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sarahhorton

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  1. Hi I urgently need some advice/help. I have a friend on incapacity benefit which i believe is now esa. She have been NFA - no fixed abode, as far as income support. But she moved into a few months ago but forgot change her NFA status. She has correspondence mail to me (including benefits P.O payment letters to me) as a safe postal address. Her money was stopped recently, she didn't know anything about it until it didn't go in around 22 December I received no letters from anyone, she did not either. After much to-ING and fro-ING it seems it it the compliance department around 10th December, that have tried to contact her (first by standard letter) and then (i think)by telephone and because she always loses her mobile, changes number, could not do so. At present we do not know where letter was sent. The letter stated for her to attend an appointment. no information on what the appointment is has been given by income support, as compliance team i different. It should have come here as a c/o address, but didn't. approx 10th December 2013. We were told by income support that they then tried to contact by telephone but to no avail and her money was then suspended. we were tolds this is standard practice. IS THIS TRUE? She suffers from severe social anxiety, BDD and post traumatic stress, She had to have major operations upon her face a few years ago, maxifacial reconstuction, due to a terrible mugging. The |Surgical term a zygomatic osteomony. The BDD was long before the operations. She has been written off to such an extent that even ATOS appointments have rescinded appointments once relevant doctors notes have been sent. I'm assuming that the problem is therfore, because she has not been to an atos apointment (though many have been made and then rescinded) and is on esa long term, and constant moving address, and the NFA, hostel address with housing benefit , and the c/o address all being different, it may be the suspicion of fraud? i.e they want to check this person exists? also before she went NFA no fixed abode she was living in the same areas as the c/o address, now she has moved to a different area so the hostel address is outside her previous income support area, though close by. One final point, she always loses her P/O benefits cards, and constantly has new ones. would this have flagged the system as well? she is scared terribly that its something to do with atos, or something. can someone shed some light on this situation as she does not understand, considering they would have medical info (correct?) on her disabilities, that she should be asked to come in for an interview, when even ATOS have said she does not need to come in. she is fearful. and extremely worried. can any relevant problems be done over the phone? income support could offer no more info, and the compliance team are not around till Thursday, she is not sleeping well can someone full answer these points? thank you. ********** original post ends**************** please note, i really appreciate all genuine help thank you for that. i have had some attacks from some members. i don't understand why. what Ive said has been the truth. I'm trying to help-someone; I finally managed to get an answer from the compliance team (over the phone) could people, helpful people, respond to the below? thank you literally begged for information on behalf of the person. The answered that because the person has been on the benefits for so long they which to verify the claimant?), by going into the job center and verifying themselves in person! Problem being because of her social anxiety issues she doesn't want to go and is afraid they will pin her down with more questions. The question I suppose is - If the compliance team (from the phone conversation i had) say they just want to id the person, i.e verify they exist. is this is all they want to do? they admitted this was the reason on the phone. I find this strange i manages to get this out of them considering they are out to target fraud and suchlike. i read they usually keep things close to their chest? can/should I drag the person to the job-centre and guarantee them it will be a quick procedure or do you think it will be far more convoluted? Also by forcing her to go to a job-centre could atos be informed that the person is not as 'ill' as they say? Just want to clarify as they say that they want to confirm her identity what would they expect for her to bring to the job center in forms of ID. She has no passport or drivers license. Her ID is very limited. Will they be able to verify her by other means? Questions re her history, previous addresses etc How long can she expect to be at the job center. Will the compliance happen there and then or will she be asked to return? How long will it take approximately before money is reinstated? Are there any payments that she can apply for in the interim? thanks (hopefully) for all you help. We really appreciate it.
  2. Hi I urgently need some advice/help. I have a friend on incapacity benefit which i believe is now esa. She have been NFA - no fixed abode, as far as income support. But she moved into a few months ago but forgot change her NFA status. She has correspondence mail to me (including benefits P.O payment letters to me) as a safe postal address. Her money was stopped recently, she didn't know anything about it until it didn't go in around 22 December I received no letters from anyone, she did not either. After much to-ING and fro-ING it seems it it the compliance department around 10th December, that have tried to contact her (first by standard letter) and then (i think)by telephone and because she always loses her mobile, changes number, could not do so. At present we do not know where letter was sent. The letter stated for her to attend an appointment. no information on what the appointment is has been given by income support, as complience team i different. It should have come here as a c/o address, but didnt. approx 10th december 2013. We were told by income support that they then tried to contact by telephone but to no avail and her money was then suspended. we were tolds this is standard practice. IS THIS TRUE? She suffers from severe social anxiety, BDD and post traumatic stress, She had to have major operations upon her face a few years ago, maxifacial reconstuction, due to a terrible mugging. The |Surgical term a zygomatic osteomony. The BDD was long before the operations. She has been written off to such an extent that even ATOS appointments have rescinded appointments once relevant doctors notes have been sent. I'm assuming that the problem is therfore, because she has not been to an atos apointment (though many have been made and then rescinded) and is on esa long term, and constant moving address, and the NFA, hostel address with housing benefit , and the c/o address all being different, it may be the suspicion of fraud? i.e they want to check this person exists? also before she went NFA no fixed abode she was living in the same areas as the c/o address, now she has moved to a different area so the hostal address is outside her previous income support area, though close by. One final point, she always loses her P/O benefits cards, and constantly has new ones. would this have flagged the system as well? she is scared terribly that its something to do with atos, or something. can someone shed some light on this situation as she does not understand, considering they would have medical info (correct?) on her disabilities, that she should be asked to come in for an interview, when even ATOS have said she does not need to come in. she is fearful. and extremely worried. can any relevant problems be done over the phone? income support could offer no more info, and the compliance team are not around till Thursday, she is not sleeping well can someone full answer these points? thank you
  3. OK well I managed to ask for a recording but they came back super quick with a new date for 27th June. I now wish to use up my one time cancellation as I am no way near ready for this but I will need 6 weeks rather than 4 weeks to reschedule. Is this possible to get this amount of time? I have some urgent medical problems that will be dealt with and I will be unable to schedule for 4 weeks time It will need at least 6 weeks. How Can I make this happen so that I get the said amount of time 6 weeks. What approach do I need to use with ATOS as of course I do not want to lose my benefits. Many thanks in advance for your help.
