ESA 50 FORM LATE RETURN

Hi, i'm new to this site but desperately need advise. I was sent out a ESA50 form with a date for return as 17th June 2015. Both my parents had died very suddenly and unexpectedly between April and June 2015. As i hope anyone can imagine I feel bereft at losing both parents so soon after the other. I found completing the ESA50 difficult as my frame of mind was not good to say the least. I duly completed the form and sent it off on 12th June (I have proof of posting) allowing 5 days to reach its destination. 1st class post.
I received a letter on 18th June from DWP stating I had not sent my form back by the due date!
Because of this a decision maker decided I'm fit for work!!!
I immediately sent them a letter including my proof of posting asking them to reconsider their decision and stated that I cannot be held responsible if the post office are not capable of delivering a 1st class letter within 5 days! I explained about my parents deaths and my state of mind. i've sent further letters asking for a mandatory reconsideration but get no acknowledgement from them just letters asking me to attend work-focused interviews.
How do I get them to acknowledge I did return my ESA50 form. I have trouble walking due to spinal degeneration and bulging discs and have had to give p the job I loved doing.

HI, i was originally sent out a letter saying the decision maker had decided i was fit for work and my ESA claim had stopped because I had not returned my ESA50 form , even though I had written to explain I had a proof of posting and I had returned my form by its due return date so I ignored a work-based interview
A couple of days later i had a letter telling me how much ESA benefit I would receive!
My claim is still active but I feel as if I am banging my head against a brick wall as far as my returning the ESA50 form goes.
I had written to them explaining the death of my parents and that I was finding day to day life difficult and that my state of mind was not good.
I sent them my proof of posting of the returned ESA50 form and that I had returned the form by 1st class post and that I had allowed 5 days for the form to reach its destination.
Are claimants now accountable for a poor service from the post office?
Surely a letter should reach its destination in 5 days.
How can a decision be made as regards a persons health and the problems it causes if they have not read the ESA50?
Surely it would be fairer to send out a new ESA50 to me.
I have sent at least two letters asking for a Mandatory reconsideration but the letters do not get any acknowledgement.
It is also difficult to know exactly where to send letters as there seems to be so many different post codes, all

MOGGY wrote: HI, i was originally sent out a letter saying the decision maker had decided i was fit for work and my ESA claim had stopped because I had not returned my ESA50 form , even though I had written to explain I had a proof of posting and I had returned my form by its due return date so I ignored a work-based interview
A couple of days later i had a letter telling me how much ESA benefit I would receive!
My claim is still active but I feel as if I am banging my head against a brick wall as far as my returning the ESA50 form goes.
I had written to them explaining the death of my parents and that I was finding day to day life difficult and that my state of mind was not good.
I sent them my proof of posting of the returned ESA50 form and that I had returned the form by 1st class post and that I had allowed 5 days for the form to reach its destination.
Are claimants now accountable for a poor service from the post office?
Surely a letter should reach its destination in 5 days.
How can a decision be made as regards a persons health and the problems it causes if they have not read the ESA50?
Surely it would be fairer to send out a new ESA50 to me.
I have sent at least two letters asking for a Mandatory reconsideration but the letters do not get any acknowledgement.
It is also difficult to know exactly where to send letters as there seems to be so many different post codes, all

Hi M,

The DWP are not known for their communication skills !!

You say that your ESA Claim is still live ?

Are you receiving ESA payments into your Bank Account ? generally denoted by your NI Number and EESA as the payee ref.

If you are, how much ?

Are you sure that they have not accepted your reasons as "Good Cause" and that you have had a paper based assessment and been placed into The WRAG ?

A lot of questions need answering !

If you are to write to The DWP, you should use the exact address that is on your most recent letter.

As you will see from : This Post nearly all DWP mail goes via Wolverhampton.

You could also ring ESA :

THE ESA PHONE NUMBER DWP : 0345 608 8545 Press Option 3 for ESA. (Open 8AM-6PM. Mon-Fri.)

