ESA. What's the point when they don't read the flamin form!

mazza111

Well to cover yourself, if they say they want fit notes, send them. But it really is only necessary when appealing a non award notice.

Have you actually received the award that says you've been placed in WRAG yet? It should tell you on that if you need to hand fit notes in or not. Mine did anyhoo

Richie-from-the-Boro

- dazza-mac, there's a lot of 'I think' 'I thought' 'they said' 'you should' etc written here
- the fact of the matter is numptie DWP individual or not, the DWP have told you to send a 'fit note' and a GL24
- get them both to the DWP - ASP and get follow up confirmation that they have received them

The DWP have the instant power to stop your money, its a power they will use when it suits them, and it suits them to use that power when you do not do what you are told to do in time. Regardless of everything else you need to do, get the 'fit note' in immediately and the GL24 within the time frame. You do not actually know precisely what benefit you are on, or whether its in transition to another type of benefit, and you won't definitively know that till you receive the actual written information in a brown envelope - till that time arrives [mazza111] protect yourself by doing what you are told by those with the authority to sanction you.

dazza-mac, I can understand that you are overwhelmed by the 'well intended' and largely accurate information given here in this forum, and the information / requests / demands / adjustments / corrections given to you by the DWP & officialdom etal. Its normal to feel [#1] 'whiney and panicky' and out of control when faced with an onslaught of information from all directions. My advice would be that :

- this is just the start of this event and the process of form filling and information processing that goes with it
- you need to get some control of this information processing by recording the 5 W's
- which are (1) who sent said what (2) when did they send it (3) when must the information be returned (4) where was the information request from-to (5) why was the information sent requested

You see different 'quieter' departments of the DWP in different parts of the country are processing appeal [DL24] information for 'busier' area's and they do no communicate with each other. In fact different departments of the DWP within the same building don't communicate with each other. You will frequently get a request giving you say two weeks to return a request for information but the letter might be dated as much as 12-14 days before that date you actually receive the letter, so you are out of time before you write your first biro word.

This new and recent attempt by the DWP to get 'on top' of the appeal backlog is leading to many many lost GL24's and all their associated 'other' attached paperwork. The scenario I'm painting is that you get a letter from A and send it back to A who send it on to B to be processed. B then write back to you and you properly send sat 'further medical evidence' to A because you thought they were dealing with you and .. .. well you see how it starts to go wrong. So one office is sending notification but a~n~other is actually dealing with your appeal, but when you send in the extra information they ask for its not sent to the correct office - this leads to a decision being made on your case without the extra evidence you sent being considered - because you were ' out of time '.

Check who sent what on what date and which date did you actually receive it ? Check where it came from and whether the address you are required to send it back to is different. And check by which date it needs to be back Etc. You can do this in a crude but effective and simple way - get a couple of A4 pads - draw a line vertical down the LHS and record everything by putting the date in the LHS. Everything received or sent on any date is written down on that day as it happens. No memory required .. .. that way it becomes fact.

rogerblack

And of course, as always, send everything recorded, and keep copies.

schrodie

dazza-mac wrote: »

But what can I do!!! They're telling me to get fit notes, and I'm being told here I don't have to. I'm cracking up and just don'tknow what to do.

I'm still on incapacity I think, and my letter said that I will be on ESA from Oct 5 inthe WRAG group - and because the letter said that I could appeal the decision, I have done, even though I'm technically not receiving esa yet.

I don't know what to do

Other than additionally getting welfare advice from your local council or the CAB I would be inclined to involve your MP. Explain the situation you have found yourself in and you may find it sorted out post haste!

benefitbaby

Just to add my two-peneth worth to this saga...

When you call the number on your JCP letters you go through to a contact centre staff member. They are not trained in benefit law, however you have the right to ask for a call back from the ESA team (they are trained).

The letter you have received confirms that you will transition from IB to ESA on 5 October, from this date you will be in the WRAG of ESA. As such have no legal obligation to send in any Med3 certificates (fit notes) this is because you have been assessed by DWP as having a LCW. The contact centre staff often get this wrong which frustrates the hell outa me as it adds more work to the GP's.

You should submit the GL24 appeal form and clearly explain why you would not be able to self proprel a wheelchair etc. If you are able to get supporting evidence (carer, GP etc) then you should also send this - much more effective use of GP's time.

On your GL24 you should request copies of ALL evidence used this will ensure you receive the relevant documents (ESA85, ESA113, ESA85A etc - not all are used in all cases).

