Getting Information From an Obtuse Institution

If the DWP has made a decision i.e. to keep you in the WRAG following re-assessment, so no change or cessation of previous benefit, how do you know for sure if they fail to send you a decision letter.

Or, to put it another way, how do we know that (1) a decision has not been made yet. Or. (2) The decision is, as above, placed again into the WRAG but the client (me) hasn’t received written notification.

The reason I ask is that It’s been 3 weeks since my F2F and apart from a pointless computer generated benefit letter I’ve heard nothing. I did call the telephone number on the letter and got nowhere, they transferred me to Atos who said the report was sent to the DWP the same day.

If the DWP call centre is useless, and it is, how do we go about finding out. I am extremely anxious because if it is WRAG again, I want to put in for a Mandatory Reconsideration and we only have one month from the decision to do it.

Susan.

SusanH wrote: If the DWP has made a decision i.e. to keep you in the WRAG following re-assessment, so no change or cessation of previous benefit, how do you know for sure if they fail to send you a decision letter.

Or, to put it another way, how do we know that (1) a decision has not been made yet. Or. (2) The decision is, as above, placed again into the WRAG but the client (me) hasn’t received written notification.

The reason I ask is that It’s been 3 weeks since my F2F and apart from a pointless computer generated benefit letter I’ve heard nothing. I did call the telephone number on the letter and got nowhere, they transferred me to Atos who said the report was sent to the DWP the same day.

If the DWP call centre is useless, and it is, how do we go about finding out. I am extremely anxious because if it is WRAG again, I want to put in for a Mandatory Reconsideration and we only have one month from the decision to do it.

Susan.

Hi SH,

By law, you are entitled to a written Decision Notice, the main reason being that the Decision Notice includes your rights to request an MR/Appeal :

A decision to award ESA in the WRAG (LCW) or ESA in the Support Group (LCWRA), or indeed a decision to find the claimant “fit for work” carries a right to appeal under s12 of the SSA 1998, see :

www.hmrc.gov.uk/nicmanual/volume_1/ssa_1998.pdf

Decisions which carry a right to appeal under s12 shall be notified to the claimant in writing in accordance with Reg 28 of the Decisions and Appeals Regulations 1999. See :

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/991/regulation/28/made

"The reason I ask is that It’s been 3 weeks since my F2F and apart from a pointless computer generated benefit letter I’ve heard nothing."

N.B.Is this letter from ATOS or the DWP ?

What date was it sent, was it after The F2F ?

What is the general information in the letter ?

I have just seen your previous post :

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum?view=top...=10&id=101920#124505

which Gordon dealt with

I know the DWP Call Centre staff can be most frustrating.

However, if a decision has been made by The DWP ESA DM, it should be on your file, on-screen, it should also have the recommended period before re-assessment.

If you can't get a clear answer from The Call Centre Call Responder, ask for an escalation/call back by a Supervisor.

The earlier in the day that you request this, the better.

NEW ESA PHONE NUMBER DWP : 0345 608 8545 Press Option 3 for ESA.

Failing that, you could write a letter requesting clarification of the issue, and the provision of a formal Decision Notice, addressing it to the The ESA Benefits Office/Centre on your most recent ESA letter :

Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

The fact that you have written this letter, and created a paper trail will help if a Decision Notice has been sent, and has gone astray.

Please keep us updated.

bro58

You won’t, I’m sure, be surprised if I tell you that I’m spitting feathers! Just phoned the DWP again - 9 weeks post Atos ‘Medical,’ to inquire if a decision had been made.

The young lady told me yes it had, I am still in the WRAG and that a letter had been sent. With gritted teeth I categorically denied her claim that one had been sent out to me. Grrrr. She kept insisting and saying that I had never received it. It must have “got lost in the post,” how convenient, I told her, that that should be the only letter ever sent to me at this address, that I have never received.

Outcome. I should receive, within 5 working days, a ‘Decision Letter’ and copy of the ‘Medical Report.’ (It was recorded.)

Question. I didn’t ask the date when the ‘purported’ Decision letter had been sent, as I didn’t want to give any credence to her claim that one had been sent. Does my 1 month, to request a Mandatory Reconsideration start with my (so called) re-send letter or their alleged original?

Susan.

Today was the 5th working day, by which I should have received my decision letter. (According to the DWP it would have been a re-send).

Should I, if I’m well enough, phone them again in the morning, or should I give it another 2 days?

My cynical inner thoughts are, that I will be told that this one too has got lost in the post!

If they ‘mess me about,’ is this something I can ask my MP to intervene on my behalf, or is it too minor at this stage.

Susan.