Telling the truth

Thepower wrote: i have just bee awarded no points, with the lithuanian doctor leaving things out, making things up and even suggesting that i should be able to walk more than 200 metres, through using her sight, even though i finally told her that to get there from balham tube station, 50 metres away i had stopped 3 times. The way she has written out my truthful statements is like there is nothing wrong with me. I have appeal, or asked for a mandatory reconsideration, but all i can see is another decision maker agreeing with the first on. They seem to penalise you for knowing you get a messed up body so try to keep it in shape. Has anyone had my scenario. If only i had not tried to prove my realness by suffering the pain and remained sitting for as long as i could, 55 minutes.

Turnover rates at MR are low and you are unlikely to get the Decision revised unless you can show that there are fundamental problems with the assessment report.

As you have identified, the first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our ESA MR & Appeal guide for details of the process and template letters that you can use to make the request with.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1

You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report (ESA85) if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gordon

Thepower wrote: Do the ESA & PIP share the same information? and the appeal is it the same people, the DWP, who carry out the appeals? I have just been awarded no points for ESA, am appealing, i am very worried for my DLA

I've merged your post, it helps the Mods if all of your questions are in one place.

Appeals are carried out by HM Courts and Tribunal Service, they are independent from the DWP and will look at your claim from scratch.

If you have a current DLA award (not PIP), then your failed ESA claim may prompt the DWP to look at your DLA claim, it will depend on the areas of overlap between the two, the most obvious of these will be in regard your Mobility. If they do look at your claim and it is not certain that they will, then I would expect it to result in an early invitation to claim PIP, unless you are not on the UK mainland, in which case it should be a DLA re-assessment.

Gordon