ESA Claim advice

Dl2011

hi and thanks in advance

i was put on the sick by doctor late sept 2010
after 2 weeks jsa made me move to esa, no problems all paperwork sorted and claim active and was being paid fortnightly as before on jsa

however at the end of november i received a letter from atos and esa saying i had missed the medical

I had never recieved a date for assessment hence why i didnt attend i replied and was told ok a new medical form would be sent out and a new date made for the assesment

then heard nothing more until dec 24th when i found out my claim had been suspended due to missing the medical i knew nothing about, so i was told to fone esa and rapid reclaim which i did dec 24th, jan 9th i moved address and informed esa etc

my problem is that since dec 21st esa hasnt paid me at all and didnt inform me they werent going to, when i called them they said they would pay me once they recieved my assesment form, and re sent a new form, i filled it all in sent it back,and gave them a couple of days to process the form and called them back, at this time they are now saying they wont pay me until after the medical now???

this so far has meant i recieved no payment at all for over 6 weeks threu xmas and new years etc, when i called and asked about this they arent giving me an understandable explanayion to why they arent paying me,and im forced to apply for crisses loans now each fortnight until my medical but the loans are lower than id recieve if on standard benefit rates and im getting deeper and deeper into debt due to the low payments

Are esa allowed to not pay me like this??
i was never informed i wouldnt be paid, i was told they would back pay me what was owed once the form was recieved but now they have the form they say after the medical

is there anything i can do about this??
complaints dept?
i keep calling them to be told ill get a call back which never happens of course,and this is really winding me upnow, and not helping my depression at all

any help or advice much appreciated

allen35

I think you should seek face to face advice from a benefits adviser who would be able to act on your behalf, do you have a CAB or alike nearby, this is terrible treatment.

Write down everything that has happended including times and dates of corrspondence.

It may also be a good idea to inform your MP of the treatment you have received, no guarantee of it helping but they may be able to ask DWP for reasons.

(If necessary)If renting have you informed your landlord you are awaiting payment and also inform your Local Authority re: Council Tax payment as i would be wary that payments have been stopped and it ends up with a liability order. (Keep them in the loop)
Good luck

dmg24

Sorry OP, I could answer your question but people like Skinticket put me off helping. Hopefully they will be able to answer your question ... although I doubt it very much.

Do you have a CPN who could contact the DWP on your behalf?

healy

dmg24 wrote: »

Sorry OP, I could answer your question but people like Skinticket put me off helping. Hopefully they will be able to answer your question ... although I doubt it very much.

Do you have a CPN who could contact the DWP on your behalf?

There are some very unpleasant people out there, I am getting close to binning this board as it has got so bad.

dmg24

healy wrote: »

There are some very unpleasant people out there, I am getting close to binning this board as it has got so bad.

Don't let them get to you healy, at least we know who we are ... I think some people get confused with their multiple identities!

jenn-1

Write in and ask for a reconsideration from the Decision Makers regarding your missed medical appointment.

List everything that happened, dates etc.

estee1

hi,same sort of thing has happened to me.i failed my medical on december 15th 2010 but wasnt informed of this until february 9th 2011,i had already realised this when no money went in to my account.my last payment was january 12th 2011 and have not had any payment off them since.myself and my daughter are living on £288 a month,thanks to child tax credit and child benefit.only today i received my esa50 form after my constant nagging !! all this upset has made my depression much worse and i just feel that things are not going to get any better.i just feel like giving up and if it wasnt for my daughter then i probably would !!!

mum2one

healy wrote: »

There are some very unpleasant people out there, I am getting close to binning this board as it has got so bad.

The thing is people need to report the posts that are offensive, and hopefully people will eventually take the hint, why should you, me, and others such as dmg (who I have found to be a wonderful source of knowledge), be made to feel uncomfortable when we have just tried to help people. xx

lavidaloca

Either telephone them and ask to speak to a manager. You'll probably find they will have to ring you back within a time limit. Have a short version of the facts written down incl. dates etc. so you don't waffle on. Mention if it's not sorted out you are going to your MP. Or write to them with the facts and, again, mention your MP. Don't forget to send any correspondence by recorded delivery and keep the receipt safe.

Dl2011

well surprise surprise.this still hasnt been sorted after endless fonecalls and manager callbacks that never happen

had my medical march 1st and was told 2 weeks ago a decision had been made and a letter would be out in the next couple of days . yeh right like that happened, so then more fonecalls more arguments and more promises that manager will call me etc didnt fone back yet again
its now march 18th and yet again i call them and ask whats happening, the operator now recognises me and says she was the one who requested the last callback and will email thru to esa yet again requesting a manager calls me asap, will this call happen i now seriously doubt it
but even i get the call i imagine it will be another blagg to palm me off

im now at the point where my depression is peaking and making me seriously angry which is part of my health issue,when depressed or stressed it manifests as anger,and im worried about what could happen if i actualy kick off, thoughts of suicide are more n more regular nowdays but had never crossed my mind before all this started

does anyone know of an impartial person or organisation that coul;d deal with all future calls etc with esa, as i dont feel able to deal with this anymore and keep my cool

are they solicitors etc who could act on my behalf???

cab isnt really an option as they have limited power to act for me,

Any hep would be appreciated as im now at the end of my tether and am scared i will kick off with whoever i speak to next at esa,

cheers

melbi_uk

Dl2011 wrote: »

well surprise surprise.this still hasnt been sorted after endless fonecalls and manager callbacks that never happen

had my medical march 1st and was told 2 weeks ago a decision had been made and a letter would be out in the next couple of days . yeh right like that happened, so then more fonecalls more arguments and more promises that manager will call me etc didnt fone back yet again
its now march 18th and yet again i call them and ask whats happening, the operator now recognises me and says she was the one who requested the last callback and will email thru to esa yet again requesting a manager calls me asap, will this call happen i now seriously doubt it
but even i get the call i imagine it will be another blagg to palm me off

im now at the point where my depression is peaking and making me seriously angry which is part of my health issue,when depressed or stressed it manifests as anger,and im worried about what could happen if i actualy kick off, thoughts of suicide are more n more regular nowdays but had never crossed my mind before all this started

does anyone know of an impartial person or organisation that coul;d deal with all future calls etc with esa, as i dont feel able to deal with this anymore and keep my cool

are they solicitors etc who could act on my behalf???

cab isnt really an option as they have limited power to act for me,

Any hep would be appreciated as im now at the end of my tether and am scared i will kick off with whoever i speak to next at esa,

cheers

{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}

I wish I knew what to suggest to help you.

Are you under your GP, hosiptal, or both? Get an appointment with one of them and let them know how you are feeling, that is your priority. Contact the crisis team if you have been allocated one. Please don't lose it now (for your own sake)

I am sure someone will be along very soon on here to help you with what to do next re: DWP

Good luck x