Absolute nightmare problms with ATOS, IS & ESA :(

Jokey

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am at the end of my tether & completely fed up. Jobcentre Plus have had me in tears for the last half an hour & I'm not sure what I can do.

So, I am on Income Support & Incapacity benefit. I am right in the middle of the dreaded ESA changeover & having some problems.

We were asked to go to a medical with ATOS earlier this year & I admit that I just ignored the letter & didn't turn up I suffer with depression & other related mental health issues, so this is not abnormal for me. However, someone from ATOS healthcare phoned me on the day I was due to go & asked if I was aware that I had an appointment in x hours. I, stupidly, said no but they said that it was okay, that the reason they were calling was to cancel on me as staff were ill!!

They then advised me that they would simply send a new appointment out & disregard what I had said and state the reason as staff absence.

Next thing, I get a letter asking me for the reasons why I hadn't turned up to the medical!!!!! I received the letter on the Friday & they wanted it back on the Monday WITH EVIDENCE of why I missed it!!

A week or so later a lady visited to ask for the reason why I didn't go as they were going to stop my benefits, told them exactly what happened & luckily it was left at that.

Another appointment came through in January & I had every intention of going, until our whole family (myself, partner & 5 children) developed Norovirus & were terribly ill, this was in addition to a really gross strep infection that I couldn't shift (throat, ears & finger!!). So, needless to say I couldn't go, I went to phone to let them know and lo & behold, there wasn't a single number I could find to telephone them! A month went by & I received a letter to say that my benefit was now ceased for not turning up to the medical.

Now I was left with no money for myself and my partner & THEN received a letter from Housing Benefit to say that they were also stopping that. It was so stressful, I suffer with awful anxiety & I was a total mess, my Crohn's disease was at it's worst & I just couldn't see a way out.

My partner eventually sorted it, we got lots of evidence supporting why we didn't go & they reinstated our benefits, just not housing benefits which we're still trying to sort out :mad:

Well, after all this, things finally calmed down then we received a telephone call off ATOS asking for me. I was ill in bed at the time so Stuart said they could talk to him (IS have no problem doing this) but they said they couldn't discuss it with him & that they would phone back or send a letter with an appointment.

This morning I received a call, a lady from Jobcentre plus asking me why I didn't attend my medical on the 23rd March!!!!!!!! I explained that we had received no letter to that effect & that if we had we would have been no matter what. She then proceeded to tell me that the JCP had also sent a letter to me on 24th March which we also didn't receive. I told her this & her reply was 'It's a bit funny that you haven't received 2 letters'. HOW DARE THEY? They are accusing me of lying, which is very unfair & they know I suffer from mental health problems. I was mortified when she said this to me & raised my voice a little (I never do this) and said that I would not have missed it or lied as we were in dire straits last time when they stopped our money & we couldn't face that again.

The lady has told me that it is now going to a decision maker who will decide what next.

They are very likely going to stop my benefits & I have NO proof this time. It will likely be 6 months or so this time & I just cannot face that! I have 5 children & I can't even leave the house. I'm such a mess & this is just getting me further & further into depression. How can we live?

Oh, and we've phoned back twice to try & sort it out & no-one knows anything about it!!!!

What can I do? I'm disgusted at the way this has turned out. Any advice is really appreciated

spilledink

You should receive the decision makers decision in writing, so look out for letters from the Jobcentre. This will tell you any effect the decision may have on your benefit. You will be offered a chance to appeal the decision, this will most likely be printed on a second or third page.

There is no telling how long the decision maker will take, but I wish you all the best.While waiting for the decision, perhaps try and build evidence for an appeal, just in case you need to. This could be evidence of you and the family having the Noro virus, or anything else you think would be appropriate. Try and give facts and not feelings, this works best in my experience.

pmlindyloo

I think the OP is saying that they didn't know about the appointment in March as they didn't receive any letters.

Not sure how you can prove that you didn't receive the letters. Is the onus on them to prove they did send them?

Anyway, I suspect that you will need some professional help with this. Have you a CAB near you that has a Welfare & Benefits specialist? They would be able to assist you with this.

FBaby

I think for a start you and your husband need to take responsibility for the situation.

We were asked to go to a medical with ATOS earlier this year & I admit that I just ignored the letter & didn't turn up

Not sure why you would put a smiley at the end of this sentence, there is nothing to smile about when admiting to ignoring a letter and voluntarily not turning up.

However, someone from ATOS healthcare phoned me on the day I was due to go & asked if I was aware that I had an appointment in x hours. I, stupidly, said no but they said that it was okay, that the reason they were calling was to cancel on me as staff were ill!!

So you do lie, as you above stated that you knew about it. So why are you so outraged at the fact that they hinted you were lying?

You and your husband are managing to raise 5 children. I imagine it involves a lot of organisation. Surely if you can manage that, you can manage to sort our an appointment with ATOS...

wiccanlou

Fbaby if you hover over the smiley you will see it is actually the one for embarrassment.

This board is for advice not judgement which you would know if you look in the guidelines.

Jokey you need to talk to a welfare advisor as the others have said, do you have any supporting evidence at all from your GP, Psychiatrists, mental health teams or consultants? If so gather it all together as they advisor will use this for you. Also you can request a home visit for the medicals if you find going out difficult which ATOS tend not to let people know about when they call up to make appointments.

I hope you get this sorted out soon.

poppy10_2

Jokey wrote: »

AI went to phone to let them know and lo & behold, there wasn't a single number I could find to telephone them!

2 seconds on google would have given you the contact number.

