Now that you point that out it does seem a little sudden. Very sudden in fact.

Ah yes I did. About a month after I was told I was in the Support group I was sent the ESA50 which I filled out and sent back. I never got invited to an assessment or receive a letter telling me of their verdict, so I guess that must be it. Whatever I put in the questionnaire obviously wasn't good enough. And yet here I am too scared to answer the phone. I honestly cannot cope with whatever the work programme entails. Both mentally and physically. This is such a mistake. Thanks for reminding me about the ESA50. I'd completely forgotten about it and assumed everything was fine.

Okay I'll try, thanks. It was just the fact that they never bothered to inform me or ask me how I was coping with my problems. They just decided and didn't give me any explanation or warning.

I haven't called them, no. But the woman told me I was on the work related group and my money has gone down, so I just presume they've moved me back to it from the support group.

I'd been on the Work related ESA for just over a year when I received a letter telling me that I was being moved to the Support group and my money would be going up. A couple of weeks ago I received a general letter asking me to attend a meeting with a personal adviser at my local job centre. This wasn't out of the ordinary to me, I'd received this kind of letter before. When I sat down with the woman she proceeded to tell me that she needed to verify my details to pass on to Avanta as I was on the Work related activity group. This completely stunned me and I could barely say anything beyond yes and no. I felt like I'd been railroaded into this without even being asked how I was doing or if I felt well enough to handle the pressures this development would cause. When I got home I checked my bank account and discovered that my money had gone back to the reduced rate for Work related activity. I wasn't given any letter informing me of this change back. I've emailed the job centre on their contact-us general email and explained what happened. I know that probably isn't the best way of contacting them but I get very nervous on the phone and find it difficult to explain things. I've yet to receive a reply, but I wondered if anyone here had any advice on what else I should do. I've had two phone calls from Avanta today and I was too scared to pick up the phone. That has probably made things worse. I'm just so upset and angry that nobody bothered to see how I was doing. Thanks for any information or advice MB

I just had this thought in my head and I wondered if it could come true. I have been messed around for four months by the DWP, involving them ignoring my attempts to contact them and "forgetting" to send me the relevant form needed to change my claim from Contribution based to Income based. But last week I managed to send off the correct form. However on the same day I received a letter from ATOS informing me of the date for my medical. It seemed amusing that they had already scheduled an appointment for me without actually paying me any money. It's now been a week and I've heard nothing back and my ATOS medical is next week. Could it be that they are cynically withholding my claim on the off chance that I fail my medical, then they can refuse to put it through and refuse to pay me any money for the past 4 months?

Got a letter this morning, no forms though. The letter says 'You are not getting any more income-related Employment and Support Allowance. We cannot pay you because you have not paid or been credited with enough National Insurance Contributions.' So am I being denied income based as well as contribution based? Edit - Ignore this. Received an email from BEL, they called my local office after the letter was sent. Just a coincidence. Thanks for the responses. Hopefully filling out this form will set me on the path to receiving some money finally.

So they've screwed me over then? At no point was it made apparent to me that I had to ask for more forms or make a brand new claim. The implication was that they would make the decision. How am I meant to rectfy something, like applying for income based, if they don't give me back the forms. By rights I should be backdating this all the way back to March, but my stupid doctor never backdated my first medical certificate. This is exactly why I didn't sign on for over a year. Total fear and apprehension that I would have to go through all this.

I applied for ESA online and requested to have the form sent to me to fill out at home, rather than doing it over the phone. They said I didn't qualify for contribution based, but may qualify for income based. The only other form they sent me was the ESA50. It doesn't make sense does it? I am honestly sickened by my treatment. Can I ask, is there any way I can still get the money for the three months that have passed? I sent them the medical certificate, will they backdate it when I fill out these new forms they're sending me?

After more than 2 months I've finally found out what is wrong with my claim for ESA. I've been told I didn't complete the part of the form to apply for income based ESA. This is after I was told my initial claim was turned down due to a lack of NI contributions. I presume they're talking about the Limited Work Capability Assessment form. I took ages filling that questionnaire out and was certain I had given enough information. What a horrendous ordeal this has all been. I am now being sent the 'relevant forms' but if they turn out to be the same ones again I don't know what I will make of it all. I'm convinced I did everything right. Awful, awful.

