I sincerely doubt the interview has anything to do with HMRC, they can and do share information but a dispute is unlikely to flag up any irregularity. As said above, most likely it's just random and if there was any real doubt about your benefit claims, it wouldn't be a compliance interview. Try not to worry any more than you absolutely have to, and let us know the outcome please.

Good luck, feel free to ask for help if you need it. I may be becoming an expert at complaining to DWP/ICE!

Sorry you didn't get any help - maybe no one else has come across this issue before as UC is still fairly new? Good luck with the ESA50, hope you don't have to go through the reconsideration/tribunal rigmarole.

Hi Mia, I'm sure you've often been told to try not to worry about something that may never happen so I won't repeat it as I know personally how difficult that is. I don't have the same conditions as you, however I was also awarded Support group and enhanced rates of both components of PIP. PIP awards are usually for a fixed term so you might at some point be reassessed, however 'no significant improvement in the longer term' makes that quite unlikely. ESA awards are not time limited, and support group awards continue indefinitely unless and until you're assessed as 'fit for work' or 'fit for work related activity'. From what you've said I would guess it's also very unlikely that you'll be asked to attend an assessment. If it's any help, the report for my award of ESA suggested I would recover in 3 years - from a condition I've had for 30 years and for which there is not treatment, but we know ATOS are sometimes miracle workers. That was however nearly 5 years ago and I've not been reassessed in the interim, so perhaps whoever decides these things thought differently.

Or it could easily be argued that the cause of action arose on 1st December 2010 when the offer of a refund was made, in which case it was not time barred when the debt was acknowledged in September 2016. Bottom line however is whether it's worth even trying to get something back because at best it's going to cost money to issue proceedings, turn up to the hearing, and then possibly enforce any judgement. Unless he has a good job making an attachment of earnings feasible or has property or other assets then winning any argument over limitation, liability or anything else he might throw into the mix is going to be a bit of a hollow victory. You also ideally need a residential address, unless you plan to sue his business - it's not clear if he's still running the same or a similar business or working for someone else now.

Your first step will be to apply for Mandatory reconsideration. It probably doesn't matter much what you say because it's unlikely that the decision will be changed at this stage. If you've been reading other threads you'll be aware that your circumstances are not at all unusual and many people who are clearly not are found fit for work. If you need specific help, ask, though you can probably find any information you need on other threads/forums. Once you're turned down again, you can appeal and at that point your ESA should be paid at the basic rate until the hearing. The decision is far more likely to be overturned at that point, and you will need to put some effort into the information you provide to the tribunal and how it's presented, but there's also plenty of time to sort that in due course. Most of all, try not to take it personally. This is all part of the drive to demonise the sick and disabled and leave them destitute or even, in some cases, dead. The person who did your assessment has no interest in what your problems actually are, they just need to fill in the paperwork how they've been told and make sure their stats don't vary from the 'norm' which means most people will be found fit for work.

They are most often just random checks, most likely your name has been selected out of the hat. If you read some of the threads about compliance on here, there are even some where people have ended up better off.

Although PIP shouldn't be affected, make sure that nothing involved in the self-employment contradicts what was on the claim form. Also be aware that even though guidelines for healthcare professionals state employment status is irrelevant so long as the nature of the employment doesn't contradict the claimed care or mobility needs, it is usually taken to mean those needs are less than someone who doesn't work. Re ESA, if at all possible go down the permitted work route to start with, though again be careful not to contadict anything previously claimed and be aware that it probably will affect future assessments. It is possible for previous claims to be looked at again if the proposed employment obviously contradicts what was said previously. For example, someone who claimed to have limited mobility but is intending to become a personal trainer. It is possible for a disabled person to be a personal trainer, but it's likely to prompt DWP to look at the claims again with a view to checking for fraud.

Hmmmmm - names encompassing IAS - how about LIARS?

Also in their terms and conditions 14.3 Every effort is made to ensure that prices shown for products are correct when the products are added onto the Tesco direct site. If, by mistake, we have under-priced a product, we will not be obliged to supply that product to you at the stated price, provided that we notify you before we despatch the product to you. In those circumstances, we reserve the right to cancel your order. In the event we cancel your order, we will notify you and give you a full refund on any amount already paid for that product. As the item was incorrectly priced, I think this term will be the one they rely on. Either you can pay the full price or the order can be cancelled and your money refunded. You should not have to pay any return costs etc for the item they did send.

You must tell your insurance company, if not now then you would have to when you renew so probably best to get it over with. As you have her agreement to pay, you can copy that to your insurance company to prove it's non-fault.

It's currently more than a year since the ICE accepted my complaint about ATOS and DWP, they expect to start investigating in the next 3 months. I can only assume there are a lot of outstanding complaints!

It's only because they think we won't call them t*ssers any more.

Unfortunately your link doesn't work, but thank you for replying. It appears the only rules relating to ferries are about providing assistance when asked, they don't have to make access any easier or anything like that. Something we are exploring is the safety issue, though as we don't want to upset them too much we may have to tread carefully. Hubby is merchant marine himself and suggestions at the moment include 'accidentally' leaving his union card on display or casually draping his uniform jacket over the back seat with his 'pips' on display next time we travel - he easily outranks the loading officer, and in fact everyone else on board apart from the Captain. They're now going back on what we were told before and saying they can't park us by the 'good' lift even though they did this time and suggesting we use a different route. If we have to we will, but I object to having to pay 3 times as much in motorway tolls and pay for hotel rooms just because the loading staff think it's too difficult to park us in a safe place on the best route for us. We're not changing our next crossing at this late date as we're most unlikely to be able to get a suitable cabin etc, so I think videoing the whole thing after insisting that the ferry staff get me from the car to the lift and back again is our next step, which I am apparently entitled to insist that they do. At least then if I do end up at the bottom of the stairs, it will definitely be their fault though I think that will be small comfort.

