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No poins given at ESA medical
- karencharlton
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9 years 7 months ago - 9 years 7 months ago #124419 by karencharlton
No poins given at ESA medical was created by karencharlton
Hi I just need some advice please.
My husband has been on ESA for over a year now with server back problems he has had operations etc, but he’s still in the same position health wise.
Two months ago his employer and himself came to the decision for him to leave his employment. He recently got an appointment to go for an ESA medical.
On the morning of the medical he was going to cancel as he was in so much pain and discomfort, but I persuaded him to go as I thought it was better to get it over and done with.
He arrived on time, but they kept him waiting for 40 minutes. He went to the reception desk 3 times to ask how much longer he was going to have to wait and on the 4th time he said he would have to make another appointment as he was in so much pain and discomfort.
The receptionist told him he was going in there and them which he did. When he arrived home I was most surprised at the questions that he was NOT asked.
Today he got a phone call from the DWP saying that he was no longer in receipt of ESA as he didn’t score any points what so ever in his medical. The person on the phone said he had to claim JSA.
We really don’t know which way to go with this we want to appeal which we will, but when he phoned to ask about JSA they asked are you fit for work, what the hell is he supposed to say as he is not.
Should he just say yes so we can claim ?? Also I was told there is a process where you can make a complaint about the ATOS person that carried out the medical is this correct.
Any help would be appreciated.
Also forgot to say he was just accepted to claim PIP a couple of months ago.
My husband has been on ESA for over a year now with server back problems he has had operations etc, but he’s still in the same position health wise.
Two months ago his employer and himself came to the decision for him to leave his employment. He recently got an appointment to go for an ESA medical.
On the morning of the medical he was going to cancel as he was in so much pain and discomfort, but I persuaded him to go as I thought it was better to get it over and done with.
He arrived on time, but they kept him waiting for 40 minutes. He went to the reception desk 3 times to ask how much longer he was going to have to wait and on the 4th time he said he would have to make another appointment as he was in so much pain and discomfort.
The receptionist told him he was going in there and them which he did. When he arrived home I was most surprised at the questions that he was NOT asked.
Today he got a phone call from the DWP saying that he was no longer in receipt of ESA as he didn’t score any points what so ever in his medical. The person on the phone said he had to claim JSA.
We really don’t know which way to go with this we want to appeal which we will, but when he phoned to ask about JSA they asked are you fit for work, what the hell is he supposed to say as he is not.
Should he just say yes so we can claim ?? Also I was told there is a process where you can make a complaint about the ATOS person that carried out the medical is this correct.
Any help would be appreciated.
Also forgot to say he was just accepted to claim PIP a couple of months ago.
Last edit: 9 years 7 months ago by . Reason: Broke up into paragraphs
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9 years 7 months ago - 9 years 7 months ago #124420 by
Replied by on topic No poins given at ESA medical
Hi K,
One of our other Mods, Gordon, is in the process of responding to your query.
bro58
One of our other Mods, Gordon, is in the process of responding to your query.
bro58
Last edit: 9 years 7 months ago by .
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- Gordon
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9 years 7 months ago - 9 years 7 months ago #124422 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic No poins given at ESA medical
K
I am sorry to hear that your husband's ESA claim has been refused.
You can certainly challenge the Decision a first step to this is to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, an explanation of the process and some template letters are available with our ESA MR & appeal guide
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
Your husband has two options, he can either claim JSA (see below) or if he is to ill to do this, wait until the MR overturns the Decision or he is able to appeal (when he can be paid the ESA Assessment rate, backdated to the Decision).
If he opts to claim JSA, then he needs to declare himself Fit for Work, this will not have an effect on the MR or an appeal if it goes that far, as he has already been defined as such by the Decision, if he declares himself Unfit for Work or obtains a new Fit Note from his GP then it is almost certain that his JSA claim will be rejected.
If the claim is accepted then he should make it clear to the JC+ that he is challenging the ESA Decision, he should be allowed to create a minimum Jobsearch agreement, but he will still need to meet the requirements of this, as a failure to do so will likely result in his JSA being sanctioned.
In regard to his challenging the Decision, he needs to show that he meets the ESA Descriptors sufficiently to score at least the 15 points required for the WRAG. I would recommend that he makes a request for the ESA85 assessment report from the DWP, this can be done over the phone for speed but we recommend following up the request in writing.
I am afraid our copy of the ATOS Complaints procedure is offline at the moment, however you should be able to make a complaint by contacting ATOS in writing either by email or mail
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or
Customer Relations, Atos Healthcare, 4th Floor, South East, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UA
You don't say the reason for your complaint, but you should know that the ESA assessment is not a medical as you might expect from your GP, it is a functional assessment with the process controlled by a computer program, it is not unusual for the assessor to only ask basic questions about the claimants conditions, most questions are related to their daily activities.