I applied for ESA back in May. My 3 month medical certificate is dated 20th May. I was sent a Limited Work Capability Assessment form on 16th June. I filled this out and returned it. Since the 16th June I have had no further contact. I sent an email on 2nd August to the DWP. I have had no response to that, so this morning I have sent another email to the same address, which is a contact-us one and another email to the Benefits Enquiry Line email. Although judging by their automated response, I'm not sure if they can help. I have been diagnosed with severe stress disorder, severe anxiety and severe psychological distress. I am unable to use the telephone without having a panic attack. I had to make my initial claim by filling out a form as I could not stay on the telephone line long enough to complete it that way. I just do not know why I am being treated like this. I am totally lost and don't know what to do.

I probably should add some further information. I wasn't able to get a medical certificate until I had been assessed, which took nearly 2 months from my first visit to the doctor in March. The date on which I actually applied for ESA, which was the date my medical certificate was signed is May 20th. So it's been a little over 2 months since I actually made the claim. After what leemack posted, it's probably likely that I still have some more waiting time. Sorry for the confusion. Edit - No. I've got it wrong again. Leemack states 4-8 weeks, I thought they said months. So I have been waiting 10 weeks, something clearly has gone wrong. As for friends or relatives helping me, that's unfortunately not an option. I will just have to find a way of calling them myself. Thanks again.

That's not the response I was hoping for if I'm honest. I suffer from terrible anxiety and find it near impossible to use the telephone. But thanks for the swift response, at least now I know something isn't quite right.

Hi, this is really just a plea for some reassurance as I'm completely out of my depth right now. I began the long process of applying for ESA in March by going to my doctors and asking for a medical certificate and as of today I still have not received any money. The last I heard from the DWP is when they sent me a Limited Work Capability Assessment questionnaire, which I filled out and sent back to them. This was on the 16th June. It's now been 6 weeks and I'd like to know if this is normal and should I expect to be kept waiting even longer before I hear anything back? In addition to this, I've also been referred to Primary Care Psychological Therapies and placed on a waiting list for therapy. This was on the 2nd June. Can anyone in similar circumstances tell me how long I should expect to be waiting to hear back from them? Thanks.

Hello, looking for some reassurance and possibly some advice on my situation. I was signed off by my doctor with depression in November 2009 and claimed ESA up until January 2010. Due to my issues with stress and anxiety I found the whole medical assessment thing daunting and didn't attend it. After being visited by someone at home and then going to my local jobcentre to talk to someone about my inability to work, it ended in my claim being stopped. I live with family and so it became easy to retreat into my shell(bedroom) and not do anything. I spent a year very depressed and unhappy, though I would try job hunting online in the hope I would spot something that would catch my eye. I did infact apply for a few jobs, but received no responses. So basically a year spent with no benefits and no income. But at the start of this year I was given a firm ultimatum by my family. Sign on, get a job, or move out. So while continuing a futile attempt to look for work just to appease the family, I set about applying for Employment Support Allowance again. I went to the doctor, saw a therapist who diagnosed me as having severe psychological distress, severe depression and severe anxiety, got my medical certificate from my doctor and eventually filled out an ESA claim form, as I find it impossible to talk on the phone, and waited for a response. The response came today. The answer is that I haven't paid enough National Insurance contributions to qualify for ESA. Which is true, I haven't. The letter says "To continue to receive Employment and Support Allowance you may need to attend a Work Focus Interview with a Personal Advisor. You will be notified of this separately if you are required to attend." And then "To continue to receive Employment and Support Allowance you may need to attend a Work Capability Assessent. You must provide Medical certificates until a Work Capability Assessment is carried out." They've also sent me a Limited Capability For Work Questionnaire, pink one. Questions. I included a medical certificate for 3 months with my initial claim. Is that still valid or do I need to obtain a new certificate from my doctor to send in with this pink questionnaire? The Work Focus Interview and Work Capability Assessments. Due to the decision made, should I expect to hear about these and will they help me in being accepted onto ESA? Thanks for reading all of that, and if you can offer me any other bits of advice I'd be grateful. Thanks!