Quite urgent WRAG ESA Appt Monday afternoon.

I am asking this on behalf of someone else.

The person in question has got an interview at I think the local benefits office tomorrow afternoon. The person suffers from anxiety, depression and other associated mental disorders but is not how can I put this, not severe mental and learning disorders. They suffered meningitis as a small child and have many behavioural issues. He is often extremely abusive to me when I try to help with things. He did the same to my mum. He has not worked since 1980's but got money from his father to live. In 1990's my mum sorted out getting him IS and DLA.

Some time ago I accompanied him to what he thought was about his DLA and I realised was for ESA. He unfortunately doesnt open or read letters as they arrive when he is very depressed and won't address matters as he says he can't cope with them. Since becoming ill and moving away I don't have the energy to support him like I used to.

He lost the ESA initially. The woman told a great deal of untruths in her report and we appealed and won his case. I thought he would have been in Support Group as he fitted the criteria.

On Friday after a huge row I asked him to phone the benefits office and ask why he has an appointment about his ESA WRAG which is Contribution Based and has now run out under the 365 day rule. Apparently they put him in WRAG a week after the tribunal.

Now am I right in thinking that if he was in WRAG he would have been called to the job centre for work related activity? Because he hasn't.

Also, if he hasn't worked since 1980's how can he be on contribution based ESA?

How can he go from means tested IS which he has been on for about 20 years to Contribution ESA?

How can we sort this out please? It is stressing him out. He already spent a year without any money waiting for the appeal. He got into terrible debt because of it.

Many thanks.

Thank you so much Gordon.

Was very tired as I wrote that so I will be clearer for you.

He will be 60 this year.

He has had IS for over 20 years.

He has not worked since 1980's and paid not contributions.

He was getting and is STILL getting ESA fornightly payments, even though these should have run out in Oct 2014 as that it when their 365 day rule ran out.

The letter he got in August about this said he was on ESA (CB) WRAG.

Do I gather from your response that if he was awarded ESA (CB) WRAG but received no money but only NI credits then this would be when he may not be asked to attend WRA?

If so how does that work if he has been getting the payments?

As far as I can glen from him he is getting "about £100 per week". I know he should be more aware. Wouldn't this indicate SG rates?

Also to further drive home issues, after the tribunal he got his years worth of money which had been stopped due to the tribunal, repaid to him.

I am not brilliant with ESA but am learning, however like I cannot see how he can go from IS to ESA (CB) when his situation was worse than previously. He has not paid any contributions. I was told I could get CB because I had been a Carer and my contributions had been paid. If I had been just on IS, I was told, I couldn't have got any money because I live with my partner who works and as I hadn't worked in the last 5 years I had not paid enough contributions.

I am hoping to go with him and sort this out so hope you can offer me the "plan of attack" as it were, because this sounds rather screwy to me.

Many thanks.

Also I forgot to add the benefits office stated he ended his claim for IS. He didn't. Apart from the when he appealed he has had no break in benefit payments.

I am wondering what on Earth is going on?

Sorry for not getting back sooner. I can impart clearer information regarding this.

I saw the letter which said that his "Claim for Contribution Based Employment and Support Allowance had ended on October 2014."

It also said he was now getting ESA (IR) and that is what he is now on. I questioned why he would be on CB because he hadn't worked and migrated from IS and the lady told me "Everyone is initially placed on Contribution Based ESA for 12 months, then they decide if you should remain upon IR or are no longer eligible for ESA."

I said I had not heard of this and couldn't see how when he has not paid contributions within the last 30 years, that he could possibly be on it. Plus he was on IS which is means tested and he had migrated to ESA.

She told me he had applied for ESA by going to the medical and therefore it was a new claim and not a migration.

Unfortunately she was very patronising which made us both very annoyed - saying that it was a positive he lived on his own and a positive he listened to the radio and other such things. He is very intelligent so found this to be quite an insulting way to be dealing with him. However, we both realise she is just doing what she has been taught to do.

She gave him a leaflet for a drop in centre for those with mental health issues run by a charity and a leaflet to arrange his own counselling with a hospital some miles away. I know he won't go to this as firstly he finds it difficult to start new things and he has tried local counselling via his doctor before and because he never gets anywhere on time and has to keep re-arranging stuff, they told him not to come back.

Will he get sanctioned if he doesn't attempt these things?

She did suggest we write to his DWP office for a reconsideration of the Support Group. She said she will probably ask to see him in 3 months time and she made a note about the reconsideration process on the computer, so she won't send him a letter for an appointment if he doesn't need it.

I think she appreciated something had gone wrong here.

Thank you for your help thus far. Is there any info on here about wording a Reconsideration, please?