and would like to continue the assessment but she refused. I asked to speak to her supervisor and she refused. I asked for a contact telephone number and she said she couldn鈥檛 give me one but I could ring the telephone number on the front of the letter. She ended the conversation. The telephone number she referred to is for the DWP.
I spoke on 3 separate occasions to DWP personnel that afternoon. They said that they can not deal with my complaint I have to contact the IAS, yet my interviewer had told me to ring the DWP. However the DWP were all very professional and understanding they documented the facts on my file and gave me a telephone number 03003300120 to contact the assessors to make a complaint. I rang this telephone number to be told that the line was closed. I then rang the customer service centre for the IAS 0800 188 4880 which told me I had 2 options, 1 – was to make changes to my up coming interview 2 contact the DWP ! There is no way of speaking to this service. I then went on their website on how to make a complaint. There it states I can pick up a leaflet on how to make a complaint at there consultation centre. Where is that? Is it open during COVID?. Or would you believe ring their customer service team the 0800 188 4880 which I have explained above Is an automated service and is useless for my complaint. I have ticked the box for IAS to read this review can they contact me to allow me to make a complaint?

I鈥檓 not on pip I鈥檓 on esa but been to 7 or 8 of those assessments in my time and left a few coments before.at the end of the day it is what it is?a lieing disgusting company.all their practices are inhuman and it鈥檚 all about profits.they don鈥檛 give a dam about people鈥檚 health and sadly since the tories been in control past 10 years it鈥檚 gone even more rotten?the whole system needs scrapping

Why we can't give less than one star is beyond me.
I have today sent a letter of complaint to the IAS, the MP for DWP and DWP as well as the MR for my husband. If I don't fight for him and speak up for others like him who will??

Below is a snippet of the letter I sent outlining what they appear to adhere to as their 'Code of Practice', basically gives a quick insight into the assessment he had. He is still suffering the after effects and his assessment was on the 30th August 2020.

What we promise to do
1. We will treat you with compassion and respect.

Where was my husband鈥檚 compassion and respect during this assessment? Do not assume that because you are on the phone, that the person you are calling is not in an anxious state, shaking, struggling to breathe, constantly tapping his legs, looking at me to answer as he just can鈥檛 get the words out to answer the question, tears running down his face. He was bullied, humiliated, intimidated and was made to forcibly agree to answers he did not even give. The assessor was unforgiving.

2. We will look at all the information you, your GP and any others involved in your care have given.

The report is missing 6 medication items, states that the Respiratory Nurse is reducing contact from 3 months to 6 months), this is 6 weeks not months! States in report, Asthma 2019, my husband has been asthmatic since the age of 12, with it becoming more and more severe during the last 5 years!! Report states Asthma is well controlled, letter clearly states Husband is on maximum tolerated therapy. The Asthma is hard to control due to complexity and severity and a Specialist Respiratory Professor has been contacted for further input.

3. If we think we need to, we will meet you face-to-face and really listen when you tell us how your disability or health condition affects your daily life.

Obviously, not F2F but what the assessor did do was try and answer (incorrectly) for my husband when he was struggling. Repeatedly asked why my husband was talking about cognitive and physical difficulties when his conditions listed would not support this. This is where my husband got very upset, the assessor actually making out that he was lying. Why would someone lie about describing (whilst crying), how degrading he feels at 40 years old, to have to gradually rely on your wife to do aspects of your personal care, have to dress you, make sure you take your medication and on time, make sure you eat properly and dress accordingly. Not be able to do simple things such as take your son to the park and do all the things that Dads do with their boys, bend down to feed your animals, take your dog a walk, go on family outings with your family and wife. Not be able to simply walk into another room and go upstairs without feeling out of breath. He has no quality of life. But hey, assessor obviously knows best!

4. We will provide DWP with a fair and accurate report as soon as we can.

Some aspects of the report are accurate, but the majority is not, and were the words that the assessor assumed my husband to have said, not what he actually said. Nothing mentioned about his struggle to answer, his regular breaks he needed, the number of prompts that my husband had from both the assessor and myself. The fact that my husband completely broke down and could no longer participate so I had to take over. The fact that my husband regularly got upset on the phone, especially with questions relating to personal care and not being able to do things for both me and our son anymore.

I have sat through many assessments for friends and family and have never come across anything like this in my life. IAS will most likely give the assessor a pay rise. 'Well done, a job extremely well done lad, zero points to client and a shiny bonus for you'

Terrible company to both deal with as a claimant and to have previously (and regrettably) work for. Full of racists, liars, and poor management. If I could give zero stars I would.

