ESA Moved from support group to WRAG

Chris_Rabbit

I have just received a letter from the DWP telling me that I have been moved from the support group to WRAG. This is the first I have heard from them since December 2019. Normally they send a form to fill in, this details all my medical issues. I send it back and they then either let things continue as normal, or I’m sent for a work capability assessment. My health is considerably worse than it was in 2019. How can they arbitrarily move me, without finding out my current health condition? Has anyone else had this happen to them? Is this a new tactic that they are trying. It beggars believe that they do this during the pandemic..  The letter goes on to say that I have a month to contact them if I disagree. The letter is dated 6th February. It arrived this morning 16th of February.. So not a month. Another dirty trick? I’d be grateful for any advice, and also to know if anyone else has the same experience. Thank you in advance.. 

calcotti

I would first ring them and ask why you have been moved given that you have not had a new assessment. It’s just possible that it’s a mistake.
If necessary you will need to request a Mandatory Reconsideration and it will probably be sensible to provide all the information you would as if you were being asked to complete an ESA50. You can request the MR by phone but if you do then tell them if you intend to send written evidence and then do so as soon as possible.
Sample form here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capability-for-work-questionnaire

Alice_Holt

That is strange. 

Here are the Support Group descriptors:
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1353-support-group-descriptors

The MR form:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683380/if-you-disagree-with-a-decision-made-by-dwp.PDF

Depending on what the DWP tell you may wish to consider:
a)  Submitting an initial MR on the basis that a decision has been made without going through the correct process of a WCA assessment and you have not had an opportunity to explain your difficulties on a ESA50  (so you are, at this stage, challenging the DWP decision making process);
b) Involving your MP.
This step may be worth considering if you cannot get a clear reply from the DWP as to why you are now in the WRAG (and if they are not admitting this as a mistake). The MR explanation may give you this.

You could then follow up with further detailed MR information setting out why you should remain in the support group, and fully explain which SG descriptors apply.

It may be worthwhile seeing if your local advice charity can help you through the appeal process, as it looks not to be a straightforward issue.

When did you last have a WCA?   And what descriptors placed you in the SG?
 

Spoonie_Turtle

This surely has to be a mistake.  Either that or they sent the forms to the wrong address but a (very improbable, paper-based without any info from you) decision to the right address ... It surely has to be a clerical error somewhere. 

Even if they had done a full assessment I don't know if they're yet allowed to make LCW determinations from a telephone assessment (or maybe they are, just recently - they weren't before).  I bring this up because I don't know if it's likely they sent someone else's decision to the wrong person, or if it's just a whole big mistake, someone ticking the wrong box on your claim and the computer sending the letter as a result.

[Incidentally I've found that correspondence from DWP normally reaches me seven days after the date on the letter; if your letter hit covid postal delays anywhere along its route then that would explain the even later date.]

poppy12345

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Even if they had done a full assessment I don't know if they're yet allowed to make LCW determinations from a telephone assessment (or maybe they are, just recently - they weren't before).

^^ This. I didn't think it was possible to move someone from the Support Group to WRAG without a face to face assessment.

Chris_Rabbit

It has been a few years since I’ve had a WCA. I lost that one, and had to go for MR. Then it went to a tribunal. But before we went to court. The DWP changed their mind. First off putting me in the WRAG, then when we continued to go to court, they put me in the support group. About a year later I received another ESA50 form. (December 2019) This was returned to the DWP. Then I didn’t hear anything until this morning. I assumed that the information I had provided was enough for them to see that my situation hadn’t changed. In fact it was slightly worse. I have serious GAD and health anxiety. I also have bad depression. I have Aspergers, osteoporosis, bad gerd. Heart issues.. This has all worsened in the last year due to COVID-19. To be honest I’m a mess.. 🙄

calcotti

It is possible that they have only now got around to making a decision based on the WCA form from a year ago.

Chris_Rabbit

Yes, that is possible.. But my health has changed in the last 15 months.. It can’t be right that, they use the “Out of date” information. Why not just send another ESA50 form. 

NedS

calcotti said:

It is possible that they have only now got around to making a decision based on the WCA form from a year ago.

I think this is the case. Assessments and decisions were put on hold during Covid, and they have only just started conducting assessments and making decisions again.

Chris_Rabbit

NedS said:

calcotti said:

It is possible that they have only now got around to making a decision based on the WCA form from a year ago.

I think this is the case. Assessments and decisions were put on hold during Covid, and they have only just started conducting assessments and making decisions again.

I hope that it isn’t the case.. They had my ESA50 form before the last week of December 2019. Covid wasn’t taken seriously by the government until March. They would all have still been working up until the first lockdown. That gives them almost three months to deal with my form. Normally I have heard back from them with a decision within four weeks.. But you could be right.. 😏

poppy12345

Did you have a face to face assessment before the first lockdown last year?