Reassessment of long term claimant

speckysnoop wrote: I have received the dreaded form through the post regarding ESA claim.I passed from IB to ESA without a medical,indeed I've not had to attend one for two decades.I also have retained a handwritten note from Gp on headed notepaper confirming condition.However,since it's a new company how likely is it I would be called up after all this time.While your guides are quite excellent it does strike me as still being a total lottery.Also, if failing to attend precisely because of a previously explained and accepted condition constitute grounds for appeal in itself.

Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

Maximus do seem to be doing face to faces where previously a re-assessment has been done on paper, it's unclear whether this is down to their processes or a request by the DWP to see claimants that have not been seen before. It's not 100% and will primarily depend on the quality of the information provided in and with your ESA50.

Failing to attend is really not an option that you want to explore! It can takes months to resolve and that assumes that they find in your favour which is not guaranteed. I would not assume that a "previously explained and accepted condition" would be accepted as Good Cause for you not attending.

If you need a home assessment then you really need to get your GP to write to Maximus explaining why you cannot attend at their offices.

You don't say when you were transferred to ESA but I would recommend that you have a good read of our ESA Claim guides to make sure that you are fully aware of the criteria against which you will be assessed. See

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

If you have further questions then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.

Gordon