Challenging a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Decision - Complain about a PIP decision

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), what you can do about it depends on what you are unhappy about. This may include asking for the decision to be looked at again, an appeal or tribunal.

Complain about a PIP decision

You can complain about poor service or delays.

You may want to complain if:

The people dealing with your claim were rude or unhelpful
You should have had an assessment at home
It is taking too long to get a decision
It is taking too long to get a payment
There is something wrong in the medical report

If you complain, you may be able to get:

An apology
An explanation for what went wrong
Things done differently in future
A decision made more quickly
Some compensation

Start your complaint

Start your complaint by contacting the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The best way to start a complaint is to write to the DWP. You can use the address at the top of any letter you have about your Personal Independence Payment.

You can also start a complaint by phoning the DWP. Remember to keep a record of when you call, who you speak to and the reference number for your complaint.

Telephone: 0800 121 4433
Textphone: 0800 121 4493

You will need to tell the DWP (in your letter or phone call):

Your National Insurance number
Your full name, address and contact numbers
What happened, when it happened and how it affected you
What you want to happen to put things right

Initial response

The DWP will phone you to discuss your complaint. If they can’t get through, they will send you a letter.

If you are not happy with the initial response, you can ask that your complaint goes to a Complaints Resolution Manager. When a complaint goes to a Complaints Resolution Manager, it is called a Tier One complaint.

Tier One complaint

After the Complaints Resolution Manager has received your Tier One complaint, they will phone you within two days to update you. After they have phoned you, they will deal with the complaint and you will hear from them again within three weeks (or 15 working days).

If you are not happy with the response from the Tier One complaint, you can ask that your complaint goes to a senior DWP manager. When a complaint goes to a senior DWP manager, it is called a Tier Two complaint.

Tier Two complaint

After the senior DWP manager has received your Tier Two complaint, they will deal with the complaint within three weeks (or 15 working days). They may phone you to discuss your complaint. They will send you a letter to which is the final response to your complaint.

If you are not happy with the response from the Tier Two complaint, you can take your complaint to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE), which is separate from the DWP. You can find out how to take a complaint to ICE on the Independent Case Examiner page of the gov.uk website.

Updated: November 2018

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