If I could put zero I would ..my phonecall was 10 min late, and when he did call the signal was awful, he said he was having technical difficulties and would ring back in 15 min, which he did..HOWEVER..although he was polite and APOLOGETIC his accent was so strong ( African/Congo) i could not understand him ..I had to say "pardon I'm sorry I cant understand you)..he tried to explain that he would talk slowly BUT should he speed up he would not be offended if I stopped him mid sentence (I think this is what he said)..he then proceeded with incorrect information and I was unable to make him understand .. it was 10 min of stressful hell ..I had to bring the call to an end abruptly as my stress levels were through the roof! .. my condition is exacerbated by stress and the result was the rest of the day was a right off … now whilst I'm understandably pixxed off I'm also confused…am I not entitled to an interview with someone who speaks and understands my mother tongue? .now awaiting a replacement call …CAPITA sort this out!

Outrageously unprofessional and incompetent. I put my claim in 6 months ago, last week I finally received a letter telling me I'd be having a phone appointment. When the person called I made it clear I would be recording all my calls (because I've heard about the corruption and falsification of reports). She said that if I was going to record it, I would have to wait for a face to face assessment instead. Fine.
Literally days later, I receive another telling me I'm having another phone assessment! So i called up and asked if they had now changed their minds about the fact to face appointment. The operator sounded like a school leaver/ first jobber. I explained the situation to her 3 x and she insisted the phone appt was going ahead and that they had not changed their minds?!? An obvious contradiction. I told her I had audio evidence that they told me I would have to wait for a face to face appointment so clearly they had changed their minds. She got uppity, kept speaking over me, was very disrespectful. I said i would raise a formal complaint if they wasted my time on the phone again. She then suddenly said that no, I would in fact thave to wait for a face to face appntment! So I was right and she was wrong but instead of apologising, she had a terrible attitude. She said "it's not my fault, it's my first day back". What an outrageously unprofessional thing to say! I have NO confidence in these people. How did they ever get the contract for this work?

Lying all lies got my report back and what he wrote compared to the points and the ticked boxes didn't match up , spelling mistakes called me he instead of she… put words in my mouth questioned my mental health tried to trick me made me feel suicidal he put me down that bad his name was Stephen the paramedic well I hope he would never be looking after any of my family members or any of his kids suffer with mental health or traumatic stress ! These people should not have the right to judge our health and mental health when they don't have a clue no wonder their is so many suicides with these evil people

I'm someone with long term serious mental health issues, I got scored 0 points and told that there was nothing wrong, even though i'm in treatment with a mental health team.

I challenged this in court and got full rate. the assessment was all lies and they contantly tried to catch me out. they are awful and i honestly hope they get shut down.

they need to be looked into by professionals and you should get a relevent professional for your diagnosis. I got someone that did not understand mental health and was not a mental health specialist. I don't know how anyone who works or is associated with this company sleep at night. Horrible people.

Wish I could put minus a star.
A supposed Nurse was sent to do a home assessment on a child next door, (as I am a retired Nursing Tutor which I did not declare) My neighbour who is a single Dad to a disabled daughter asked me if I would sit in when this IAS rep came To do a home assessment. I was there throughout the hour and the lack of experience was evident to me but I did not comment, when the claim was refused and the neighbour received the report I could not believe it. All zero . Also the whole report was complete blatant lies.
How on earth do these people get away with it.
I now believe every person who has the very sad experience of these people. I have written a formal complaint on behalf of the neighbour and have started a petition with local Mps to change the way all of these vulnerable people are being treated.

Horrendous i got JANE AFRIN from Inverness and was horrendous if you get her just hang up and get a different person she lied and twisted report ive hsd to get MP and victims crime commissioner involved, definitely put complaint in about this snide person

like many others got there on time 4 my partners appointment to be told it had been cancelled .we was not informed of this in anyway . However as my partner has mainly mental health issues he kicked off .we were then told there was a nurse who was available to see him .Was sent to another building and was intervied by a so called nurse (who knows nothing about mental health) with security sitting outside . We both answered all her questions honestly and also physically (raise your arms bend your legs ie).However when we received dicison was very taken back by what the nurse had wrote down and what we said ? we scored 0 on everything .My partner has been receiving dal for the past 20 years or more and even by the medication he's prescribed (by a shrink and doctor ) you will no they have a problem .but like so many he kept good eye contact and a good rapport with the assessor.They must be told what to say (as so many of us have the exactly same reply )as to meet company's targets so there contract gets renewed each year .This company puts profit before people .To many of us have received exactly the same response from pip to see and know that this company is fraudulent .

