UC agoraphobia mandatory

RJ211

Hi guys, got crappy news friday from my health assessment. So after calming down i decided to see what you guys think.

Ill try to keep as short as i can. Basically, im suffering with agoraphobia to the point im stuck in my house 24/7. Im also unstable with depression but my depression was going a little because i thought things were starting to look up for me leading up to the decision. I actually thought i was going to be treated fair for once.


I have 1 person i can rely on who has a full time job who takes time out of work to drive me to important things that require leaving the house or to drop my med note in job centre that gets sent through the post from my doc otherwise my benefits stop..If it wasnt for him i probably wouldn't be here anymore and i told my asseser that. If im home alone i have to have the doors locked. I have phone meetings with my work coach. I cant even keep up with my medication and this month i probably wont be able to hand my med note in cause doc didnt send it and its coming to the point where i cant rely on anyone cause my helper is really busy these days.


Every day my agoraphobia get worse and now my depression is skyrocketting again and tbh i cant deal with it. Not to mention my health asseser made me and my helper wait for a solid hour in a hot waiting room by that time my helper had a client to see so he couldn't come in with me which i wanted, so i couldn't say half the things i wanted to cause i couldn't think straight. Then i had to wait half hour for him to come back so i could actually get home I told my asseser about everything im going through and how ide be probably be dead without my helper but they still put me in work related group. So they expect me to go out and meet my work coach and do activities. This has to be a mistake right?.. Surely.


Its wrong how they give people like druggies and just plain lazy people who CAN actually work that LIE through the skin of their teeth to get all this money they dont deserve but someone like me and probably hundreds of others who needs it to put towards help needed for the future of our life get pushed to the back and forgotten and put through more stress. They expect me to live of 60 pound a month after paying rent and buying needed essentials. Who can live off 60 pound a month? My lifes already getting setup for a lifetime paying loans back.


So, what can do? Im gunna asks to reconsider but what other evidence can i possibly give? I already showed asseser my mednote and the 'longterm' medication im on and ive explained everything. I wont be able to claim pip or any other benifits as far as i know. I forgot to say. Before my esa stopped completely like early last year i was on the limited capability for work and and work related activity. Is that worth mentioning that and the fact i missed my brothers newborn christening which my nan was there who i haven't seen for 3 years and probably wont ever again as she cant drive from London to somerset anymore due to grandad dying?


Anyone whose had the same issue or knows what i should do please help. I think if it does go to court in the end i have a high possibly ill win the case but it cant get to that.


Thankyou, kind regards everyone.

pmlindyloo

Other than your fit note and a list of your medication did you provide any other medical evidence? This is very important. Have you received any other help other than medication? CBT therapy for example? It might be worth making an appointment to see your doctor/ask for a visit, for a letter supporting your reconsideration explaining your condition and how it affects your ability to do any work or work related activities. If you have received other help such as CBT therapy etc then ask for copies of the reports (you should not be charged for these)

If you have not had any input for other help from your doctor, other than medication, then I suggest you ask your doctor for a referral to get some.

Your friend could also write a supporting letter explaining how they help and why. If they have witnessed your anxiety/panic attacks then they could write about these.

You could also keep a diary for a week detailing your feelings about having to leave the house/answer the door/meet people and how you feel when this happens.

I know you feel angry because they have not believed you when you have explained how you feel but, as you point out, people do exaggerate their conditions and lie about them. They don't know you from Adam (hope you don't feel that it too harsh). You need more supporting evidence.

On what basis did they place you in the support group last time? How was this different? Did your friend go in with you? Were they allowed to speak to support you? You say you were hurried and could not explain. All things you could mention in your reconsideration.

This is a useful guide for your reconsideration/appeal.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/while-youre-getting-esa/challenging-an-esa-decision/

If you can get an appointment with CAB/welfare advisor/MIND then this might be the best option.

Certainly think about applying for PIP. CAB can do a pre assessment for PIP and help you with your application. Would you be able to go to an appointment with your friend?

And yes, many cases are overturned at an appeal tribunal but medical evidence is, in my opinion the key.

poppy12345

The UC equivalent to reg 35 for ESA is reg 31 for LCWRA. This will most likely be what you'll need to focus on for the MR request. You should put this in writing, stating what you disagree with and why you think you should have been given LCWRA rather than LCW. You have 28 days to request this. Most MR decisions remain the same, so you may have to take it to Tribunal. 70% of those who appear at their Tribunal have a decision in their favour.


