failed ATOS medical, please help, next steps..

dustinjames

hi

i put my appeal in a while ago and received confirmation that the appeal process/procedure was underway and to wait.

But now i just received another medical questionnaire from ATOS (exactly the same as the one that i originally filled in).

So this is either a mistake, or they have decided to start all over again from the beginning?

any advice?

thanks.

Cpt.Scarlet

dustinjames wrote: »

hi

i put my appeal in a while ago and received confirmation that the appeal process/procedure was underway and to wait.

But now i just received another medical questionnaire from ATOS (exactly the same as the one that i originally filled in).

So this is either a mistake, or they have decided to start all over again from the beginning?

any advice?

thanks.

Looking back on the thread you are still awaiting a Tribunal having appealed a Fit for Work decision.

Unless you have been granted ESA since your last post, you should not be receiving a second ESA50 until, at the earliest, a decision in your favour has been been made by the Tribunal.

Contact your local DWP office and explain your situation and get them to withdraw the new assessment, make sure you get confirmation in writing as you don't want the assessment rate withdrawn because you have not returned an ESA50, that you should never have received in the first place.

dustinjames

thanks
called jobcentre, they said the notes they have say i have been referred for another medical, so will have to fill
in a brand new medical questionnaire.

so the appeal has been scrapped?

and they didnt even tell me?

ive asked why cant they just read the original questionnaire ?
or can i re-submitt it? they will call me back.

should be ok if i just re-submit it again? or just copy the original word for word?

took me weeks to fill out, cant be doing that again, so hard.

Muttleythefrog

I remember this has popped up before (in fact someone on one of the threads ended up attending a medical while awaiting appeal and confusion ensued.. the DWP later saying it shouldn't have happened if I recall correctly). I looked at discussions that were being had by welfare rights officers about the actual law regarding this. It appears that many of them had had clients who had been requested to fill in ESA50 and attend medical while awaiting appeal and getting ESA at assessment rate. They confirmed that in the cases no change of circumstance applied to trigger the assessment and no new application was made. After reading through their debate they concluded the law does allow for them to determine facts in this way at any time but that they can't apply a WCA while an appeal is awaited. In other words they concluded it could only be a fact finding mission for potential future use.

I was surprised that it occurred at all... at face value you would assume it has to be an error... and I'll bet it usually is.

Dustin I can only suggest you consult Welfare rights or CAB ASAP and see if they will contact DWP to confirm this is acceptable process while appeal is awaited. Otherwise all you can do is demand a manager or the like calls you back to confirm what you are having to fill in the Form for and if you are to get a medical face to face again and for what reason are they doing it.

Regarding your appeal. That should still be in the pipeline unless they're yet to do their automatic reconsideration first. I would confirm this with them... that their system is showing that you are appealing and should be getting assessment rate ESA.

dustinjames

thanks.
got the call back, by someone who didnt seem sure of themselves.

said the appeal is ongoing still, but as there was queries on the case, and the medical was not
up to standard, ill need to do it all again.

i think id like to re-write it all anyhow with additional stuff and updated info, rather than ask for
the oldone to be resubmitted.

i asked for a statement of reasons on why i need to do this all again, i was told the DM would be notified of this.

Muttleythefrog

dustinjames wrote: »

thanks.
got the call back, by someone who didnt seem sure of themselves.

said the appeal is ongoing still, but as there was queries on the case, and the medical was not
up to standard, ill need to do it all again.

i think id like to re-write it all anyhow with additional stuff and updated info, rather than ask for
the oldone to be resubmitted.

i asked for a statement of reasons on why i need to do this all again, i was told the DM would be notified of this.

Hmmm bizarre. I can only think they haven't done automatic reconsideration yet and want to get more evidence for it. If that isn't the case then then as I understand it they cannot apply another WCA but only fact find. You are in the process of appeal and unless you re-applied or had a change of circumstances to trigger another WCA then they are not entitled to carry one out. That is my understanding from what I read.

Let us know what the letter from the DM says in due course if you can. I'm intrigued... because if they feel the medical was substandard I don't understand why they'd need to ask you to complete another ESA50 when you have already completed it. You're preparing to go to appeal which you've requested and they sound like they're holding things up with nonsense at reconsideration. If they felt the medical was substandard they shouldn't have made a decision using it in the first place... or am I from planet Mars?..lol. Good luck in making sense of it.

dustinjames

thanks.

went to CAB last week. Didnt get the best person to advise me (seen him in past).
He said the jobcentre CAN ask me to do the questionnaire and medical again, and dont have to explain to me.
he said if the new medical fails, and i appeal, there will be TWO appeals ongoing.
I asked him who are welfare rights: he said "Free Representation Unit"....i told him i phoned Community Legal Service who
put me through to a solicitor, who has been calling me all the time, to help me (more about this in a second).
CAB guy told me to forget taking the ATOS complaint any higher .
Also said he thinks i wont have to go for a medical again, and that after they recieve my
questionnaire ill be taken off assessment rate and put into proper esa position.
Also said DLA is only for people with Physical problems, NOT mental health troubles.

