Need help with appeal!

Muttleythefrog

Damn.. you've given yourself an up-hill battle here. Not sure how good or accurate the DWP advisor's information is and don't know your legal position following non attendance. Try to make a case for failure to attend to desperately get a new medical and try to get your other benefits restored like housing benefit due to low income. ESA is a nightmare at the best of times.. admin is appalling... one oversight by claimant can derail the train completely. The DWP cannot find you fit for work without a medical except where you fail to attend. I would have made a case that you never received any medical appointment but it doesn't seem you know whether you did or not. It's a mess. Good luck!

sniggings

I was told that as long as their records show the letter was sent then that is all they have to do, arguing that the letter never arrived is not an option.

Royal Mail loose or misdeliver millions of letters a year but as far as DWP is concerned a sent letter is a delivered letter, no ifs or buts.

McKneff

Damn.. you've given yourself an up-hill battle here.

See what i mean Flight 747, the above from Mutleythefrog was much less harsh than 'its your own fault':T

Applause if for a bit of sensitivity.

Muttleythefrog

sniggings wrote: »

I was told that as long as their records show the letter was sent then that is all they have to do, arguing that the letter never arrived is not an option.

Royal Mail loose or misdeliver millions of letters a year but as far as DWP is concerned a sent letter is a delivered letter, no ifs or buts.

Presumably the letter in question would have been from ATOS HC rather than DWP... you probably were sent an ESA50 form to complete in advance of these events... that is returned to ATOS HC who then arrange a medical if necessary. So I'm a little confused as to what the DWP are claiming to have sent you.

eadieb

tomorow morning get yourself to your local CAB or look up on your local councils website to find out if there is a disability charity offering benefits help (we have a mental health benefits expert in our area working through the local disability rights centre). Failing this, go to your local job centre and ask for help. Whatever you do, act quickly as you will find if you dont sort it, you will go to the bank and find no money but it might take a few weeks to happen.

Usually Atos in our area allow a person to cancel 2 appointments before threatening to cut benefit but that is only if we cancel in advance. If someone I assist is in the same position as you, then ATOS usually give us a fax number to a local office where we can fax an appeal letter through to a decision makers department. It might be that you only spoke to someone in the appointments department. Try ringing them again and just say that you need to make a request to have a new appointment scheduled and see what they say.

If you have anyone from a local mental health team who can help you then try getting them to ring with you.

If you do have a gap in esa this does not automatically mean you cant get housing benefit for that period. It means that you have to prove to housing benefit that you were living on nothing whilst waiting for a new claim to go through. You are still entitled to housing benefit because it is assessed on income not on entitlement to benefits. the problem is that a break in benefits will trigger your housing benefit to be suspended until you sort it out.

sniggings

Thanks eadieb, my nearest cab is 20 miles away, I don't have a car, tried ringing them but the phones are only maned wed and fri.

Thanks for the advice on Housing I spoke to them today and they have suspended benefi but good to know I may be able to get it stared soon without benefits, I thought they once told me housing benefit was reliant on benefits, it's a weight off my mind if I can at least get housing benefit started again.

To answer the post above, I'm not sure what the form was or who sent it but it was said to be a missed appointment with atos, I spoke with the decision maker at ESA today and it was he who said my claim was cancelled because of the missed appointment,) seems a bit harsh to miss one appointment,) he said my only option was to make a new claim or appeal which takes up to a year but I will get no money as my claim has stopped, it was only when I asked if there was any other option he told me about providing more evidence and they have two days to look at the case again but the evidence had to be very strong and that he would be unlikely to accept the doctors letter if he was doing the case.

FBaby

Would your doctor be prepared to write a letter staying that even if you had received a letter informing you you'd won the lottery you wouldn't have been in a mental state to act on it? Because that's what it comes down to. They could maybe accept that you were in a current mental state that meant you couldn't cope with any information and without any support from anyone rather then selective decision I conveniently choose to bury my head in the sand position which they are unlikely to show much sympathy for.

sniggings

FBaby wrote: »

Would your doctor be prepared to write a letter staying that even if you had received a letter informing you you'd won the lottery you wouldn't have been in a mental state to act on it? Because that's what it comes down to. They could maybe accept that you were in a current mental state that meant you couldn't cope with any information and without any support from anyone rather then selective decision I conveniently choose to bury my head in the sand position which they are unlikely to show much sympathy for.

That's what I need to ask him. That is what has happened I wasn't aware of the appointment because of my condition but as the decesion maker has only ready said a doctor's letter is unlikely to be strong enough evidence I don't know what would be? as surely a doctors letter should stand for something but he seemed to have already made his mind up.

FBaby

but is it really the case? Would you also have ignored a letter that stated that you'd won a million and all you needed to do was attended an appointment to claim it? I think anyone would have to be extremely poorly to be in this position.

sammyjammy

Can you look through your post to see if the letter and the ESA50 is there? At least you would know on what basis you are appealing, non receipt or that you ignored the letter due to your depression.

For future is there someone that can monitor your post for you, its really important whilst you are receiving benefits to read your post carefully, you could end up with overpayments and all sorts.