Where the Call Responder should be able to access your current ESA status on screen.

If you get no joy, request an escalation call back from a Supervisor.

You could even try contacting : The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) (Maximus) who took over the ESA WCA Contract from ATOS on 02/03/15.

To enquire whether they have, or know anything about your "missing" ESA50.

Failing the above, you could involve your M.P., they can be helpful in gaining some clarity in such issues : Contacting your MP

Please keep us updated.

bro58

Hi bro58, thank you for your reply.
I am sure that my claim is still active, i can't remember the exact amount I receive, it's around the £77 pound mark and it gets paid into my account every two weeks.
I have been dismissed from my job in the NHS due to my 'incapability' to do my job, the occupational health physician was happy to pension me off due to ill health but as I wasn't in the pension scheme that option wasn't available to me. I haven't long got back from a work focused interview and although I said I felt too ill and tired to work and pointed out that I don't know how I can be 'fit for work' when I've never had a face to face assessment or even if my esa50 as ever been read i have to go back in a months time to see what help they can give me in returning back to work! i have a painful degenerated spine with bulging discs in the lower and upper spine, affecting mobility , standing ,sitting, bending etc I'm a diabetic on insulin with associated nerve pain, weight gain, eye
problems, bowel and bladder problems, 'low mood' due to these health problems, i'm wondering what exactly convinces them that I'm fit for work? should I forget about claiming ESA and try to claim PIP instead or is PIP even more difficult to claim? thanks, Moggy.

MOGGY wrote: Hi bro58, thank you for your reply.
I am sure that my claim is still active, i can't remember the exact amount I receive, it's around the £77 pound mark and it gets paid into my account every two weeks.
I have been dismissed from my job in the NHS due to my 'incapability' to do my job, the occupational health physician was happy to pension me off due to ill health but as I wasn't in the pension scheme that option wasn't available to me. I haven't long got back from a work focused interview and although I said I felt too ill and tired to work and pointed out that I don't know how I can be 'fit for work' when I've never had a face to face assessment or even if my esa50 as ever been read i have to go back in a months time to see what help they can give me in returning back to work! i have a painful degenerated spine with bulging discs in the lower and upper spine, affecting mobility , standing ,sitting, bending etc I'm a diabetic on insulin with associated nerve pain, weight gain, eye
problems, bowel and bladder problems, 'low mood' due to these health problems, i'm wondering what exactly convinces them that I'm fit for work? should I forget about claiming ESA and try to claim PIP instead or is PIP even more difficult to claim? thanks, Moggy.

Hi M,

I will redraw your attention back to my comments in my previous post :

"Are you receiving ESA payments into your Bank Account ? generally denoted by your NI Number and EESA as the payee ref."

i.e. What type of benefit are you receiving, JSA or ESA, how much are you receiving, and why are you receiving that amount.

On the little information that you have provided, we certainly cannot advise you to " forget about claiming ESA".

This may have wider ranging implication to your present or future benefits entitlement.

There is nothing at all to stop you making a separate claim for PIP, irrelevant of your current benefit status. It is a totally different "benefit" to ESA and JSA with totally different qualifying criteria.

PIP Self Test

PIP Claims Guide. (2nd Link on page)

You really need to gain some clarity on your current "Benefit" entitlement status.

A good starting point to you gaining said clarity would be to either check your paper bank account statements or check them on-line to see exactly how much you are receiving, and what the Payee Reference is for the payments. e.g. EESA, JSA, etc with your NI Number, as I have previously suggested.

You cannot really make any informed decisions and move forward until you have this clarity.

How can we possibly assist you, if you are not aware of your current benefit status?

It is totally unacceptable that you should be receiving payments of benefit without knowing what benefit it is and why you are receiving that amount of benefit.

The DWP are legally obliged to provide you with this information.

bro58