EESA - Mandatory Reconsideration to Tribunal

Firstly I would like to thank Benefits and Work for their very helpful guides and information.

My journey started in May 2018. I had my f2f interview with an Assessor, who i later found out was a GP. I was asked all of the usual questions regarding, walking, sitting, drinking, eating etc etc. I had to wait an extra half an hour to be seen and when you are in pain 24/7 this seems like a lifetime. I didn't get an apology and he was very abrupt. Afterwards I felt like a complete wreck and my pain was through the roof.

I waited for the dreaded brown envelope to arrive and when it did I was gobsmacked, for the last 11 years I was in the Support Group for ESA, after sustaining spinal injuries from a car accident, I have had 12 procedures and 1 spinal surgery. I had to wait until September to be told that, according to the DWP I was now FIT FOR WORK, no Support Group or Work Relatied Activity Group, I had received 9 points, nowhere near to the 15 points I needed. On reading the report I decided that I would take the next step and fill out the Mandatory Reconsideration forms. These were sent back within the four weeks you have to apply for Mandatory Reconsideration. I then waited to hear from DWP to see if I had been successful. Then the brown envelope appeared a week before Christmas! Yet again the new Assessor agreed that I was NOT entitled to receive ESA. By this time I had had enough, it seemed that even though my GP and Consultant had written letters backing me up, the DWP had decided that because they hadn't been trained to assess me by their rules the letters were a waste of time! So after Christmas I then decided that I would have to take it to a Tribunal, so i filled out the necessary forms and waited to find out when i would be going to the Tribunal. I had been told it can take up to a year to get an appointment so it was going to be a long wait. Luckily my Tribunal date came through, i had waited 4 months, which i understand is quite quick.
The day arrived and I was absolutely dreading it as I had no idea what to expect, I arrived 25 mins earlier than the time as I didn't want to get stuck in traffic, so I left in plenty of time.

I was called in to the room where there was a Doctor and a Judge, both of whom welcomed me with a friendly smile. They told me who they were and what they intended to ask me. They were both very nice to me and only asked me questions regarding my mobility, how far could I walk, could I move from one chair to another etc. I did not have to answer any questions that the ESA50 forms had asked, eg, planning a trip, eating, drinking, toileting, did I dress myself etc etc. The meeting lasted around 15 mins and as they could see how much pain I was in they told me there and then that not only was I being put back in to the SUPPORT GROUP, I had gone from 9 points to 30 points. I was flabbergasted. What the Assessor and the Mandatory Reconsideration Assessors were looking at I have no idea, what I do know is that it took nearly a year for me to get back in to the Support Group, a year of stress, money worries and frustration. Also if they had read the ESA50 forms and the Doctor & Consultants letters then all of this would have been avoided. This has also taken other peoples money for me to go to a Tribunal that I didn't need to go to. In conclusion the Doctor and Judge have asked that I don't attend another f2f for at least 60 months (5 years) which is incredible. On reviewing the notes I have been given after the Tribunal, my Doctor & Consultants letters where taken in to consideration after all. My advice is to keep going, it is tough and upsetting but in the long run it is definitely worth it.

Also at the Tribunal I was asked if I was receiving any other Benefit, I also receive PIP. At the time I was wondering what the relevance was, I found out a few weeks later when another brown envelope arrived, it was from PIP, stating that even though i was due to have a f2f assessment next May, they have decided that i DO NOT need to be assessed until 2029!!!!!!!

It is such a relief to know that I have got at least another 4 years until the dreaded forms come through the door again. But DO NOT GIVE UP. It will be worth it in the end. Good luck to everyone who is going through this situation now.