Please note this is only from my recent experience receiving a telephone assessment. Prior to this I have had nothing but issues and incorrect assessments which fortunately I have had support to change even though hard work causing me much upset and taking time. However my last assessment even though for some items I scored 0 points where I should have scored at least 1 or 2 the outcome of the assessment concluded that at last I received what I should have been entitled to for a long time, back dated as well. Lastly, for the first time the assessor seemed to be understanding and made me feel at ease.

The person who carried out my assessment for PIP review lied. She put words in my mouth stating that I said I can attend appointments and get taxis when what she was actually told was that I am housebound and my gp and District nurses make home visits. I am in the process of making a complaint at the suggestion of PIP when I phoned them. Also referred to a very large full thickness skin tear which required an overnight stay in hospital and months of dressings and treatment as a 'scratch' . I am furious and disgusted. I have sent a copy of gp letter stating I am housebound to PIP.

My PIP claim was denied after an assessment conducted in my home by Independent Assessment Services. I was confused, as I exceeded the points threshold required to qualify for Enhanced Mobility. I called the DWP and requested a copy of the report sent to them by the assessor (always do this – odds are that the assessor has lied on your report). He had lied, literally made things up, and twisted things I'd said. It was only due to the secret mobile phone recording I'd made that I was eventually able to win my tribunal by proving the assessor had lied.

1) ALWAYS REQUEST A COPY OF THE ASSESSMENT REPORT FROM THE DWP – YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DO THIS

2) IF YOU CAN'T ARRANGE FOR YOUR ASSESSMENT TO BE OFFICIALLY RECORDED, SECRETLY RECORD IT USING A MOBILE PHONE PLACED SOMEWHERE DISCREET (make sure you are not seen starting the recording – do it before you enter the assessment building or before the assessor enters your home. If the assessor sees you are recording without permission they have the right to terminate the assessment. Make sure the screen is off and place the phone somewhere within earshot but not in a conspicuous place that makes the assessor suspicious)

3) DO NOT TRUST THE ASSESSOR. IT IS THEIR JOB TO SAVE THE DWP MONEY BY DELIBERATELY GIVING SOME CLAIMANTS LOW SCORES. ALWAYS RECORD THE ASSESSMENT. ALWAYS REQUEST A COPY OF THEIR REPORT.

I THINK IT'S TIME WE STARTED NAMING AND SHAMING THESE HP ASSESSORS

My wife's 5 year PIP award ended 11/01/20. In October 2019 DWP wrote and asked her if she wanted to reapply. This she did as her health conditions haven't improved. DWP received her application and supporting evidence on 11/11/19. DWP scanned the papers and sent to IAS who received it mid December. Not one call or message from IAS. Contact made to DWP by us to confirm the above. Contact made with IAS… 'yes we have the papers she will have to wait until we have someone to do the Face-to-Face at home'. In the meantime the DWP stopped her payments and the Motabilty Car has been recalled as payments have stopped. Still nothing from IAS and all phone calls have been met with the same response. DWP suggested a weekly call to IAS to keep asking when the assessment would be done. 17/03/20 all Face-to-Face assessments suspended for 3 months. IAS will contact applicants shortly. Still nothing heard and the last call two days ago was met with 'we are waiting for the DWP to tell us what to do next'!!! Words fail me to describe how unprofessional and inept the IAS has been.

It鈥檚 amazing how many of you seem to have the same copy and paste comments about not showing any distress even though you were in tears I had the exact same letter with the same response and things just tweaked to look like it was written for me here and there. I feel like they have generic letters wrote out to deny people but then change things here and there. I was in tears and had to try and stop a panic attack as I started to hyperventilate but apparently there was no clear signs of psychological distress! This is disgusting treatment and absolute lies. The fact that the Assesor couldn鈥檛 find a tissue so had to pull roll from the bench so I could wipe my tears away and I had to stop due to hyperventilating is rather an obvious sign!

Had My PIP stopped today ( 05/03/2020 ) because . they have failed to give me an assessment . Paperwork was sent off in November 2019 , was told 6 weeks for assesment .. None was forthcomming . Telephoned and was told " I was down for an assessment at a center an hours drive away ) All my assessments were home visits because of my disability ( ever since I first claimed pip ) .Staff changed it to a home visit . Called today and was told . they have no idea when my assesment will take place ( They only do 3 home visits a day per person) and there are only 2 people in my area that do home visits . Suffolk is a big County , it could take months ( Not the 6 weeks that I was told) . Then of course there is the weeks and weeks wait before they even look at claim .. Then months when you have to again fight for your case to be heard in court and again win appeal ( I had 18 months before I won my last case ) I was in so much debt , and now , it's starting all over again . I wonder how many people have taken their lives , thanks to Atos and the like .

