ESA/Doctors/Address Issue

Flex79

Hi All

It's my first post in more than a decade so apologies if I do anything wrong!

I've been registered at my doctors for many many years having lived in the catchment area for the majority of that time. My parents do live in the catchment area, so I have still been using their address with my doctors. I see one doctor regularly and have been waiting a long time to try and get the support I needed (going through different stages). Because of this I didn't change doctors when I moved out of the catchment area.

I left my last job in March this year and have not been well enough to work. Initially I thought I couldn't claim ESA, but when I realised I could I made a claim. I then received a text message asking me to call, and many attempts at calling them later I finally got through and was told that the claim cannot progress because the fitness for work certificates I've got show the wrong address.

Because of my long term conditions I desperately don't want to change doctors (also the doctors near me have a very bad reputation and one was on the news for doing something very naughty!). So I'm not sure what to do now....

• Can I claim ESA using my parents address even though I don't live there currently?
• Can I ask my doctors to give me replacement notes with the correct address, and will they do that?
• Will that lead to them asking me to find another doctors and is there anything I can do about that?

Thanks!

marcia_

Flex79 said:

Hi All

It's my first post in more than a decade so apologies if I do anything wrong!

I've been registered at my doctors for many many years having lived in the catchment area for the majority of that time. My parents do live in the catchment area, so I have still been using their address with my doctors. I see one doctor regularly and have been waiting a long time to try and get the support I needed (going through different stages). Because of this I didn't change doctors when I moved out of the catchment area.

I left my last job in March this year and have not been well enough to work. Initially I thought I couldn't claim ESA, but when I realised I could I made a claim. I then received a text message asking me to call, and many attempts at calling them later I finally got through and was told that the claim cannot progress because the fitness for work certificates I've got show the wrong address.

Because of my long term conditions I desperately don't want to change doctors (also the doctors near me have a very bad reputation and one was on the news for doing something very naughty!). So I'm not sure what to do now....

• Can I claim ESA using my parents address even though I don't live there currently?

 I would have thought yes just explain to the dwp its a care of address so you can use that gp a family member claims pip to my address because of the same reason. 

• Can I ask my doctors to give me replacement notes with the correct address, and will they do that?

Possibly, but they then might say you are out of catchment so find a new GP. JUust explain to the receptionist and grovel a little about how it would effect you moving GPs 

• Will that lead to them asking me to find another doctors and is there anything I can do about that?

Not really some GPs are more flexible others not so much

Thanks!

Answer above

itsthelittlethings

Personally I wouldn’t try and claim ESA using the wrong address, but others will know better than me whether they will pick up on that.

teaselMay

If you have your own address you shouldn't use your parents' address to claim, because that is not your address. Even if you managed to make a claim there that was accepted it would get messy for things like ID and if you applied for help with housing costs etc. 

marcia_

 I don't see an issue with using a care if address for benefits. My family member has been doing it for years to allow them to keep the same GP without issue 

elsien

Your GP could keep you on as an out of area patient, but they don’t have to. You might need to ask a generic “if I were to move, given that’s it a long-standing relationship, would I be able to register with you.”? 

Muttleythefrog

As above.. you're creating problems and storing up problems...including some that may not be obvious in coming yet... get the records corrected.. you live where you live... and you may have to sacrifice (much as you dislike the idea - and I understand that) your GP if they won't accept you out of catchment area.... even a poor surgery will usually have at least one decent one to deal with and I think that's where you can focus efforts rather than trying to deal with a paper trail of incorrect details.

TELLIT01

Unless things have changed, DWP really do not like 'Care of' addresses unless they are totally unavoidable.  That will certainly not be true for the OP.