  4. Dear All many thanks for your helpful advice. Today I contacted Atos to let them know that I am requesting an audio recording of the interview. They have told me that they will write to me in the interim to let me know when this can be arranged. In the meantime I was thinking of sending along to the DWP A copy of the original letter that was lost in the post stating that I require extra time to complete the questionnaire because my doctor is away A small note explaining that I am in the process of filling in the questionnaire. as best as I can and will also be sending additional evidence/medical report from my GP once I am able to have contact with him and therefore there will be a delay in getting this information to them. A letter from my care worker ( a professional) explaining my conditions and verifying my medical history and explaining that on the last occasion I was not required to attend Could you let me know if these actions above seem reasonable under the circumstances and will allow them to wait for the questionnaire. Thank you in advance for all of your help
  5. Hi many thanks for your response. It is very helpful to me. There are just a few things that I was hoping that you could clarify. I have a history of severe anxiety, severe body dysmorphic and have also been suffering from post traumatic stress since I was attacked in the street over 4 years ago and subsequently had to undergo a major facial operation. I also have a hernia that is at very serious and at risk of strangulation and I am waiting for a knee operation. My knee causes me sever pain and also make it difficult for me to walk. . I want to know what my best course of action for me is from now? I have been advised that I would need to write to the DWP explaining why the questionnaire was not completed and asking them to re-issue it and therefore allow me to have the time to get my GP to fill it in. My own GP as I explained previously is out of the country and he is the one that knows my full medical history and I have built a rapport with. He was also the doctor that assisted me in filling in the questionnaire and provided he additional information that meant that I was not called for the interview the last time around.. Unfortunately my health conditions have not improved and I am pretty much in the same place health wise. I was given another doctor to go and see but unfortunately I was not able to go to see him as I don't feel comfortable speaking to someone completely new and running through my life history. So therefore should I write to the DWP explaining why I have cancelled the ATOS interviewing asking them to re-issue questionnaire, I can attache a formal letter from a care worker who knows my full medical history and can back up my issues with a letter to the DWP until I can get evidence from my doctor? Will this help my case? Should I also send a letter to ATOS detailing all of this as a copy to send to them also as well as to the DWP? Arte you aware of any professional advocates that can help with specific things regarding ATOS? speaking on my behalf, help with liaising with the DWP and Atos etc? I will cancel the appointment for ATOS and ask them to arrange a recording of the interview if this does go ahead. When asking ATOS to do this will I need to also inform them that I am writing to the DWP outlining that I am asking the DWP to re-issue me with the medical questionnaire as this is very relevant to my non-attendance. Should I also send all of the correspondence that I will send to the DWP to ATOS also? What is the likelihood of me not having to attend an interview once they have received the questionnaire and the information from my doctor. Will my health issues once that my doctor has outlined the severity of them allow them to make a decision that I am not fit to attend an interview. Any further help that you can give will be appreciated.
  6. Hello I would be most grateful for some urgent advice I was sent a ATOS medical questionnaire to fill in and return to ATOS. Unfortunately my doctor whom I have built a strong rapport with and is the one that |I see regularly and has a strong understanding of my medical history has been out of the country in the US. I informed ATOS about this and they asked me to put this into writing which I did so that there could be a delay in me sending the form back as my doctor would need to assist with this and include the details of my medical history. I did not hear back from ATOS for some time and I called them last week to ask them what was happening as I had heard nothing. They told me that it had gone back into the system which I assumed meant that I would receive a new questionnaire. I have this week received a letter with an appointment for me to attend in the first week of June. As I have not had to attend the ATOS interview last time due to my condition this was decided once they received the information from my doctor. How can I get it back to this stage where I can send in the medical questionnaire as they have not yet had the chance to see this and I feel that the decision of how to proceed should be based on the information supplied in the questionnaire. Thank you in advance for your help and assistance.
  7. Hello I would be most grateful for some urgent advice I was sent a ATOS medical questionnaire to fill in and return to ATOS. Unfortunately my doctor whom I have built a strong rapport with and is the one that |I see regularly and has a strong understanding of my medical history has been out of the country in the US. I informed ATOS about this and they asked me to put this into writing which I did so that there could be a delay in me sending the form back as my doctor would need to assist with this and include the details of my medical history. I did not hear back from ATOS for some time and I called them last week to ask them what was happening as I had heard nothing. They told me that it had gone back into the system which I assumed meant that I would receive a new questionnaire. I have this week received a letter with an appointment for me to attend in the first week of June. As I have not had to attend the ATOS interview last time due to my condition this was decided once they received the information from my doctor. How can I get it back to this stage where I can send in the medical questionnaire as they have not yet had the chance to see this and I feel that the decision of how to proceed should be based on the information supplied in the questionnaire. Thank you in advance for your help and assistance.
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