My ESA appeal was turned down. What do I do now?

Hello.

Today I received the letter telling me that my appeal for ESA was turned down. It came from the Tribunal Service. I haven't heard from the DWP about this. Can you please help?

What do I do now? Is there any welfare I can claim? I have a Fit-Note until November 8th. Will they claim back payments from me for the appeal ESA rate payments when waiting for the appeal to be heard?

In shock and panicking.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm at a loss about what to do next.

Hi Jimi and 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

I am sorry that you have found us under such difficult circumstances

Let me start on a positive note and reassure you that you will not be asked to repay any of the ESA that you have already received.

I'm afraid that this is almost the end of the line for this claim. I say 'almost' because your only hope now is to try and find an 'Error of Law' at the tribunal. I don't want to give you false hope as this does not happen often. However, you certainly don't have anything to lose by asking for a 'Statement of Reasons' from the Tribunal Service. You should then take this to a welfare adviser who can look for an Error of Law.

Tribunals – Requesting a Statement of Reasons

What is an Error of Law?

Depending on your financial situation, you might be able to get Legal Aid to appeal to the Upper Tier Tribunal if an Error of Law looks likely.

You might be able to claim ESA again. This would depend on you meeting either the NI or financial conditions and being able to show that you have either a new condition or a marked deterioration of the one(s) for which you claimed ESA last time. Even then, it is possible that you would not be paid until your claim had been assessed.

Other than that, I suggest that you put your details into a website such as 'Turn2us' to see whether there is anything else you might be able to claim.

www.turn2us.org.uk/Find-Benefits-Grants

I'm sorry that I am not able to give you happier news! If you have further questions, please reply to this message and we will do our best to help. You will find it easier in future if you bookmark/favourite it on your web browser now

Thank you very much for your reply. I will look into the links you gave me. It is definitely a relief to know the DWP will not ask for a refund of ESA Appeal Rate payments, it was something in the big pile of Appeal paperwork that mentioned powers to reclaim overpayments that made me think this might happen.

Once again, thank you for the advice in your reply.