Advice re:Complaints Procedure to Benefits Agency please.

BigMummaF

No2 Offspring has been in receipt of ESA for some time & has also been made redundant while off sick. We found out today that the independent medical review board has decided there is no reason to NOT look for work, even though the Benefits Agency has a medical certificate dated to 14 Jan 10. Payments have been suspended but apparently will be reinstated once they receive the Appeal forms back.
During the last hospital appointment the Surgeon told us to see how things go over the next three months--hence the certificate valid to Jan--as there is no guarantee of No2 being fit for work even then.
Obviously there are financial responsibilities to be met & we've already had numerous nightmare situations when £100s bank charges have been added to the direct debits because Benefit failed to be paid on time & we just can't afford to go through all that again.
I guess I'm asking..what we can do? The Appeals forms are supposedly on their way, but I am so bluddin angry that they can treat people this way that I want to complain. We've not seen the report their decision was based on [I'm not sure they have bothered to collect the relevant paperwork from the three different hospitals No2 attends!] & the covering letter today was as much use for an explanation as the method of distilling oil into polymers! Why can't these people use easier language when they're telling folk WHY things have changed?
Thank you for reading & I welcome your opinions, but please do not assume No2 is work-shy; nothing could be further from the truth.

dmg24

You need to follow the appeals procedure, not the complaints procedure. If, whilst going through this procedure you discover inaccuracies or procedural irregularities, you could then use the complaints procedure, but it is not suitable at this point.

The JCP will provide the relevant medical reports upon request.

NASA_2

Most people succeed in being fit for work when it comes to the ESA medical.

I dont really see any reason for complaint at this stage. DWP DM's have made a determination based on the WCA performed by the HCP. A GL24 isnt required to appeal and you can used a ruled A4 piece of paper, A3 paper if you want, so long as it includes a statement that you want to appeal and what it is you want to appeal against. You can add substance to it along the way.

As for the assertion 'I'm not sure they have bothered to collect the relevant paperwork from the three different hospitals No2 attends', they probably didnt collect the paperwork because it isnt their job to do so. Its the job of the claimant, or their representative/s, to provide the information.

BigMummaF

Thank you for your post Nasa, but I'm afraid I do not have a clue what all the initials stand for or which department they may be connected to.
As to it being our responsibility to present evidence, if the letters--any letters!--had been of better composition, we would have done it--hence the bit in my original post "the covering letter today was as much use for an explanation as the method of distilling oil into polymers! Why can't these people use easier language when they're telling folk...."
I appreciate that this can be taken as an angry retort but it is not intended that way. I value all opinion & advice, but just felt I needed to highlight the areas that are causing me the most angst, namely the way any authority knows what they are talking about & assume we do too!

dmg24

OP, if you are having trouble understanding the letters I would contact CAB, DIAL or the Welfare Rights Officer at your local council.

viktory

BigMummaF wrote: »

..the covering letter today was as much use for an explanation as the method of distilling oil into polymers! Why can't these people use easier language when they're telling folk...."

Not a huge fan of plain English yourself though, are you? :rolleyes:

healy

viktory wrote: »

Not a huge fan of plain English yourself though, are you? :rolleyes:

I like you viktory, you often say what I think!

seven-day-weekend

DWP - Department of Work and Pensions
DM -Decision Maker
WCA - Work Capability Assessment
HCP. -Don't know this one, sorry - maybe Health Care Professional?
GL24 -appeal form?

Hope this helps

seven-day-weekend

BigMummaF wrote: »

Why can't these people use easier language when they're telling folk WHY things have changed?

So what dos it actually say?

poppyjay

Hope your son get sorted soon BMF the only thing i can sugest is CAB.

NASA_2

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

DWP - Department of Work and Pensions
DM -Decision Maker
WCA - Work Capability Assessment
HCP. -Don't know this one, sorry - maybe Health Care Professional?
GL24 -appeal form?

Hope this helps

Yep, you got 5/5, I should have thrown LCW, LCWRA and WFHRA in there aswell for a bit more of a challenge.