Independent assessment service is run by crooks. Employees 99.999999 are morons.and couldn't catch covid 19 if in a room with a million people. Not fit to call themselves nurses. Are crooks liers cheats. Not fit to wipe my bottom. Threaten people. Management are bigoted cheats. All money oriented. Fact people who have killed themselves because
these jokers . Get 拢50 for every extra assessment they carry out.do not meet the dwp standards. Fact over 200 cases being opened against this company who changed its name from atos in a way to hide.away.its directors threaten legal action against any web site that pops up against ias. Over 30 million in income from dwp. Shows this company not fit for purpose.

Had a terrible experience.. Was sent a reassessment letter on Friday to go to Middlesbrough.. I'm in Sunderland almost 40miles away and also had a doctors letter saying I needed a home assessment. Was told this was impossible and must attend Sunderland (echo office) 3 days later. Against my doctors advice I attended to be told they where too busy to see me for my appointment time! I produced my doctors letter (which they already had) and a home visit was arranged and I was told that I should never of had to attend in the first place. Very difficult to deal with and very upsetting

I have had a few assessments, the latest was 6 month ago, and I am currently waiting for another because the last assessor falsified the report that was sent to the DWP.

Due to this I was only awarded 4 points from that assessment even though I suffer from mental health issues, which can make me a danger to not only myself but other members of the public, I also have mobility issues due to tendon and muscle damage in my ankle. But after informing the IAS about this I was forced to attend an assessment, I was highly medicated to reduce the risk of me becoming aggressive and potentially causing harm to myself or someone else, but according to the report I was able to fully engage with the assessor, answering all questions (lies) the person who attended with me answered for me.

I have had to reapply for PIP again and once again I have been told that I have to attend an assessment centre because the assessor won't come to my home because there's the potential of me becoming aggressive.

Wouldn't you think it would be more safer to assess me in a location where I feel safe and I am less risk to others, rather then putting others in potential danger?

They say that Health care professionals have determined that this is the best way to assess me but after enquiring, it has become apparent that these so called health professionals are nothing more than general office managers with no actual medical training especially in mental health, also I have been informed by a person that works at one of the assessment centres ( I won't disclose the persons name as its her job) that non of the assessors are fully qualified mental / physical health doctors but are basic trained health care advisors who only go on basic training courses, (so just enough training to allow them to work in the position that they hold.)

After saying this to the person in the call centre she referred to her line manager straight away who has now said that a request for them to complete the assessment without me attending has been put on the system and a "health care professional" will be in contacted.

The IAS is an absolute joke and it's no wonder they had to rename from Atos Healthcare, (Google Atos Healthcare and read the reviews, you will be shocked).

More,
Falsifying of reports to the DWP
Bullying of patients and staff

I would suggest everyone that is forced to attend an assessment to always take someone with you and always record the assessment and if the assessor refuses to allow you to record the assessment ask for a manager straight away and make a formal request for that assessor to be investigated because it's obvious that that assessor has something to hide or was potentially going to falsify the assessment report.

If the assessment is stopped because of the assessor refusing to be recorded make sure you get a letter off the manager that state why the assessment was stopped because they will lie and tell the DWP it was you who stopped the assessment and you will potentially be penalised for it when it wasn't your fault.

That should read minus 1m.
These people are a joke, they pretend to care, give the impression that you will be treated with dignity and respect, then produce a report that is nothing more than lies, no wonder there have been so many suicides connected to them. Made a claim in July 2019, eventually had the assessment January 2020, nothing I told the assessor was included in her report, including suicidal tendencies relating to PTSD, according to her there are no signs of mental health issues, which of course is why I have now been referred for urgent treatment via the local PCLS team. The assessor doesn't even know the meaning of the medical terminology Analgesia. Thanks to her lies I came very close to being yet another one of their statistics. It would appear that their medical practitioners ultimate goal is to cause the death of as many disabled and long term sick as they can. FIRST DO NO HARM! The only reason these so called medical practitioners work for the likes of IAS and CAPITA is they are unemployable anywhere else, if indeed they are qualified at all. CAPITA is well known for hiring bullies and goons, it would appear that IAS are the same. Why do our Government continue to use such reprehensible companies?