Done this over and over again, had an email Friday confirming instructions had been passed to the loading officer and First Officer, but as always instructions ignored.

This is a problem which the ferry company keep promising has been resolved, but every time we turn up for our next crossing it just happens again. I currently split my time between my sons in the UK and our home in south west France so regularly travel with Brittany Ferries. On 'Bretagne' there are two lifts with access from the car decks, one is clearly marked on their 'accessible' guide for the ship, the other isn't because it is actually dangerous for a wheelchair user as access involves a 90 degree turn from one narrow corridor to another even narrower corridor at the head of a staircase. The second corridor is so narrow that I cannot wheel my chair myself and the only way to actually complete the turn is for part of the wheelchair to overhang the staircase, which is incredibly scary for me, the person pushing me and any spectators and is an accident waiting to happen. Customer services ashore agree that wheelchair users should not be parked by this lift (I have this in writing) however the loading master doesn't agree and blithely ignores the risk because it's easier to park wheelchair users here. On the last occasion I refused to get out of the car unless we were parked by the other lift and they did give in eventually, however I am sick to death of arguing with them onboard (this is the first time we have won), complaining again and again, getting more reassurances from customer services that it won't happen next time only to start from the beginning again every time. There is unfortunately no reasonable alternative ferry we could use. The only other service going to St Malo is Condor and even if a fastcat had better access (it doesn't, it's a nightmare) it takes forever to get across via the channel islands and we end up having to stay overnight in St Malo before continuing our journey. Other Brittany Ferry services, e.g. to Caen, would be an alternative, but we've had similar issues boarding those ferries and the timing also often means an overnight stop (involves having to book two adjacent rooms to accomodate me and allow hubby to get some sleep, chances of doing this vary from little to none). Ferries are not covered by the Equality Act. Given that we need to continue using Brittany Ferries so don't want to alienate them completely, any suggestions other than keep complaining? I'm wondering if next time I should just not bother arguing, park where they tell us and then insist one of their staff get me to the lift and experience for themselves how difficult it is.

You've lost the disability premium (£62.45) because you didn't get PIP.

I believe you can now only make a new claim for the same condition if it's got significantly worse.

Definitely call again in a week as they suggested and come back if there's any more problems or to let us know it's all sorted.

Whilst DWP are allowed to appeal a tribunal decison, this could only be on a point of law and would be very unusual, therefore almost certainly they will start paying you eventually. What is causing the hold up is probably that someone has to process the tribunal result which is probably in someone's backlog, before the correct payment can be calculated and put in your bank account. Various parts of the DWP are seriously under staffed and there are known to be delays in many areas, but hopefully they won't keep you waiting too long.

I've never heard of a higher rate for the support group, so far as I know ESA has three rates - assessment, WRAG and support. Can you post up the actual amounts on the ESA letter so we can try to work out what's going on, or the actual letter with any personal identifiers or bar codes removed.

I'm currently going to the Independent Case Examiner for the second time after ATOS haven't responded adequately to complaints - last time it was taking over 2 years to finally get the assessment done, this time it was ignoring all the information about my restrictions and expecting me to travel over 40 miles to an assessment, failing to turn up for the next one and then producing a report that could have been about anyone and it so severley understated my difficulties that I simply could not let it stand even though I still got enhanced rate for both components. They said people often misremember what was said at an assessment, but apparently didn't notice that they eventually did the report 'on the papers', so I do actually know exactly what was said.

You cannot openly use your own recording device unless it meets their very precise rules, which is most unlikely. Instead, you have to ask them to record however they only have a few machines and it's not always possible to get one in the right place at the right time so asking for a recording can delay things - which may or may not be a good thing depending on your perspective. If you want to also record yourself using a phone or similar, if the HCP spots it they will ask you to stop and if you don't they can stop the assessment and record it as 'failed to participate' which has consequences for payment of your benefits. I couldn't obviously suggest doing so but having one recording device visible which you switch off when asked and another in a pocket etc which they wouldn't think to ask about is one solution. You should also be aware that tribunals do not always accept covert recordings, it's a bit of a grey area which may be clarified eventually.

With regard to the mandatory reconsideration, I would just put what you feel you should have been awarded and point out any mistakes you already know. It's actually not usually worth putting too much effort into this as 87% of mandatory reconsiderations currently uphold the original result. Ask for the full report and use it to do the appeal once you get to that point. There is an address on the ATOS website to complain to them when you have all the information you need.

I would suggest going through the descriptors for PIP and making as objective an assessment as you can of how many points you think you should get. If they amount to more than 8 for either component, then it has to be worth another try. Whilst waiting for the forms to arrive, could you perhaps start accruing more evidence e.g. request a referral to a consultant if you haven't seen one for some time. Without knowing exactly what your difficulties are, would a report from a physio be of help or perhaps adult social services could assess what aids you might need - even if it's none, their report will say why their aids weren't able to help your restrictions.