ESA appeal

I appeales against a decision to put me in WRAG made in November. I sent in supporting letters from GP and hospital consultants but now have been sent an ESA50 questionnaire. Has anyone else had this experience. I feel exhausted by the process but DWP have said it is because my health has deteriorated - I had heart attack and bypass surgery in Jan and am about to go on transplant list for pancreas kidney transplant. Any advice very welcome. Thanks.

Hi Aj, it sounds as if this is a routine reassessment of your ESA claim. The periodic reassessment of claimants is one of the tenets of the Welfare Reform Bill, intervals can vary from 3 months up to 2 (for WRAG) or 3 (for Support Group) years .

You should treat every assessment as if it was the first and never assume that DWP will have, or refer back to, any prior information about your condition.

Hi Aj,

Besides the issuing of a new ESA50 whilst awaiting an appeal regarding WRAG, occurring with several other members, it also happened to this member : www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum?view=top...d=10&id=98490#106643

As you may be aware The ESA50 changed from ESA50 03/11 to ESA50 01/2013 post 28/01/13.

See : Using The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire

Whilst referring to the "New ESA50 form" Claims Guides on this page :

ESA Claims Guides

See also :

Qualifying for the Support Group

How long do I have to complete the ESA50?

ESA50 too big for the envelope

&

Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

bro58

Thanks for reply. I did contact DWP and Atos and was told that it was because my medical condition had changed. However it hasn't materially changed apart from the fact that my kidneys are declining fast and this was adequately covered by all the medical evidence I sent with my appeal. It seems to me if you do not fit into a neat box but have complex medical conditions DWP and Atos don.t know what to do so they just send another questionnaire.

Thank you for your reply. I have read the link regarding another member but in fact her ESA arrived after the appeal. My appeal hasn't even been heard and I only filled in a form in October2012. I have received no communication since I submitted my appeal and medical evidence in March 2013.
I would be grateful to know if others have similar experiences.

Many thanks

PS I am aware of the changes to the ESA 50 and new regulations thanks