Good Luck

grazzzz

As someone who is currently appealing as due to to my condition ( i contracted a virus whilst scuba diving back in sep 2010 which has disabled my balance system so not only can i not walk far without fear of falling over and to compound the problem i suffer sever fatigue as my brain tries to adjust to the balance problem from my left side balance organ as the right side has shut down completely.
The day before i went to my ESA meeting back in January my employers sent me to a specialist diving Doctor as they wanted to see if they could find me some sort of job that i could do to help me !
The specialist found that i could cause harm to others and to do any sort of work in his opinion would be detrimental to my recovery and in his opinion i could not be redeployed in another roll within our organisation or elsewhere and because of this i actually lost my job on the ground of capability ! The next day i went to ESA meeting and the found me fit for work !
So i have now awaiting my appeal date and I do have to send in sick notes however i now get esa income based until the appeal . yesterday i went to DIAL who have seen a my letters from my specialists and have agreed to help me fight my case . since i lost my job my private health went so am no longer having any pysio or treatment and my condition has deteriorated of which i have a letter from my old consultant saying this as he saw me recently as i had one more consutation with him which had already been paid for by my old company !

So i look forward to my appeal date !

dazza-mac

I've piggin had enough. As soon as my dad is no longer around I'm going to join him and my mum. This is just unbearable. Nothing I'm reading is penetrating the brain - thanks anyway.

I went to a disability advice centre yesterday and the woman was usueless. Said it's not worth appealing as hardly anyone get through - she hadn't even asked me what my health problems are. So what the hell chance do any of us have when the people who are meant to help us don't care? Atos and the DWP definately don't, so there's no point whatsoever.

The number on my letter is different to the number that the jobcentre told me to ring on their phones. I no longer have a phone, nor can I afford to ring up on a mobile and stay on hold for ages. I was throught o an advice line but I doubt it wa the same dept as on my letter - but they couldn't put me through. I can't request someone ring me back as I don't have a phone.
I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS RUBBISH

Richie-from-the-Boro

dazza-mac wrote: »

I've piggin had enough. As soon as my dad is no longer around I'm going to join him and my mum. This is just unbearable. Nothing I'm reading is penetrating the brain - thanks anyway.

I went to a disability advice centre yesterday and the woman was useless. Said it's not worth appealing as hardly anyone get through - she hadn't even asked me what my health problems are. So what the hell chance do any of us have when the people who are meant to help us don't care? Atos and the DWP definitely don't, so there's no point whatsoever.

The number on my letter is different to the number that the jobcentre told me to ring on their phones. I no longer have a phone, nor can I afford to ring up on a mobile and stay on hold for ages. I was through to an advice line but I doubt it was the same dept as on my letter - but they couldn't put me through. I can't request someone ring me back as I don't have a phone.
I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS RUBBISH

Then she is wrong .. .. 40% of appeals are upheld. Advice centres including the CAB are being deliberately starved of cash by the Governments MoJ conveniently depriving them of funding making them less able to provide trained and capable staff to help people like yourself get justice. Make another approach or find a different welfare help organisation in your area that is willing to help.

Start again dazza-mac. Do each and every single interaction in writing to all parties. You still need help so get back to the 'disability advice centre' and ask for their help again. Tell everyone you do not have a telephone and ask them to write to you - this will slow down the world and this process .. .. maybe enough for you to cope with!

Start again dazza-mac, it wont go away, don't let them beat you down, persevere because you have no choice but to persevere. If you can get the CAB / whoever to take on your case you may become part of the 40% group that have the will to succeed against all odds.

sunnyone

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

Then she is wrong .. .. 40% of appeals are upheld. Advice centres including the CAB are being deliberately starved of cash by the Governments MoJ conveniently depriving them of funding making them less able to provide trained and capable staff to help people like yourself get justice. Make another approach or find a different welfare help organisation in your area that is willing to help.

Start again dazza-mac. Do each and every single interaction in writing to all parties. You still need help so get back to the 'disability advice centre' and ask for their help again. Tell everyone you do not have a telephone and ask them to write to you - this will slow down the world and this process .. .. maybe enough for you to cope with!

Start again dazza-mac, it wont go away, don't let them beat you down, persevere because you have no choice but to persevere. If you can get the CAB / whoever to take on your case you may become part of the 40% group that have the will to succeed against all odds.

Can you link to where 40% of appeals to be moved into the support group from the WRAG are successful please.

Richie-from-the-Boro

sunnyone wrote: »

Can you link to where 40% of appeals to be moved into the support group from the WRAG are successful please.

HiYa sunnyone,

- no, I never claimed that 40% of IB / WRAG appeals succeed
- the welfare helper told dazza-mac """it's not worth appealing as hardly anyone get through"""
- that was not / is not true, generally 40% [almost half] of all welfare appeals are upheld
- giving bad advice on the part of the welfare helper is as bad as the bad advice given by JCP+ & DWP