If we can help you more, then please reply to this topic.
Gordon
I am sorry to hear that your husband's ESA claim has been refused.
You can certainly challenge the Decision a first step to this is to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, an explanation of the process and some template letters are available with our ESA MR & appeal guide
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
Your husband has two options, he can either claim JSA (see below) or if he is to ill to do this, wait until the MR overturns the Decision or he is able to appeal (when he can be paid the ESA Assessment rate, backdated to the Decision).
If he opts to claim JSA, then he needs to declare himself Fit for Work, this will not have an effect on the MR or an appeal if it goes that far, as he has already been defined as such by the Decision, if he declares himself Unfit for Work or obtains a new Fit Note from his GP then it is almost certain that his JSA claim will be rejected.
If the claim is accepted then he should make it clear to the JC+ that he is challenging the ESA Decision, he should be allowed to create a minimum Jobsearch agreement, but he will still need to meet the requirements of this, as a failure to do so will likely result in his JSA being sanctioned.
In regard to his challenging the Decision, he needs to show that he meets the ESA Descriptors sufficiently to score at least the 15 points required for the WRAG. I would recommend that he makes a request for the ESA85 assessment report from the DWP, this can be done over the phone for speed but we recommend following up the request in writing.
I am afraid our copy of the ATOS Complaints procedure is offline at the moment, however you should be able to make a complaint by contacting ATOS in writing either by email or mail
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or
Customer Relations, Atos Healthcare, 4th Floor, South East, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UA
You don't say the reason for your complaint, but you should know that the ESA assessment is not a medical as you might expect from your GP, it is a functional assessment with the process controlled by a computer program, it is not unusual for the assessor to only ask basic questions about the claimants conditions, most questions are related to their daily activities.
If we can help you more, then please reply to this topic.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 9 years 7 months ago by . Reason: typo e-mail to topic.
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- karencharlton
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9 years 7 months ago #124489 by karencharlton
Replied by karencharlton on topic No poins given at ESA medical
Hi I have an update, that I could do with some more help with please.
Today my husband got the letter from the DWP stating that he got no points etc. Which we were told about already.
What I am concerned about also is that in this letter it states that the person that rang my husband on Friday was the decision maker, and in the letter he states that my husband gave no more further evidence to help his claim. When my husband was rang on Friday the man didn’t say who he was just he was from the DWP. We are so dense about the system, but should we not have been informed that we needed to give more evidence. ??
We also need to know what are the groups [work support etc] that are within ESA are they a good thing we haven’t a clue what they are, we have never had it explain to us and should my husband be aiming to get put into one ??
Also my husband was kept waiting as i stated above for 40 minutes, and they must of been watching him etc as this was also said in the the letter we received.
What do you think our next step should be we are defo going to appeal this but how??
Sorry for all the questions but we are truly benefit virgins
HELP PLEASE
Today my husband got the letter from the DWP stating that he got no points etc. Which we were told about already.
What I am concerned about also is that in this letter it states that the person that rang my husband on Friday was the decision maker, and in the letter he states that my husband gave no more further evidence to help his claim. When my husband was rang on Friday the man didn’t say who he was just he was from the DWP. We are so dense about the system, but should we not have been informed that we needed to give more evidence. ??
We also need to know what are the groups [work support etc] that are within ESA are they a good thing we haven’t a clue what they are, we have never had it explain to us and should my husband be aiming to get put into one ??
Also my husband was kept waiting as i stated above for 40 minutes, and they must of been watching him etc as this was also said in the the letter we received.
What do you think our next step should be we are defo going to appeal this but how??
Sorry for all the questions but we are truly benefit virgins
HELP PLEASE
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- slugsta
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9 years 7 months ago #124492 by slugsta
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by slugsta on topic No poins given at ESA medical
Hi K,
The first thing that your husband must do now is request a 'Mandatory Reconsideration', no payment will be made during this time. If the reconsideration upholds the original decision you will be able to submit a formal appeal and ESA payments will restart at the assessment rate.
Mandatory reconsideration FAQs
The first thing that your husband must do now is request a 'Mandatory Reconsideration', no payment will be made during this time. If the reconsideration upholds the original decision you will be able to submit a formal appeal and ESA payments will restart at the assessment rate.
Mandatory reconsideration FAQs
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- karencharlton
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9 years 7 months ago #124493 by karencharlton
Replied by karencharlton on topic No poins given at ESA medical
Thankyou my husband just told me that the assessor said to him as he walk into the room are you sure you fit enough to do this now but dont look it and yet she gave him no dam points
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