Tribunal about my ESA

cozza

I am going to the tribunal about my ESA as i dont think there dicision is right ,
I am APPEALING AGAINST IT .
Has any one been to one ?
I will represent myself ?
What do i need to tak with me ?As there is not much info on the form
can some one give me some tips on how to go about it plz
ty cozza

cozza

just bumping this up

cattie

Have you tried talking to a welfare rights advisor?

As ESA is a new benefit, there won't be too many people yet with experience of appealing the decision, so you may have to be a bit more patient to get a response from somebody who has been through the appeal process.

NASA_2

You dont have to take anything with you but something that will help support the basis of your appeal would be advisable.

If you are appealing against a low score on the WCA then get something from your doctor or other HCP's to support that.

topcatt

google a website called benefits and work. They charge about £20 to join for a year but it is full of excellent advice that you can go back to as many times as you like within the year. I found out things I never knew and also how wrongly directed DWP and JCP had been pointing me, so if nothing else it will give you confidence to face the tribunal. Hope this helps and good luck.

someonestopme

In may I went to a medical for my ESA and a couple of weeks later was told my benefit was to be stopped as I hadn't scored highly enough in my assesment.
I had scored 6 points and I needed 15 to qualify. I broke my back(literally) in an accident at work,and am awaiting surgery to pin the fracture as it wont heal on it's own,so obviously I told them I wanted to dispute this. I got a copy of the assesment and,although the doctor was a little to optimistic,it was obvious the decision maker hadn't read it properly(or at all!) so asked them to look at the decision again.To no avail,so I had to go to tribunal. I hadn't planned on challenging the optimism of the doctor at the tribunal just to push for the 15 points. My benefit was cut by half(safe rate) until the outcome of the tribunal which took place on the 6th of august.The panel consisted of an independant solicitor and GP and a clerk.A representative from my local job center was invited but declined to appear(big suprise). The solicitor first asked me a set of questions from the ESA questionaire application form and then the GP asked me about my condition.This took roughly 10 mins and then they asked me to wait outside.2 mins later I went back in for them to tell me they had made their decision before they had even seen me just from reading the assesment the decision maker was supposed to have read. I wanted 15 points but they awarded me 36 and were thinking of putting me on a higher grade but as it meant no more money for me we decided it wasn't worth giving them any chance to appeal themselves. They also spoke to me off the record and said I was in no doubt entitled to DLA which the benefits advisor I spoke to originally,of course,left out.
All in all,despite the nerves before my tribunal,I had a thoroughly enjoyable day and am looking forward to my next tribunal for DLA(even though I havn't actually applied for it yet)and doing my utmost to trying to get some decision maker heads to roll! I'm not quite sure how easy it will be to get my safe rate backdated but,after seeing how fair the tribunal system appears to be,I certainly won't let it lie!

NASA_2

You enjoy going to tribunals?

Seems a bit perverse.

someonestopme

I've been called worse

dmg24

You will get your ESA backdated automatically, although it may take a while to process at the mo.

Why are you expecting to go to Tribunal over your DLA application? Surely it would be better to ensure you include all the required information in your initial application?

someonestopme

I did on my ESA application and the doctors findings in my medical assesment supported my claim but the monkeys who made the decision were so wrong it was disgraceful. Before I went to the tribunal I spoke to someone from the tribunals office who thought it was all a done deal and thus a huge waste of time.He advised me to re-iterate my claim in a letter to the job center in the hope that their decision would be changed without going to tribunal,which I did. With obvious results.Therefore I am half in the mind that,with the current economic climate,the DWP are trying their hardest to stop or not award as many peoples benefit as possible in the hope that they will just go away.Other than that I can see no good reason why my case was handled so appallingly. I don't know how much it would of cost to get the solicitor and the GP(who was a professor by the way)to my tribunal but I think and they thought it was a disgraceful waste of tax payers money.Hence I won't be at all suprised if I do end up going to another tribunal.

Just to confirm without going into every detail:
I cant bend to touch my knee's
I cant walk more than 30 metre's

That's a pass on it's own.
I was awarded 36 points at the tribunal just from my application form and medical assesment. In my case it didn't matter at all that I had included all the required information!!!

NASA_2

someonestopme wrote: »

I did on my ESA application and the doctors findings in my medical assesment supported my claim but the monkeys who made the decision were so wrong it was disgraceful. Before I went to the tribunal I spoke to someone from the tribunals office who thought it was all a done deal and thus a huge waste of time.He advised me to re-iterate my claim in a letter to the job center in the hope that their decision would be changed without going to tribunal,which I did. With obvious results.Therefore I am half in the mind that,with the current economic climate,the DWP are trying their hardest to stop or not award as many peoples benefit as possible in the hope that they will just go away.Other than that I can see no good reason why my case was handled so appallingly. I don't know how much it would of cost to get the solicitor and the GP(who was a professor by the way)to my tribunal but I think and they thought it was a disgraceful waste of tax payers money.Hence I won't be at all suprised if I do end up going to another tribunal.

Just to confirm without going into every detail:
I cant bend to touch my knee's
I cant walk more than 30 metre's

That's a pass on it's own.
I was awarded 36 points at the tribunal just from my application form and medical assesment. In my case it didn't matter at all that I had included all the required information!!!

The monkeys didnt have to jump through hoops though.