I've got no sympathy, I'm afraid. You admit to purposefully missing one appointment, lying about it, and wouldn't get out of bed to speak to them on the phone when they rang you. They've got a job to do, like it or not, if you won't let them assess your eligibility for benefits what other option do they have?

fogartyblue.

poppy10 wrote: »

2 seconds on google would have given you the contact number.

I've got no sympathy, I'm afraid. You admit to purposefully missing one appointment, lying about it, and wouldn't get out of bed to speak to them on the phone when they rang you. They've got a job to do, like it or not, if you won't let them assess your eligibility for benefits what other option do they have?

Why don't you read what the poster has said!

What a load of piffle you preach!

Does it really matter if the poster ignored half a dozen appointments because it would have disturbed their tele watching?

All of the previous appointments etc had been sorted.

The poster is clearly saying that the last appointment was made for March and she clearly says that she didn't receive notification of it.

She now would like some advice on how to head off a possible sanction/benefit claim closure.
How can she prove that the letter(s) weren't received?

Simple question!

Jokey

I understand that I wasn't helping myself at all, but you have to try & understand that I have been in a very deep depression & I find things very hard to face.

The time I was ill, asleep, I was very poorly, I have been experiencing a very bad flare up of Crohn's & have been literally debilitated by it. Tbh, I haven't spoke on the phone with any of the benefit assoc as I often struggle with the conversations.

Things aren't as straightforward as people seem to think they are. I am simply asking for advice on what is happening now, not to be judged on what I have done in the past.

As well as all of this happening I am receiving intense therapy & really trying to get myself out of this state, I am aiming to start college this year & University next year if all goes well. I realise things were in a mess, I was in a mess, but that doesn't mean that I can be treated in any such way as I have.

If anyone understands mental health & the problems you face then you wont be so quick to judge. I would give anything in this world to not have to go through what I do every day & to be the responsible & confident people that you are, or think you are.

None of you are better than me, I just made different choices, and whilst suffering from something that can take over pretty much all of me at any time!

Yes, my partner is organised to a certain degree whilst I have struggled to get by every day. But he's male, only 28 & looking after 5 children. It's not easy for him, he struggles considerably & hates that he can't work. It must be awful for him to have to try & deal with all of this!

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has given advice so far, I really appreciate it. I think I need to speak to a welfare adviser. We're also stuck on what we'll do when my benefits stop if I go to college full time, a whole other confusing mess.

leamingtonspaceman

poppy10 wrote: »

2 seconds on google would have given you the contact number.

I've got no sympathy, I'm afraid. You admit to purposefully missing one appointment, lying about it, and wouldn't get out of bed to speak to them on the phone when they rang you. They've got a job to do, like it or not, if you won't let them assess your eligibility for benefits what other option do they have?

If the OP is struggling with depression and mental health issues, these can impact on your life as a whole. I've known people who are outgoing, organised, prompt, civilised and well turned out. Then, they've encountered depression and anxiety and their life turns upside down. They become introvert, disorganised, lose track of time, undergo mood changes and begin to let themselves go. This can happen very swiftly or over a period of time.

When you're in this frame of mind, "2 seconds on Google" can seem like the biggest task you've ever had to undertake. Getting out of bed is like climbing a mountain. You can become scared and paranoid. You might lie because, at that moment in time and because of your mental state, your are not thinking logically or rationally. You do whatever you think is right to alleviate how you feel, even if it doesn't make sense or is dishonest. Your mind dictates this as a survival mechanism.

It has now been established that your perception of time can be influenced by your state of mental helath and vice versa. The link below is a very good one:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-personality-analyst/201012/time-perspective-expert-dimension

This means that the "2 seconds" you mentioned can be distorted from one person to another.

I think your post highlights the issue. There is a 'one size fits all' attitude that prevails in society...and your post. Okay, it would be a huge undertaking to assess everyone individually...but still, each person has a unique set of problems at a level unique to them. The OP has issues that you cannot comprehend. To judge them, based on your perspective on things, is to ignore their individual needs and their own unique perspective. Unfortunately, your post sums up the attitude the DWP have towards mental illness. They are ill informed, have little empathy and have no real awareness of the issues relating to mental health problems. Their disability advisors do not keep up to speed with the latest research and findings in the field of mental health and seem to be given these roles without ever having had any specific training in psychological disorders or having any qualifications in the field.

I don't think the OP asked for your sympathy either, so I really wouldn't be afraid:)

I know this post doesn't help with the specific problem at hand, however, I felt compelled to try and enlighten the thread and hopefully give the OP some much needed support.

minicooper1961

Bang on leamington spaceman, and unfortunately the OP has crohn,s as well which is also little understood both by professionals and the good old general public. A double whammy if ever there was one, hope you get sorted OP, you can certainly do without all the added stress

FBaby

I know very well about the consequences of depression. I have suffered from it myself and have worked many years in mental health. I do know that it is a black hole that is hard to get out off, but I also know through experience that one of the affect of depression is the tendency to accept no responsibilities for one action and expect others to take the blame and responsibility for whatever happens in their lives.

I wasn't pointing to the fact that you are depressed it itself and that is affecting your judgement and ability to carry tasks, but the fact that you seem to blame others for what ultimately is the choices you and your partner made. As a couple, you didn't prioritise orgnasing these appointments. This is not the fault of the job centre staff, but yours, even if you had aggravated circumstances. It is a great move forward to plan to go to college, but as you say, how are you going to accomplish that if you don't have your benefits sorted. This should be your priority for the time being rather than getting angry at people who are just doing their job.