So phoned Community Legal Service last week, they said i qualify for legal aid, and put me in touch with a solicitor.
Solicitor kept calling me, strange i thought, as im not even paying for it, im thinking who is paying him?
Also when i told CAB about this solicitor and Community legal service, he laughed, saying DONT deal with him, as they
will charge you money, and told me to cut him off and dont continue to speak to them or meet them. Now im worried.

So the solicitor calls me twice again today.
I ask him, will this cost me anything? he says it shouldnt, as im on ESA, and he asked me some questions.
So he says he can advise me on my ESA appeal. I then explain all the situation.
He agrees with the CAB guy, and says yes, just fill in the new questionnaire and go to the 2nd medical.
He goes through the scoring for the face to face medical with me, scoring me points, kinda like a mock medical,
and says at end i should score 15 definately, according to the scoring sheets.
He says apply for DLA, the lower rate for care, after he asked me some more questions.
He says he will send me some documents which would make me eligable for legal aid or something like that, that i
think i need to sign and send to him.

It was a very helpful phonecall and he gave me good advice i thought.......
but im not sure about what hes gonna send me and how further i should use this solicitor.
The solicitor just said he can help with appeal, and if the new medical fails me, he can help with that, send letters on
my behalf to DWP and deal with my doctor/therapist, collect info for me, etc.....

So that is my current position.
I just need to do the questionnaire again and send it in before the deadline.

any thoughts/advice, would be very helpful.
thankyou

vwelsh13

good luck to you. I had a similar experience with atos...the bloke who did mine was a nurse!!!

I went thro the "report" and listed about 3 pages of "incorrct data" or fibs to put it nice...sent this to appeals

I haven't heard yet as the appeal is december...I am seriously considering making a complain to the nursing and midwifery council too...

results from tests that wren't done were listed....what I consider a diagnosis was made..which nurses can't do

etc etc bla blah..as far as I can see atos just provide cushy jobs :mad:

Muttleythefrog

dustinjames wrote: »

thanks.

went to CAB last week. Didnt get the best person to advise me (seen him in past).
He said the jobcentre CAN ask me to do the questionnaire and medical again, and dont have to explain to me.
he said if the new medical fails, and i appeal, there will be TWO appeals ongoing.
I asked him who are welfare rights: he said "Free Representation Unit"....i told him i phoned Community Legal Service who
put me through to a solicitor, who has been calling me all the time, to help me (more about this in a second).
CAB guy told me to forget taking the ATOS complaint any higher .
Also said he thinks i wont have to go for a medical again, and that after they recieve my
questionnaire ill be taken off assessment rate and put into proper esa position.
Also said DLA is only for people with Physical problems, NOT mental health troubles.

So phoned Community Legal Service last week, they said i qualify for legal aid, and put me in touch with a solicitor.
Solicitor kept calling me, strange i thought, as im not even paying for it, im thinking who is paying him?
Also when i told CAB about this solicitor and Community legal service, he laughed, saying DONT deal with him, as they
will charge you money, and told me to cut him off and dont continue to speak to them or meet them. Now im worried.

So the solicitor calls me twice again today.
I ask him, will this cost me anything? he says it shouldnt, as im on ESA, and he asked me some questions.
So he says he can advise me on my ESA appeal. I then explain all the situation.
He agrees with the CAB guy, and says yes, just fill in the new questionnaire and go to the 2nd medical.
He goes through the scoring for the face to face medical with me, scoring me points, kinda like a mock medical,
and says at end i should score 15 definately, according to the scoring sheets.
He says apply for DLA, the lower rate for care, after he asked me some more questions.
He says he will send me some documents which would make me eligable for legal aid or something like that, that i
think i need to sign and send to him.

It was a very helpful phonecall and he gave me good advice i thought.......
but im not sure about what hes gonna send me and how further i should use this solicitor.
The solicitor just said he can help with appeal, and if the new medical fails me, he can help with that, send letters on
my behalf to DWP and deal with my doctor/therapist, collect info for me, etc.....

So that is my current position.
I just need to do the questionnaire again and send it in before the deadline.

any thoughts/advice, would be very helpful.
thankyou

I would say if you're getting free legal advice use it... if legal aid covers it great. I am still unsure about the legality of the DWP applying the results of a formal WCA during the awaiting of appeal for a prior one. Presumably if they can do that then your appeal, if successful, could then be time limited to when the result of this WCA applies. It's highly confusing (further confused because this may actually relate to a reconsideration by DWP who are saying they feel the medical they used to determine your entitlement now isn't suitable after all) and I'd be tempted to get confirmation that they are within their powers to carry out and apply the results of a WCA while awaiting appeal regarding the previous one or that this medical is in effort for them to make a reconsideration in advance of appeal.... and if so what the consequences are for your up-coming appeal and current entitlement (of presumably assessment rate until appeal heard).

Good luck!

vwelsh13

Originally Posted by dustinjames
thanks.
got the call back, by someone who didnt seem sure of themselves.

said the appeal is ongoing still, but as there was queries on the case, and the medical was not
up to standard, ill need to do it all again.


finally admitted that the "medicals" are not up to standard...........thats a miracle!!!