ESA Tribunal TODAY.Terrified.Last min Adjournment Help/Info Please.

juk1

Hello, Please can someone help me with some information urgently.

My ESA Tribunal is later today, (this afternoon). I am terrified!!.

I have no one to go with me and have not been able to get any more supporting evidence sent to them in time to help my case more.

I don't know what to do.

Is it too late to call them and ask for it to be adjourned/postponed to a later date to give me time to get some more supporting evidence from my Doctor and find a representative from welfare rights to help me or someone to come with me.

Will they even do this or can they refuse to adjourn/postpone it on the ACTUAL day of the hearing ?

What happens if you do not call them and ask for this,and just don't go, does your money just stop immediately, does this affect housing benefit as well?

I can reclaim esa as I have been waiting longer than 6 months I do know that (I have been waiting over a year for this tribunal) .

Please can someone give me some advice before this afternoon on what to do, it would be much appreciated.

sh1981

juk1 wrote: »

Hello, Please can someone help me with some information urgently.

My ESA Tribunal is later today, (this afternoon). I am terrified!!.

I have no one to go with me and have not been able to get any more supporting evidence sent to them in time to help my case more.

I don't know what to do.

Is it too late to call them and ask for it to be adjourned/postponed to a later date to give me time to get some more supporting evidence from my Doctor and find a representative from welfare rights to help me or someone to come with me.

Will they even do this or can they refuse to adjourn/postpone it on the ACTUAL day of the hearing ?

What happens if you do not call them and ask for this,and just don't go, does your money just stop immediately, does this affect housing benefit as well?

I can reclaim esa as I have been waiting longer than 6 months I do know that (I have been waiting over a year for this tribunal) .

Please can someone give me some advice before this afternoon on what to do, it would be much appreciated.

dont worry you can always apply for hardship payment. its a reduced rate i dont remembe how much but enough to live. look for food banks and meals on wheels or wheels or meals whichever it was.

dont worry im sure you'll do fine.

juk1

Thank you for your help, I was more wanting advise on the Tribunal and if a adjournment is possible at this late stage etc.

sh1981

juk1 wrote: »

Thank you for your help, I was more wanting advise on the Tribunal and if a adjournment is possible at this late stage etc.

im not sure i would think a medical problem would be reason enough for an adjournment. you know the fact that you're so worried and need somoene with you alone shows that you have trouble coping with changes, which i thought was one of the underlying factors for esa, or was it dla, not sure.

rogerblack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbWXG6Ho4i8 - you may find of use.

If you don't turn up, the tribunal can either adjourn, or go ahead in your absence, dealing with the appeal on the papers supplied so far.
Turning up will vastly improve your chances of success.
If you win at tribunal, you will be paid the backpay of the component rates - around 30 pounds * 50 weeks.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esa214-a-guide-to-employment-and-support-allowance-the-work-capability-assessment is an overview of ESA - you should understand which descriptors may apply to you.
You can give more evidence on the day - you may find it useful to write a letter asking for an adjournment, and explaining anything you haven't - in case they refuse.

juk1

Thank you for your reply. I'm currently so tired after not being able sleep with worry about this I doubt I am going to be able to stay awake until the time of the Tribunal which doesn't help and even if can, I will barely be in a condition to think straight.

If I call them (today, before the time of the appeal)and they refuse to adjourn and tell me to turn up can someone please explain what happens if I lose the appeal.

what happens with payments , when do they stop?, esa assessment rate and housing benefit even if I re claim esa again, how long does this all taken to be processed.. All this stress PLUS the worry of losing the roof above my head now.

toomuchinfo

Don't try to cancel today's appeal. Do your best to turn up. It will be better to know the outcome and whatever happens you can move forward.

You have been waiting a year for this and postponing it won't help. You have had a long time to get more info already, so you still might not get any more info if you get a new date.

It will be scary but by this evening you will know how it went and can plan for the future. You might be successful, but if not you can ask what happens next.

