Esa

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

After everything i'd read on here I was terrified when I got my letter asking for me to attend a work capability test for my transfer from IB to ESA.

As it turned out I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience although my anxiety did go into over drive during the process. My GP wrote & told them that a work capability assessment would be bad for my mental health so they assessed my claim on paper & put me in the work related activity group on 11/03/14. My GP didn't agree with the decision so wrote & told them why she believed I should be put in the support group. I then received a letter on 30/04/14 saying that they agreed & i've been put into the support group for the maximum 2 years. The relief & knowledge that I don't have to worry about anything for a couple of years is immense.

I just wanted you all to know that it's not always as bad as you think it's going to be especially if you have a supportive GP. Good luck to anyone going through the process now. :A

Indie_Kid

Interesting how they write and tell some people how long and not for others. In my case, (new ESA claim, straight to support group with no f2f) there's no date on the letter.

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

Indie_Kid wrote: »

Interesting how they write and tell some people how long and not for others. In my case, (new ESA claim, straight to support group with no f2f) there's no date on the letter.

On the back page the letter says:

My decision to put you in the SG for a period of 2 years is an indication of the severe and enduring nature of your disability and an acknowledgement that there is unlikely to be any improvement in your condition for the foreseeable future.

That makes me feel even more relieved.

Indie_Kid

Breast_Cancer_Survivor wrote: »

On the back page the letter says:

My decision to put you in the SG for a period of 2 years is an indication of the severe and enduring nature of your disability and an acknowledgement that there is unlikely to be any improvement in your condition for the foreseeable future.

That makes me feel even more relieved.

I never had any of that. I just had a letter stating there's been a change in the amount we pay you because there's been a change in your situation. Or something like that and they then went on to say that I've been moved to the support group and that I don't need to take part in anything.

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

Indie_Kid wrote: »

I never had any of that. I just had a letter stating there's been a change in the amount we pay you because there's been a change in your situation. Or something like that and they then went on to say that I've been moved to the support group and that I don't need to take part in anything.

Maybe it's different cos I was moving over from IB?

Indie_Kid

I was wondering that too.

Chorlie

The letter I received when I won my appeal to be moved from WRAG to SG stated on it that it will be reviewed again not before 02/05/14 (which was 3yrs from the date of the letter).

So I'm now awaiting the brown envelop to arrive....

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

Chorlie wrote: »

The letter I received when I won my appeal to be moved from WRAG to SG stated on it that it will be reviewed again not before 02/05/14 (which was 3yrs from the date of the letter).

So I'm now awaiting the brown envelop to arrive....

Good luck. :A

sunnyone

I dont think you really need to worry about ESA so long as you have medical evidence to back up your claim, both my husband and I got the maximum three years in the support group last year on paper only, I was surprised that he wasnt called for a face to face assessment because he had one when he first claimed ESA but his ESA85 was well filled in this time by our GP and not one he hadnt seen for years.

I was transfered over from IVB and I got verdict of my transfer very quickly, it was just over a week IIRC which was much faster than I expected as I have read on here of people waiting months for their results.

Neither mine nor my husbands award letters gave the time we were recomended to be in the support group, we used the forms Roger posts on this forum to get a copy of our DWP files under the FIA. The DWP apparently regularly destroy files so its prudent to have your own copy incase you need them in the future, we got all the ESA and DLA information that they held on us.