Atos assessment , DWP say I dont have to go

Thanks to some of the great advice from this site last August I won my appeal for ESA , 0 points to 21 & put into support group .
I knew it would be a matter of weeks before spitefull Atos sent another sent another ESA 50 it duly came in December .

I then complained to DWP on how they had conducted the work capabities assessment part of which was the short time between assessments as I was in the support group .

As a result I recieved a letter dated 1/3/13 from DWP saying a review at this stage is inappropriate & reset the review for 2 years from the decision of the tribunal i.e. August 2014 .

Two days latter I got an assessment appointment from Atos , I rang them to querie this & was told the file is still active & I should take it up with DWP .

I rang DWP & explained the contents of the letter , I was advised that it was not necessary to attend the Atos assessment . My worry is if I dont go Atos will report no show & automatically get my ESA stopped by a decision maker who cant be bothered to do more than rubber stamp all Atos says , if I make more enquiries about this as Atos have not as yet written to cancell the appointment will I be opening a can of worms that could result in another decision maker restoring the assessment .

Should I let this sleeping dog lie as I think I have a solid case not to attend ?

We never advise not attending unless you have written confirmation from DWP that it is not needed. If you do not attend ATOS will probably close your case and return your file to DWP and your payment would cease. Of course, you might well win a subsequent appeal but you would be without ESa payments until such time as the appeal was heard in your favour.

Do you have time to get written confirmation before the date of the appointment? If not, I might suggest that you use your one allowed postponement in order to get this.

I am sure one of the other mods will be along with more advice soon.

pitrat wrote: Thanks to some of the great advice from this site last August I won my appeal for ESA , 0 points to 21 & put into support group .
I knew it would be a matter of weeks before spitefull Atos sent another sent another ESA 50 it duly came in December .

I then complained to DWP on how they had conducted the work capabities assessment part of which was the short time between assessments as I was in the support group .

As a result I recieved a letter dated 1/3/13 from DWP saying a review at this stage is inappropriate & reset the review for 2 years from the decision of the tribunal i.e. August 2014 .

Two days latter I got an assessment appointment from Atos , I rang them to querie this & was told the file is still active & I should take it up with DWP .

I rang DWP & explained the contents of the letter , I was advised that it was not necessary to attend the Atos assessment . My worry is if I dont go Atos will report no show & automatically get my ESA stopped by a decision maker who cant be bothered to do more than rubber stamp all Atos says , if I make more enquiries about this as Atos have not as yet written to cancell the appointment will I be opening a can of worms that could result in another decision maker restoring the assessment .

Should I let this sleeping dog lie as I think I have a solid case not to attend ?

Hi pr,

In a situation like this it is always advisable to create as much of a "paper trail" as you can.

I would e-mail ATOS at : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , to complain, and attach a copy of the letter from the DWP stating that you do not need to be reassessed for 2 years from the date of the Tribunal's Decision.

ATOS state that they only commence an ESA assessment or reassessment on receiving a referral from the DWP, so you may wish to mention this also.

I would then send a copy of the e-mail to ATOS and the attached letter to the address on the letter that you received from the DWP dated 01/01/13.

See : Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

I would do this ASAP, and would not simply let "sleeping dogs lie".

Of course, whether you choose to take the above advice is a decision that only you can make.

Let us know how things develope.

bro58

When I rang DWP they said it takes time for the decision by DWP to reach Atos that it has been decided to cancel the review , I have a direct phone number to the decision maker who cancelled the review so I call them if I had to .

I will do that , thanks

O.K. pr,

It really can cause problems relying on information and confirmations being given verbally over the phone.

The e-mail and resending of the DWP's own letter back to them (copies) is purely to create a paper trail, in case any problems ensue.

So it is more for your benefit than theirs.

It can seem a nuisance at the time, but may pay dividends in the future.

bro58