ESA have lost me

missQ_2

Hi All.
Not sure if i am in the right place as this is my first time here , but here goes.
I claim ESA and have been getting this since Jan 2009 , but unknown to me call it me being stupid or not reading the information correctly i found out the beginning of last week that i am still getting the assessment phase of ESA , i have spoken to dwp and they have said that because i move from one county to another and although i told them of my change of address they only changed it on my file and not on my medical file , I now have to wait for a questionnaire to come through and wait to have a medical which i understand i should of had after my first 13 weeks ,the problem i have know is whats to say my condition has not improved since April of last year and how can they use this information to decide whether they should back pay me , to the end of the assessment phase is this right , god i dont understand how someone can be lost in a system for just moving, its not as though they dont have my address as i do get the odd letter but never had anything about having a medical or a 27 page form to fill in . can someone help me with this am i going about this the right way . any advice would be very help full.:eek:

bestpud

Has your condition improved?

missQ_2

No my condition has not improved, I suffer from PTS after being the victim of a very nasty sexual assault , i don't like leaving my home and have real problems being around people i don't know as i find it so difficult to trust anyone .

bestpud

missQ wrote: »

No my condition has not improved, I suffer from PTS after being the victim of a very nasty sexual assault , i don't like leaving my home and have real problems being around people i don't know as i find it so difficult to trust anyone .

Why are you concerned then? I don't know if i'm missing something but I'm not sure what you are asking...

I apologise if I'm being thick!

Just as an aside, are you getting support? Also, I hope you've managed to settle now as it can't be easy moving around a lot when you are afraid of strangers.

missQ_2

HI Best,
Sorry if i haven't made my plight clear , but i am still getting the assessment phase 18months from the time my claim started!! i have NEVER had my claim assessed to see if i get work related or support .

bestpud

Ah, right, so you are worried they won't backdate the higher rate that far?

Are they saying it is your fault because you haven't received the letters, or because you haven't read the letters properly and queried this earlier?

Have you notified them promptly with each move and received letters from them at each address?

They have surely sent many letters in that time...?

Hopefully someone who knows more than me will be along soon.

missQ_2

Hi Bestpud, they are saying that because of me moving from one county to another THEY fail to TO UPDATE update all my files , even though i told them at the time of me moving .I have only moved once since the start of my claim. the only letter i have ever received is to remind me that my medical sick paper is due , and ever time i have sent in in within time and contacted them by fone just to let them know that i have posted it . what they told me on the fone yesterday was that if i fail the medical based on how i am now i will not be able to back claim , even though the information this time last yr i was in even more of a state than i am now , how can they judge what i was like then ..... this is there mistake not mine .

bestpud

missQ wrote: »

Hi Bestpud, they are saying that because of me moving from one county to another THEY fail to TO UPDATE update all my files , even though i told them at the time of me moving .I have only moved once since the start of my claim. the only letter i have ever received is to remind me that my medical sick paper is due , and ever time i have sent in in within time and contacted them by fone just to let them know that i have posted it . what they told me on the fone yesterday was that if i fail the medical based on how i am now i will not be able to back claim , even though the information this time last yr i was in even more of a state than i am now , how can they judge what i was like then ..... this is there mistake not mine .

So your condition has improved?

I guess the crux is you are still claiming ESA and therefore should still be unable to work.

If you have improved to a point where you are able to work, then you should have cancelled your claim.

You say you are still unable to work and therefore it doesn't really matter what you were like last year, does it?

Tbh I don't think you have a leg to stand on and you could say you are lucky to have received the assessment rate for this long?

Up until very recently, you presumably did not know there was a higher rate (you can't have or you'd know you needed to pass the medical to get it) so you've not lost anything really iyswim?

Just attend the medical and see how it goes is my advice.

You can appeal the decision if they turn you down.

Are you getting support from a GP, Psychiatrist, CPN...?

amus

If you pass the medical you will get back pay from the 13th week from the start of your claim no matter what. If you fail even if it is not your fault you didnt have a medical earlier there is nothing you can do, as nowhere in the t&c's does it state you have to have a medical before a certain date. You could look at it another way, if you fail, who's to say you wouldnt have failed your medical if you'd had it earlier, and if thats the case you have been getting paid longer than you otherwise would have.