Requested mandatory reconsideration - no response

Hi
I previously posted in December or January about a letter I'd received from the DWP, stating that they had overpaid me. I was shocked, but soon saw that they had. It was obviously a misunderstanding on my part, but fully justified as I was very ill with a range of mental disorders, and had tried very hard to understand the complicated rules around ESA. I had absolutely no knowledge of having done anything wrong, and actually thought I had checked this with them!
I was advised on this forum to submit a Subject Access Request. This provided clear evidence (to me) of a telephone call in which I had attempted to clarify my understanding of the rules around reporting payment of my pension, which I was applying to receive early on grounds of ill-health.
I both wrote, and telephoned, to request a Mandatory Reconsideration. That was in February and I received no response until a letter arrived on Monday this week simply giving me options to repay the money, including having it taken out of my wages or benefits (have only my Occupational Pension and a seriously ill husband). I am a Carer. There is no reference to my requests for a Mandatory Reconsideration and indeed, the letter states that I should, if I wish to appeal, I should (guess what?!) request a Mandatory Reconsideration!!
The DWP is not applying a Civil Penalty. I suspect this is because they know they are in the wrong. I was, in my opinion, misled by one of their advisors on the phone, and have their recording of that call in my possession.
A further argument I have presented to them is that, if I had known that I should no longer have been receiving ESA, I would have applied for, and would certainly have been entitled to, PIP.
I will visit Citizens Advice tomorrow, but thought I'd check in here again first. Any advice will be most welcome. This whole affair initially affected my mental health very badly but thankfully, I have survived to battle on! Thanks for reading.

Thank you Gordon. Yes, I spoke to CAB back in January/February. Their advice was to request a Mandatory Reconsideration by phone, and await the decision, then come back to them for assistance with the appeal.
As I haven't had a decision, I am interested to hear what they have to say tomorrow!

Jude - I was in the same position as you. When the DWP began making deductions from my ESA, my brother contacted my MP on my behalf, explaining that we had had no response to the request for a Mandatory Reconsideration regarding the overpayment. Strangely, once contacted by my MP, the DWP found my file with a note on it to carry out a MR, but this had been overlooked.

They then undertook the MR, which was unsuccessful. We then lodged an appeal, and my brother submitted a raft of evidence which proved that my mental health was vastly impaired, and I was not capable of being attuned to procedures at that time (I had been assessed for Sectioning, and flagged as at risk of suicide).

Mr brother again wrote to my MP, informing him of the situation re. the MR. Within two weeks we had a letter to say the the DWP would not be taking the case to appeal, as they accepted that my mental health was impaired to an extent which meant that I was not capable of engaging with any procedures, and the overpayment was not recoverable.

It is certainly worth contacting your MP, alongside the advice from Gordon.

Good luck.