Complex ESA/JSA Problems - Pls help.

ricke17

Hi there,

I wonder if anyone can help me.

I have severe depression and am under the care of my local community mental health team and am currently living in a self-contained supported housing mental health project.

I was claiming ESA from September 2009 and have had 2 medicals (Dec 2009 & june 2010) - the first 1 I passed the medical and my ESA went up after a few weeks and I was moved into the Support group - then I had another medical in June of this year and scored 0 points and my ESA was stopped on the 10th October. I was advised I was fit to return to work (which I dispute) and to claim JSA. I made an appointment back then with the Mental Health CAB Worker but that was not until tomorrow (4.11.10) and I was told I had a month from the date of the decision re the ESA to lodge an appeal.

I went on to claim JSA which I found very stressful and uncomfortable. I have signed on yesterday (Tuesday).

I have not received anything in writing from JSA nor any money.

I have been calling JSA all week and it turns out that my JSA claim, although live, cannot be progressed as my ESA claim is "live" for a month from the decision that I can return to work should I wish to lodge an appeal.

I now have been "forced" to close the ESA claim so the JSA claim can be progressed as I have no money at all and need cash to live.

I was forced to approach a loan shark a week before my DLA was due for £200 and had to give him all my DLA (£326 ish) once it was paid.

I'm so stressed out by all this - can anyone help me? Can I still appeal the ESA decision even though I was forced to close the claim down and progress the JSA claim because I needed money to live??

Rick.

cit_k

ricke17 wrote: »

Hi there,

I wonder if anyone can help me.

I have severe depression and am under the care of my local community mental health team and am currently living in a self-contained supported housing mental health project.

I was claiming ESA from September 2009 and have had 2 medicals (Dec 2009 & june 2010) - the first 1 I passed the medical and my ESA went up after a few weeks and I was moved into the Support group - then I had another medical in June of this year and scored 0 points and my ESA was stopped on the 10th October. I was advised I was fit to return to work (which I dispute) and to claim JSA. I made an appointment back then with the Mental Health CAB Worker but that was not until tomorrow (4.11.10) and I was told I had a month from the date of the decision re the ESA to lodge an appeal.

I went on to claim JSA which I found very stressful and uncomfortable. I have signed on yesterday (Tuesday).

I have not received anything in writing from JSA nor any money.

I have been calling JSA all week and it turns out that my JSA claim, although live, cannot be progressed as my ESA claim is "live" for a month from the decision that I can return to work should I wish to lodge an appeal.

I now have been "forced" to close the ESA claim so the JSA claim can be progressed as I have no money at all and need cash to live.

I was forced to approach a loan shark a week before my DLA was due for £200 and had to give him all my DLA (£326 ish) once it was paid.

I'm so stressed out by all this - can anyone help me? Can I still appeal the ESA decision even though I was forced to close the claim down and progress the JSA claim because I needed money to live??

Rick.

Im not fully up to speed on ESA appeals, but you should be able to appeal any decision whilst still claiming jsa.
(assuming you are still within the time limit of one month)

If you require money again, please do not go to a loan shark, you can get a crisis loan from the DWP - they are interest free, and paid back (in small amounts at a time) out of your benefit money when your benefits are sorted.

NASA_2

You should have appealed the ESA claim and it would have continued at the assessment phase rate until the tribunal found you fit for work.

Then you should have claimed JSA.

ricke17

NASA wrote: »

You should have appealed the ESA claim and it would have continued at the assessment phase rate until the tribunal found you fit for work.

Then you should have claimed JSA.

I was advised by ESA that I would not receive any ESA if I appealed.

NASA_2

ricke17 wrote: »

I was advised by ESA that I would not receive any ESA if I appealed.

Unless it was an appeal against non-attendance then you would have done.

ricke17

NASA wrote: »

Unless it was an appeal against non-attendance then you would have done.

I was obviously given bad advise from ESA

FTW

ricke17 wrote: »

I was obviously given bad advise from ESA

That's common - you get told different things from one call-centre worker to the next.

I was advised I should claim JSA (which I did), even though I said I'm appealing my medical.

A few weeks later, I was told they've decided to re-instate ESA and I should cancel the JSA claim.

The bloke on the ESA helpline (he mustn't have had any the night before!) even had the cheek to say 'we'd never have told you to put in a JSA claim' - even though that is exactly what they did!

I don't think they even know what they're doing.

But yes, if you submit an appeal against a flawed medical (also common), then ESA would continue.

[Deleted User]

I am afraid as others have said, information can be given reluctantly, or wrong information given at times.

When my now ex was told his incapacity benefit was being stopped (he was sent to a medical as soon as the benefit rate went up to incapacity benefit level) because he'd 'failed' his medical (judged as fit to work) and he had to sign on to get JSA. I went straight down to the local Jobcentre because my then partner was practically bed ridden, in masses of pain and there was no way he could get to the JobCentre to sign on every two weeks. It took an hour, lots of pleas as to how was I going to feed our child with no money, how could he sign on every week saying he was available/fit to work when he quite clearly wasn't (he hadn't even made it to the job centre with me, I had to go on his behalf). I nearly had had a nervous breakdown by the time they finally told me the family could get a reduced IS benefit rate while appealing the decision. I can't tell u how tough it was to get that information. They just kept telling me my then partner had to sign on for JSA, which wasn't a workable option given his condition. No idea what sort of people they employ in these offices.We were also quite shocked that the supposed independant assessment doctor, who was supposed to follow a code of conduct could have lied as much as he had about the medical.

However, altho it was very difficult to manage on the very low reduced rate.., we did appeal successfully, having proven my now ex was genuinely unfit and the assessment doctor had lied saying that he had done various tests on him that he hadn't because my ex was unable to do them. Horrible process but it did come good in the end.., u just have to persevere. I have never forgotten the stress and fear caused.., even tho this was over five years ago. I wish Politicians had to go thru something similiar (re-election procedures don't count lol).