ESA work assessment

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  • epitome
    epitome Posts: 3,199 Forumite
    edited 4 October 2017 at 8:28PM
    It would have been better to have been told what the contents of the handover were....but let's leave it at that.

    Your next step now is to wait.

    When is your next payment due?

    You should phone to ask .
    "Can you tell me if the "Fail To Attend Medical Decision" has been made yet?"
    every so often...up to you how often you call them. I suggest you call them Tuesday next week.

    Your claim will remain in payment until a decision has been made.
    Your chances of a good decision -providing the Decision Maker (DM) gets the real reasons- are excellent, impossible for it to go the wrong way.

    And given what you have done so far, I am 99% sure the DM will get the reasons you have given. So nothing to worry about.


    When the decision is made a re-referral for a medical will begin.

    1 week after this "fail to attend" decision has been made...you could phone
    medical services... 0800 2888777
    To confirm
    You now have a "Live referral for ESA"


    You have an exemption from completing the ESA50, I doubt an ESA50 will be sent to your correct address unless you ask for it to be sent.

    If you want to fill in an ESA50..... you should do so as soon as possible...because it may not be very long before your next medical appointment is made.
    You could get an ESA50 from a local jobcentre, or the next time you call ESA you could ask them to send you one.
    You could then return it by post (envelope provided) and check 3 weeks later that it was received and actioned. (Due to the time involved I do not reccomend post)
    Or once completed, you could phone ESA ask for a jobcentre appointment to have your ESA50 scanned, then phone ESA after 2 or 3 days to check it was actioned. (when the jobcentre scans them they are sent attached to a "handover", so anyone can search for the handover and check it has been opened and the contents actioned...)
    Or you could phone Medical Services once you have a live referral, and choose the "questionaire option" and ask them to make you a telephone appointment so you can dictate your answers to them over the phone.



    I strongly advise you ... once you have phoned Medical Services and confirmed they have a "Live Referral for ESA" ... To confirm they have your correct address and mobile on their system...and
    To phone Medical Services 0800 2888777 every week on the same day every week, (because this will only work if you phone them every 7 days or less) to ask them
    "Has a Work Capability Assessment appointment been made yet?"
    Eventually they will say "yes" and you can ask them when it is.

    Missing a WCA can very easily result in claim closure, and it can be impossible to get the decision changed, resulting in extremely difficult circumstances for you. Better to phone them every week, than it is to miss your next appointment..... even if you end up phoning them for next 20 weeks,
    0800 2888777
  • rvj87
    rvj87 Posts: 50
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    My next payment is due on the 16th. I'll call them again on tuesday and then get on to medical services.
  • rvj87
    rvj87 Posts: 50
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    Hi,
    Rang the DWP today. Apparently the decision has yet to be made. I'm waiting for a call back, but I'm not looking forward to it. I am terrified that something will go wrong and I'll be made to claim universal credit instead. After what I've been hearing about it, I don't think I would be able to cope.
  • rvj87
    rvj87 Posts: 50
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    Surprise, surprise. Nothing at all from the DWP. I'll call them tomorrow.
  • epitome
    epitome Posts: 3,199 Forumite
    edited 10 October 2017 at 7:17PM
    As long as you are satisfied that the correct reason has been sent to the DM, that the letter was sent to an old appointee address, because no one at DWP updated the MSRS address.

    There is no need to ask for any more call backs, just wait for the decision. You can enquire if the decision has been made yet as often or as little as you like, (I would recommend at least once a week).

    However, if you eventually do get the bad news "decision not allowed" which would be totally unexpected.... Don't wait to come back and ask advice here...on the same phonecall, you will be calling enquiries when they tell you, ask them to send a handover for a "Verbal Explanation" ....... When you get the DM calling you with a verbal.... you can ask if they are aware the letter was sent to an old appointee address, you can then ask them for a Written Statement of Reasons to be sent... And you can ask the DM to put through a Mandatory Reconsideration for you straight away.

    Did you get an ESA50 from the jobcentre or posted to you yet?
  • rvj87
    rvj87 Posts: 50
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    I rang the DWP yet again. The decision has still not been made. however apparently another ESA payment will be made to my account on Monday. The representative said I could expect a callback either today or on Monday. I asked whether or not an ESA50 had been sent.

    The representative said that an appointment to attend a WCA will be sent when the decision has been made. I mentioned that, up until now, whenever I've had my circumstances reviewed by the DWP, I have been sent an ESA50, filled it in and sent it back, and not been contacted for a WCA. I forget exactly what I was told. I'm just confused now. Why haven't they made a decision? Why have they asked me to attend a WCA without sending an ESA50 in the first place?

    This has happened before; in 2015 when I moved to Nottingham, I called to register a change of address, and they never actioned the change. My ESA50 was sent to my old address in Newcastle and my benefits were stopped. I am terrified of the same thing happening now. I will have to fight to not be put on Universal Credit.

