Over-due being re-assessed for ESA

spaniel-lover

I am worried, although of course I do not want to receive & fill in the form to continue getting ESA (I'm in the support group) as it leads to an assessment & then removal of benefits & then appealing - a process which exacerbates my health conditions, I would have expected a form to arrive by now as I won an appeal in early January 2018, at that time I was told I should not be re-assessed for 2 years. Should I do anything? I have visions of getting a letter off them telling me they're still waiting for my completed form despite me not receiving a form from them - such is their incompetence (I find the Royal Mail to be competent btw).

poppy12345

spaniel-lover said:

I am worried, although of course I do not want to receive & fill in the form to continue getting ESA (I'm in the support group) as it leads to an assessment & then removal of benefits & then appealing - a process which exacerbates my health conditions, I would have expected a form to arrive by now as I won an appeal in early January 2018, at that time I was told I should not be re-assessed for 2 years. Should I do anything? I have visions of getting a letter off them telling me they're still waiting for my completed form despite me not receiving a form from them - such is their incompetence (I find the Royal Mail to be competent btw).

The time they tell you is just a guide and nothing more. You can be reassessed anytime from 3 months. To be honest, i wouldn't do anything other than wait because ringing to ask could prompt another form to be sent, otherwise known as "sod's law"

Spoonie_Turtle

If you really want to do something proactive then you could draft how you would fill in the form whenever it arrives, at your leisure without the pressure of a deadline. That way, in the unlikely event of them sending a letter chasing up a form they've not sent you, you coulf phone to say you've not recieved the form but you won't be unduly stressed because you'll already have the draft ready to go, and it will just be a case of putting the information into the form. I know that in itself can be a tedious process and can't be rushed, but it's better than having to work out what to say along with also having to fill in the form in the theoretical short time.

I'm not saying you necessarily should do that, but if doing something about it will help you worry less, it's better than phoning up and actually triggering the review

sportsarb

I concur with what has already been said.

If you want certainty, you need to ring and ask what is going on, but in doing so you run the risk of prompting a review that may otherwise have been missed. I'm in a slightly similar position of not being sure when I am due to be reassessed and not wanting to ring and prompt it. The sad thing is that I actually worked in the office administering my benefit before being sick, so I should know the story, but even knowing the system doesn't really help because there are so many moving parts with individual staff members, computer systems etc.

It could just be that there is a backlog in assessments in your area at the moment.

Robbie64

Spoonie_turtle's suggestion of completing the ESA50 ready for the actual form to drop on your doormat is a good one if you can just complete the form and then leave it alone. There's a PDF version that you can complete on your computer and then print off at a later date https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capability-for-work-questionnaire and you could use this to draft a rough version of what your answers will be when the actual form does arrive.

It's possible that the Decision Maker set your review date for more than 24 months from the date of your appeal hearing. The only way to know with any certainty is to phone ESA and ask but I can understand people may be reluctant to do that if they think it could trigger a review if the review date has passed. As an alternative, and if you feel up to it, you could go to your local Jobcentre where they may be able to quickly look at the relevant computer screen and tell you the date (it's screen dialogue number JA791, the date is recorded as the Personal Capability Assessment review date rather than the Work Capability Assessment review date but that's simply because it's an old computer system set-up). Another alternative is to ask for a Subject Access Review which will include a computer print out of that specific screen. You can request this online. Unfortunately you'll also receive dozens if not hundreds of pages of irrelevant screen print outs of everything else relating to your ESA claim. It can also take up to six weeks for the print outs to arrive.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-your-personal-information-from-the-department-for-work-and-pensions