Evidence needs to be relevant to your conditions and how they affect you. This can be anything from a letter from your GP, A diary written by yourself, do you have a social worker? any letters from Consultants from past appointments? You can ask your GP if there's anything in your medical records that you can use. There maybe a charge for this.


Your past ESA Support Group won't help you with this MR request.


As for your comment about druggies and lazy people, i'm sorry but you can't compare yourself to anyone else. You have no idea what others go through and can't judge a book by it's cover. There are invisible conditions exactly like yours is and you should concentrate on yourself rather than thinking what others claim!! You can't point a finger and say that this or that person shouldn't be claiming a benefit.



PIP isn't awarded based on a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect you daily. Have you looked at the PIP descriptors to see where you can score those points?
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf


Take the online PIP self test here BUT it's only a guide to what you could score.

http://www.mybenefitsandwork.co.uk/pip/indexxx.php

RJ211

As of yet i haven't had any therapy. I asked my doctor to refer me but havnt heard anything since. I also told my asseser that i was thinking about it. My condition is to bad atm and i cant rely on my helper to take me all the time. Apart from that i have no other evidence. I never expected my agoraphobia to rapidly ruin my life.

So you think if i got my friend (plus he works for the law) to write a letter explaining how i am and everything hes had todo for me and explaine how he cant be there for me all the time and also get my doctor to write one saying how i cant keep up with my medication and constant appointments ect and that im going to be finding it hard to do therapy unless its a home visit they might reconsider?


As for my remark on who should be entitled to it was wrong. Its just frustrating when you know people by name who abuse their help. I really should be worried about myself and im lucky i even have anything coming in at all period.


I already looked into pip as that would of helped ease my money problems a little. I heard it was really hard to get and ide rarther someone with autism or blind who really need it have PiP. I did do the online test tho but im not sure whether not being unable to follow a familiar route without another person falls into the agoraphobia category. Also the same with needing social support to be able to engage with other people face to face which i always need my helper for to. One of the questions was needing support/supervision/promting to be able to manege therapy which i also will need.


Overall i scored 4 for daily, unless i went on therapy for 3.5 but no more than 7hr for another 4 (which i wont be able to anyway) but i scored 12 for mobility. Thats if you can class the route question for agoraphobia.


Really all i would want to claim is mobility anyway. My daily living sucks but its not like i cant, cook, clean and dress. Just being stuck in a box room no bigger than jail 24/7 for months makes you a little crazy. Specially when you want to change but mentally cant.


Thanks for all your help

huckster

Get hold of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) report by requesting a copy. Speak to your own health assessor/helper and seek their help with a mandatory reconsideration.

What has happened here is the assessment report has informed Universal Credit that you should be in work related activity group and not support.

A UC decision maker has agreed to the assessment report and you will have to work with your own health assessors/helper to challenge the assessment. Your health assessors/helper will need to go through every part of the WCA report and provide evidence to say why they disagree with the assessment.

Can you advise whether you were in the ESA support group before 3rd April 2017 and have received ESA or UC continuously since ? This is important as you might be entitled to extra money for LCW ( WRAG). From 3rd April 2017, Government stopped extra money for LCW, but there are some exceptions.

RJ211

Hi huck. By own health asseser you mean who assessed me on the day? My only options is getting letters from my doc and helper/friend explaining in as much detail possible. Then court im afraid.

As for your claim question it wasnt a move over. Esa sanctioned me cause they could be bothered to wait for a fit note, funnily enough it was for a reconsideration lol. I take half the blame for that tho but im young and it was overwhelming what i was going through at that point in time of my life. It wasnt till it was too late that i found out i was actually suffering with agoraphobia

poppy12345

RJ211 wrote: »

As of yet i haven't had any therapy. I asked my doctor to refer me but havnt heard anything since. I also told my asseser that i was thinking about it. My condition is to bad atm and i cant rely on my helper to take me all the time. Apart from that i have no other evidence. I never expected my agoraphobia to rapidly ruin my life.

