ESA and WRAG what to do ????

Dear Benefits and Work
I Received a phone call this morning from the DWP stating that after my ESA medical assessment I will be placed in the WRAG group, I cannot understand how they have come to this decision but I suppose that this is the norm at this present time. The nurse who assessed me didnt have a clue about my medical condition's I now have to wait for a letter from the DWP to confirm there decision I'm now so depressed that I don't know what to do next I'm hoping that Benefits and Work will be able to help me with this problem and to guide me as to what I will have to do next
Thank you

Hi John,

We cannot tell you what you 'have' to do, but we can tell you how to go about appealing if that is what you wish to do.

The deadline for appeal is one month from the date on the decision letter - so that fact that it hasn't arrived yet gives you a bit of extra time

How long do I have to appeal?

The first thing you should do is look carefully at the Support Group descriptors and see which, if any, you think you meet.

Qualifying for the Support Group

You can ask for the ESA85 (if you had a face2face assessment) or ESA85a (if there was no face2face) to find out where you scored the necessary points to be awarded WRAG. You should not wait for this to arrive if that would delay suubmitting your appeal beyond the month. You do not need to be too specific at this stage, simply fill in the GL24 form (this will come with the decision letter) and say that you do not believe DWP have taken into account the severity of your condition.

How to submit an appeal

A mandatory reconsideration will be carried out before appeal, your aim is to get the decision overturned in your favour at this stage. You should concentrate on showing how you meet the descriptors, rather than spending all your time refuting the ESA85/a

while awaiting ap[peal, you are required to attend Work Focussed Interviews but should not be forwarded to the Work Program. When the first appointment comes through you should contact the JobCentre adviser, tell him/her that you are appealing and ask if it is possible to suspend the interviews or carry them out over the phone. This is possible but entirely at the discretion of the adviser.

Do I have to attend WFIs while I appeal?

You will be paid the WRAG rate while you appeal, up to 365 days. After this you will be 'means tested' to see if you qualify for income-related ESA

12 Month Limit for ESA(CB)

You need to be aware that the Decision Maker who carries out the reconsideration, and the Appeal panel, have the ability to find you 'fit for work' as well as upgrade your award

Is there any risk to challenging a decision?

You should make good use of our ESA guide, ESA FAQs and Appeal FAQs

ESA claims and appeals

ESA FAQs

Appeals FAQs

finally, I suggest that you bookmark this page, or make it a favourite on your web browser, so that you can find it easily in future. Not only will you be able to return and re-read this, you can also ask further questions here and we will have the advantage of keeping everything in one place

Where do I find out about ,,,
(The first thing you should do is look carefully at the Support Group descriptors and see which, if any, you think you meet.)

I know that Gordon is also going to respond to this - however, details of this will be found in the link I gave you entitled 'Qualifying for the Support Group'.

The nurse who assessed me didnt have a clue about my medical condition's

Last I heard the person seeing you should be specific to the field and this was the reason given as to why when attending an assessment some people who arrive later may be seen earlier. I know that in reality this is not true because the lady who done my assessment asked me to tell het where T12 is on the spine.