    Incidentally, if the WCA goes ahead and they make a wrongful decision that I'm fit to work (I'm not, and I can get the notes and letters to prove it) what should be my course of action? I'll have to go to tribunal or something- I think the stress would kill me. The constant sick feeling in my stomach is wearing me out.as it is and I don't think I could handle being told that I must claim a benefit that doesn't even pay people for at least six weeks and constantly gets payments wrong.
  • epitome
    epitome Posts: 3,199 Forumite
    edited 13 October 2017 at 8:20PM
    rvj87 wrote: »
    I rang the DWP yet again. The decision has still not been made. however apparently another ESA payment will be made to my account on Monday. The representative said I could expect a callback either today or on Monday. I asked whether or not an ESA50 had been sent.
    Why are you asking for call backs?
    Did he say if anyone has sent you a duplicate ESA50 yet?
    If ESA50 was sent out more than 1 week ago ask them to send another.
    They won't send one unless you say to them "Please send me an ESA50"
    Or you can pick one up from your jobcentre.
    The representative said that an appointment to attend a WCA will be sent when the decision has been made.
    He cannot know what the decision will be, (although very likely to be good cause), he also cannot know how soon or long after the decision is made will it take for CHDA to give you a new apoointment.
    I mentioned that, up until now, whenever I've had my circumstances reviewed by the DWP, I have been sent an ESA50, filled it in and sent it back, and not been contacted for a WCA.
    In response to that he should have sent that is a decision for CHDA to make when they get an ESA50 from you. (but do not send it back yet)
    I forget exactly what I was told. I'm just confused now. Why haven't they made a decision?
    Because the Decision Maker is very busy.
    Why have they asked me to attend a WCA without sending an ESA50 in the first place?
    They did send an ESA50, it was not returned, so they had to move on without it.
    This has happened before; in 2015 when I moved to Nottingham, I called to register a change of address, and they never actioned the change. My ESA50 was sent to my old address in Newcastle and my benefits were stopped. I am terrified of the same thing happening now. I will have to fight to not be put on Universal Credit.
    You have an excellent reason for not attending, as I said way above this post, all you need to be sure of at this stage is that the correct reason has been noted down and sent to the DM....then you wait.
    Incidentally, if the WCA goes ahead and they make a wrongful decision that I'm fit to work (I'm not, and I can get the notes and letters to prove it) what should be my course of action? I'll have to go to tribunal or something- I think the stress would kill me. .
    If that happened you would Man Recon first, then appeal, you would be paid ESA on appeal, but there would be a few weeks waiting for your Man Recon where you would not be paid, but when you appealed, you would get it all back paid. But you would also need to get sick notes from the date they stopped your claim.
  • rvj87
    rvj87 Posts: 50
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    I am not asking for a callback; every time I call I am told that somebody will ring me back with a decision. Every time I ring to ask if a decision has been made, the person I am speaking to tells me that a decision has not yet been made, and that somebody will get in touch with me to tell me when a decision has been made.

    I have not been told whether or not an ESA50 was sent. I don't know why I would recieve one until the decision has actually been made.

    I don't know what CHDA is. Should I continue to wait for a decision to be made and then go from there?
  • epitome
    epitome Posts: 3,199 Forumite
    edited 14 October 2017 at 2:39PM
    rvj87 wrote: »
    I am not asking for a callback;
    Oh Ok
    every time I call I am told that somebody will ring me back with a decision
    No, they won't ring you when the decision has been made. Just ignore anyone who says that to you...it won't happen.
    Every time I ring to ask if a decision has been made, the person I am speaking to tells me that a decision has not yet been made, and that somebody will get in touch with me to tell me when a decision has been made.
    No they won't.
    I have not been told whether or not an ESA50 was sent.
    You were told it was sent in post #27
    I don't know why I would recieve one until the decision has actually been made.
    You won't receive one, neither before or after the decision has been made...unless you ask them to send you one...or pick one up from the local jobcentre. If you want CHDA to have your ESA50 for the assessment, you should get hold of one ASAP fill it in and either:
    • Post it to the ESA Benefit Centre address (not advisable)
    • Have an appointment at Jobcentre to have it scanned to ESA or
    • Send it to CHDA - but not until CHDA has a new "live referral" for you....which means not now.
    • Once you have completed it, phone CHDA and choose option "help with questionaire" they will make appointment to call you back, and you can dictate your answers to them by phone.

    I don't know what CHDA is.
    CHDA = HAAS = Maximus = ATOS = Medical Services 0800 2 888777 = The people who do the medical assessments.
    Should I continue to wait for a decision to be made and then go from there?
    Yes. Except you should ask for an ESA50 to be sent to you and get cracking on that...
  • rvj87
    rvj87 Posts: 50
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    No word of a decision yet. I have asked for an ESA50 to be sent. I think I should probably get a letter from my GP/The crisis team.
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