So you think if i got my friend (plus he works for the law) to write a letter explaining how i am and everything hes had todo for me and explaine how he cant be there for me all the time and also get my doctor to write one saying how i cant keep up with my medication and constant appointments ect and that im going to be finding it hard to do therapy unless its a home visit they might reconsider?


As for my remark on who should be entitled to it was wrong. Its just frustrating when you know people by name who abuse their help. I really should be worried about myself and im lucky i even have anything coming in at all period.


I already looked into pip as that would of helped ease my money problems a little. I heard it was really hard to get and ide rarther someone with autism or blind who really need it have PiP. I did do the online test tho but im not sure whether not being unable to follow a familiar route without another person falls into the agoraphobia category. Also the same with needing social support to be able to engage with other people face to face which i always need my helper for to. One of the questions was needing support/supervision/promting to be able to manege therapy which i also will need.


Overall i scored 4 for daily, unless i went on therapy for 3.5 but no more than 7hr for another 4 (which i wont be able to anyway) but i scored 12 for mobility. Thats if you can class the route question for agoraphobia.


Really all i would want to claim is mobility anyway. My daily living sucks but its not like i cant, cook, clean and dress. Just being stuck in a box room no bigger than jail 24/7 for months makes you a little crazy. Specially when you want to change but mentally cant.


Thanks for all your help

My opinion is that you will need more evidence, for sure. The fit note you stated in your first post is not classed as evidence. Your comment about your friend "working for the law" i'm not sure how that would be relevant here but you can certainly ask him to write you a letter. Ask your GP for anything that's in your medical records that could help you, like i stated in my other comment.


As for the PIP the therapy descriptor you mentioned you would only score those points if the therapy is done at home. If you went outside for the appointment it doesn't count. Evidence would also be needed to support a claim.


I think you should concentrate on the UC first and try to get more evidence relevant to how your condition affects you, if you do plan on asking for the MR.

RJ211

Okay, i will do that i will ring them monday anyway.. I pretty much got a full month so hopefully i can get a bit of luck during that time.

Thanks for all your help

huckster

RJ211 wrote: »

Hi huck. By own health asseser you mean who assessed me on the day? My only options is getting letters from my doc and helper/friend explaining in as much detail possible. Then court im afraid.

As for your claim question it wasnt a move over. Esa sanctioned me cause they could be bothered to wait for a fit note, funnily enough it was for a reconsideration lol. I take half the blame for that tho but im young and it was overwhelming what i was going through at that point in time of my life. It wasnt till it was too late that i found out i was actually suffering with agoraphobia

If your health position is as you have described, then your Doctor may have referred you to mental health services for further assessment. That is what I mean by your own health assessors. You should have medical reports from your own healthcare professionals, which can be submitted to DWP to help with mandatory reconsideration.

Your helper/friend, unless they are a qualified healthcare professional, would not be seen as being able to provide any assessment of your health. They could state what they have seen and if your Doctor backs this up with their opinion, then that may help.

You should really speak to your Doctor about this and see whether they can refer you for mental health assessment, if this has not been done previously.

Alice_Holt

huckster wrote: »

Your helper/friend, unless they are a qualified healthcare professional, would not be seen as being able to provide any assessment of your health. They could state what they have seen and if your Doctor backs this up with their opinion, then that may help..

At the tribunal it is important to stack the evidence in your favour. So, evidence from your friend (although as huckster says not medical in nature) will be very helpful.
Especially (again as huckster says), if you have confirmation of agoraphobia from your GP.
Your friends evidence will describe how you are affected on a day-to-day basis and could help the tribunal in determining if the relevant descriptors / Reg 35 (in ESA speak) applies.
Your verbal evidence will also be very important at the hearing. Keep a diary / notes and take it to the hearing ,so you have examples and a "typical week" to talk to them about.

LCWRA descriptors:
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1353-support-group-descriptors
http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/making-exception (i.e Reg 31 in UC speak).

Good luck

RJ211

So what would i write in a week diary for a mandatory reconsideration? Being i have agoraphobia theres not much to say/write other i sit in my room 24/7 with my thoughts..Might look out the window for half hour and walk about the house for some exercise. Thats literally my daily life. I wrote this morning tho about how the last two days have been since getting my decision, how i havnt slept and what ive been thinking about including having more stress and anxiety ontop of my depression that has come back with suicidal thoughts. What things do they only want to hear about before it starts to get irrelevant? Should include everything i do or?