Amputee has custom mobility car taken away as disability benefits ruthlessly cut
An amputee said his mobility car was taken from him when his disability benefits were ruthlessly cut following an over-the-phone assessment.
Aidan Wood has told the Mirror how he was driven to severe psychological trauma when his Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was reduced. Mr Wood has neurofibromatosis which causes neurofibromas, rare growths across his body, which led him to have an amputation in 2018. He is also on the autism spectrum.
The 43-year-old was receiving the standard rate of £60 for the daily living component of PIP and the enhanced rate of £62.55 for mobility. People who are on the enhanced mobility rate can swap it for a car like Mr Wood did. Everything was lowered in July 2022 a few months after Mr Wood went through a benefit renewal assessment.
He struggled with the reassessment, which was done over the phone. Mr Wood answered all the questions fully but says the report later came back with things that were “demonstrably untrue”, which meant he didn’t meet the descriptors for the eligibility criteria and subsequently everything was lowered.
Mr Wood told the Mirror: “They asked me, ‘how do you get to the doctors?’ For me, that is a loaded question and I struggled to communicate my answer clearly. But they turned around and said, ‘if you can get to the doctor, you’re fine’, that is a familiar environment for me. I was asked how I did my shopping, but I’m comfortable and it is not stressful, because I worked in retail for 14 years.
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Aidan Wood's flat during the appeal process and court case“Although I was on the standard rate for the daily living component originally, I always thought I should have been on the higher rate, but I didn’t dare question it, I just left it but the reassessment just lowered everything. That is when I knew I had to challenge everything. At the time I occasionally wore my prosthesis and they just latched onto this idea that I can walk to three bus stops. But now I can’t wear my prosthesis at all, I’m completely wheelchair-bound.”
Mr Wood appealed the Department for Work and Pension’s decision through the mandatory reconsideration process and the case went to tribunal in June this year.
The case went in Mr Wood’s favour and he has now been awarded the higher rate allowance for both the living, which is £101.75 and an enhanced rate for the mobility component, of £71.00. The judge had ordered for the money to be backdated to October 2021, which is when Mr Wood initially received a letter from DWP to say they were looking at his benefits. He is still waiting for a new car, but there are delays because of a backlog of car applications. Now Mr Wood says he hopes nobody ever has to face what he went through.
Aidan has since hired help to clean his flat“I have been in a pretty dark place mentally for a long time, I’m so glad it is behind me”, says Mr Wood. “I’ve not had a car for over a year, that was the part that caused a lot of physiological stress. I was essentially housebound, I couldn’t get out of the house without a car and I couldn’t afford the costs of public transport. I couldn’t socialise or go to gigs, which is something I really enjoy. Now that I have my car back, I’m starting to get out now.”
Mr Wood from Cardiff added: “I was living in pretty squalid conditions. I just didn’t have the mental space to keep the place clean or to get help. This whole process has caused undue trauma. Nobody should have to go through that, that is why I’m sharing my story.”
Mr Wood said he submitted several pieces of supporting medical evidence during mandatory reconsideration. He was supported by a friend with a Master’s degree in medical law throughout his fight. Mr Wood says: “At the tribunal, a DWP staff member submitted extra evidence in my case and she said she couldn’t understand why my PIP had been reduced. She was actually very supportive. I won the tribunal, it was overwhelming in my favour. The judge said I should never have gone through this.”
Aidan struggled to go to gigs or social for 18 monthsBut turmoil didn’t end there, once the benefits were reinstated to the higher rates for 10 years, the DWP had then written to Mr Wood to say they were considering appealing the court’s decision. But this was later dropped. “For them to consider appealing was just vindictive at that point, it was just awful. I rang the courts to ask for advice and they were just gobsmacked”, says Mr Wood. “I almost broke down and cried in court. I’m starting to put everything behind me and I’m feeling a bit better, it is a relief.”
Mr Wood has now put in an official complaint to DWP and is calling for PIP to be remodelled. He says: “It needs to go back to the lifetime award for people who qualify like me. The DWP needs to rely on medical evidence because phone assessments are not good enough. These assessors are not specialists. Having the higher daily component has meant I have got extra money to buy better quality food and I’ve hired a cleaner to help sort my flat.”
A DWP has told the Mirror that they are 'continuing to learn from decisions overturned at appeal'. They also said they are investing in developing assessors’ skills. A DWP spokesperson said: "We apologise to Mr Wood for any distress caused. We support millions of people with disabilities every year and our priority is that they receive a supportive, compassionate service. Our disability assessors are all qualified health professionals and in the majority of cases we make the right decision.
"When someone disagrees with an assessment, they can ask for this to be reconsidered and appeal to an independent tribunal. We are improving the experience of the benefits system for people with disabilities, as set out in our Health and Disability White Paper and continue to learn from decisions overturned at appeal."
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