They are used to seeing people who are very nervous and anxious. If you can't speak up in front of them, say so. Maybe write some bits down that will help you.

Please try to go and get it sorted out.

Morglin

Turn up, whatever you do, or they will do it in your absence, and as you haven't supplied much supporting evidence you may well lose.

Tribunals are very good, and they understand people can be unwell, upset and worried.

So, just go, and explain how you feel.

Lin

sh1981

juk1 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. I'm currently so tired after not being able sleep with worry about this I doubt I am going to be able to stay awake until the time of the Tribunal which doesn't help and even if can, I will barely be in a condition to think straight.

If I call them (today, before the time of the appeal)and they refuse to adjourn and tell me to turn up can someone please explain what happens if I lose the appeal.

what happens with payments , when do they stop?, esa assessment rate and housing benefit even if I re claim esa again, how long does this all taken to be processed.. All this stress PLUS the worry of losing the roof above my head now.

Alright first of all, what is this tribunal hearing for exactly? It appears you already have ESA assessment rate payments coming in. Am I right?

Housing benefit is not related to ESA, I do not believe a hearing for ESA would effect HB at all, save for premiums if you were getting any.

If I were you, and I was feeling the way you are feeling, I would go to a doctor first and talk to him about how you feel. At least it would be on the record that you have trouble coping with change. That alone means a lot, it's one of the descriptors for DLA or ESA, I'm not sure which one it was but someone else might be able to elaborate on that.

Now most importantly what you have to remember is what I mentioned in the beginning, about Hardship Payment. You can also (if I'm not wrong) claim Jobseekers allowance while your ESA claim is being decided. Housing benefit is awarded by the council, not DWP.

If I were you, I wouldnt go today, full stop. Why? Nothing is worth going through mental torture, nothing. At least that's the way I think.I would go tell how I feel to a doctor and subsequently apply for hardship payment while ESA claim is sorted out. That's the way I feel, all I'm saying is you wrote you have been waiting for over a year for this tribunal hearing. The fact that you still need evidence might go against you. That's just me, that's how I would feel if I was in your situation.

Please take care of yourself

sh1981

What happens to your ESA during your appeal?

If you are waiting for an appeal to be heard, you can either claim Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) or continue to get the basic rate of ESA, depending on your circumstances. You can only continue to get ESA if you are appealing against a decision, and not if you asked for a decision to be looked at again or while your decision is going through a mandatory reconsideration. If you want to get ESA while you're appealing, you should tell the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). You must also continue to provide medical certificates.
You may need advice about whether you’d be better off getting JSA or remaining on ESA while your appeal is being decided. If you claim JSA this should not affect your appeal. If you claim JSA you will have to show that you are available for, and actively seeking, work that you are capable of doing.


http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/benefits_w/benefits_sick_or_disabled_people_and_carers_ew/employment_and_support_allowance.htm

rogerblack

juk1 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. I'm currently so tired after not being able sleep with worry about this I doubt I am going to be able to stay awake until the time of the Tribunal which doesn't help and even if can, I will barely be in a condition to think straight.

If I call them (today, before the time of the appeal)and they refuse to adjourn and tell me to turn up can someone please explain what happens if I lose the appeal.

If you lose the appeal, you will get 2-3 weeks (typically, may be as little as 1) money until they process the decision.
You can then immediately contact HB and CTS to tell them that you are on zero income - and at the same time re-claim ESA.

_HOWEVER_.

There is no good reason to suspect that the decision for your fresh ESA claim will be any better than this one - and if this one goes positively you get well over a thousand pounds of backpay - as well as possibly avoiding another assessment in the near term.

It is not impossible that they will get their acts together - and that if you have to make a fresh claim following not turning up - your tribunal the next time will happen in well under 6 months - meaning you cannot avoid claiming JSA.

Turn up.
Write a letter now if you are not confident about putting your case properly.

To be blunt - turning up sharp and ready to competently argue your case is not always ideal.