Successful appeal - and subsequent ESA50 warning..

Hello everyone.

So I managed to win my appeal for ESA although it wasnt easy or fun. To be fair the Doctor and Judge were nice enough although I could sense they were unlikely to pass me. I actually felt lucky because I could tell they were preparing me for a 'no'...I have CFS and have for 8 years previously on IB and ESA - and am significantly affected. However after I told them about a difficult withdrawal I have had from benzo type drugs, having to move home and being the worst Ive even been - the Judge who was presiding had had experience on Benzo cases in the 80s when it was a big problem so he knew how appalling they can be. Thus he listened to what I had to say and that contributed to some of the psychological points (even though in my view I should pass anyway on physical grounds due to CFS-most days I can barely leave the house)...

Anyways - so I won the appeal which is a relief...

However only a few weeks later - I receive an ESA50 form. Im still recovering from the stress of the appeal and very very tired - and I cant believe I have to fill out this form and start again. I felt really hounded.

I started to try to fill it out but I was so tired and also angry I had to. On my appeal notice from the decision maker it said reviewed in 12 months. I went online where I discovered people talking about how the decision can be back dated to the time of the appeal - and that was 6 months ago. I groaned at this.

However still - my notice said 12 months - and I found another forum entry (another forum) saying ATOS sometimes make mistakes and telling someone to call them.

Today I decided to call the DWP as I only had a week to get the form in and ATOS were chasing me.

DWP were nice and said I might have a point - my local office would call back.

My local office called back and said "Im sorry it is an error - the decision maker said 12 months and we have that on our system - you should be re-assessed in 12 months from the decision (not backdated at all) - so around Feb 2014...you can rip that ESA50 up and put it in the bin (!!!!)"

What a tremendous relief...

So if anyone gets a ESA50 soon after a successful appeal - and it does not make sense - check that its not an error!

Best of luck to you all!

Well done on winning your appeal and also for standing your ground when confronted with another ESA50!

I think it is worth writing to DWP and asking for confirmation of the decision that you do not need to fill in this new ESA50. Then you will have ammunition in case it is needed.

As to reassessment, the Tribunals are trying to stop this 'revolving door' of appeals and reassessments but ESA is an open-ended award that can be reassessed at any stage (once 3 months have passed since the original decision). The length of the award is only advisory and DWP are entitled to ignore this if they see fit. Unfortunately, in many cases they are doing just this and sending out new ESA50s. So you have done well to get them to accept that they should not have sent you a form!

MECFSrecovery wrote: Hello everyone.

So I managed to win my appeal for ESA although it wasnt easy or fun. To be fair the Doctor and Judge were nice enough although I could sense they were unlikely to pass me. I actually felt lucky because I could tell they were preparing me for a 'no'...I have CFS and have for 8 years previously on IB and ESA - and am significantly affected. However after I told them about a difficult withdrawal I have had from benzo type drugs, having to move home and being the worst Ive even been - the Judge who was presiding had had experience on Benzo cases in the 80s when it was a big problem so he knew how appalling they can be. Thus he listened to what I had to say and that contributed to some of the psychological points (even though in my view I should pass anyway on physical grounds due to CFS-most days I can barely leave the house)...

Anyways - so I won the appeal which is a relief...

However only a few weeks later - I receive an ESA50 form. Im still recovering from the stress of the appeal and very very tired - and I cant believe I have to fill out this form and start again. I felt really hounded.

I started to try to fill it out but I was so tired and also angry I had to. On my appeal notice from the decision maker it said reviewed in 12 months. I went online where I discovered people talking about how the decision can be back dated to the time of the appeal - and that was 6 months ago. I groaned at this.

However still - my notice said 12 months - and I found another forum entry (another forum) saying ATOS sometimes make mistakes and telling someone to call them.

Today I decided to call the DWP as I only had a week to get the form in and ATOS were chasing me.

DWP were nice and said I might have a point - my local office would call back.

My local office called back and said "Im sorry it is an error - the decision maker said 12 months and we have that on our system - you should be re-assessed in 12 months from the decision (not backdated at all) - so around Feb 2014...you can rip that ESA50 up and put it in the bin (!!!!)"

What a tremendous relief...

So if anyone gets a ESA50 soon after a successful appeal - and it does not make sense - check that its not an error!

Best of luck to you all!

Hi MECFr,

Well done on querying this.

Thank you for posting regarding this issue.

We are aware of other members who have had similar experiences.

The Tribunals recommendations of when an appellant should be reassessed are only a recommendation, and have no legal standing.

However, the whole idea of these recommendations is to cut down on the number of "revolving door" appeals, and to save tax payers money.

Therefore, I would encourage anybody having a similar experience after a successful appeal, to make a challenge.

Even though there is no guarantee of this being successful, if one doesn't challenge it, there is no possibility of being successful.

I remember one member who successfully enlisted the support of their M.P.

bro58