I would suggest something has gone horribly wrong. After reading this thread it got me worried, My Tribunal was Thursday last week, I phoned up Newcastle this morning and they have informed me they have issued the back dated payment today and confirmed the amount and the date I will receive it. All less than 3 working days after the Tribunal. Maybe go to your local job centre and ask them to re-fax the tribunal decision and then chase them constantly.

I know how you feel, not only do I have to live with an illness which I never asked for, I also have to suffer these pathetic tests which are totally irrelevant to your illness. The most frustrating part for me is that I answered one particular question in the assessment honestly and it was not documented, but rather turned into what the listener wanted to hear. They omitted certain words. Never take the assessment as proof of your illness, it is totally against you!

I must admit, the Judge I had was a very nice man, the Doctor didn't ask too much. I was expecting to hear 'How did you get here' etc but it wasn't like that. The Clerk was amasing, he went through all my documents and took copies of any additional info. The Tribunal is probably the easiest process and you are actually made to feel normal for once.

Well done to you too! Goes to show that we aren't all liars and cheats, which is how I was made to feel. I was not represented, purely as I felt my case was honest and sincere and am not someone who relies on others. I told the Tribunal the honest truth, didn't even take doctors reports. Right now I feel refreshed and relieved after all the hassle the DWP have given. They even lied about phoning me and discussing my appeal, no-one EVER phoned me! The Tribunal awarded me 15 points and that was based on one Descriptor, they didn't even discuss the others, I think they knew from the start what was going to happen. I hope my post helps others who feel let down and worthless.

Thanks debt4get, good luck to you, although I feel your appeal will come back that they agree with your assessment, they seemed to ignore everything I corrected, which the Tribunal over turned. My main message is, don't let them grind you down and make you feel worthless as they did me. I have a long term illness with no known cure, yet someone sends out a standard letter as if I'm a piece of waste. I wish you luck!

If your report is anything like mine was, ATOS have very selective hearing. If you mention you may have walked 200 metres years ago, they'll document that you can walk 200 metres, they are simply twisting words.

After going through 6 months of what feels like hell, I want to re-assure anyone else who gets declined ESA from the Medical Assessment, always appeal to a Tribunal if you are genuine. Today, I won my case and I no longer feel like a dirty sponger which is how I have been made to feel in this long process. I was genuinely dreading the tribunal as I had already been made to feel worthless and felt the tribunal may have added to this. Infact, it was totally opposite, I saw a Judge and Doctor and both were superb even giving me personal advice on how to correctly complete the original claim form to prevent this ever happening again ( I wasn't graphic enough). So, this is a message to anyone else who feels they are worthless thanks to the DWP, go to a Tribunal, be honest and hopefully come out feeling better in yourself. I feel like a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders, good luck to anyone else in a similar situation.

Hi guys, In March this year we went on a trip to India as we have done for 7 years. We decided to stay in a different hotel as it was described as a quiet Hotel in a peaceful rural area. YES it was in a rural area in the middle of nowhere, which wasn't an issue. Our issue is that the Hotel was unfit for humans. The bed sheets were supposed to be white but had dodgy looking brown stains on them and the room was full of dirt and mould, it also overlooked a tied up dog which constantly barked. The Balcony had rusting rails so you actually feared to go onto it. The Hotel had building work being done next door and had 2 visits per day from a cement truck - This was delivery of Cement powder not ready mixed, so you can imagine what happened - the pool and everyone sat around it was covered in Cement dust twice per day! The pool in turn turned green/brown as the filter got blocked due to the cement dust. Two fellow guests suffered ear infections from that pool. We also suffered Homophobic abuse from drunken yobs as they kept the bar open 24hours and people were constantly drunk and agressive with fights taking place each night inside of the Hotel. We asked to see the rep but he wouldn't deal with us as we wasn't on his 'list' for the first couple of days. When we eventually got to see the rep he informed us this wasn't his normal hotel as the usual rep refused to service it due to the complaints. Anyway, he took us to another hotel to look at which was almost as bad, filthy with rats running everywhere and then asked us to pay £200 if we wanted to change. After numerous phone calls to the Resort Manager of Thomas Cook she eventually become aggressive and simply told us to stop complaining and make the most of the holiday. By the end of the first week, we packed our suitcases and moved to another Hotel of our own accord as Thomas Cook refused to help. We paid the extra for the new Hotel and did enjoy the rest of our stay. We caught up with the Thomas Cook rep towards the end of the holiday and asked for a complaint form which we completed and handed in and we took a copy. We were advised Thomas Cook would reply within 3 weeks, but we heard nothing, so we wrote to them on a further two occasions both of which had no reply. I have since contacted the Directors Office for Thomas Cook who have acknowledged receipt, but still no further response. I am now in the process of completeing a County Court claim as they are obviously not taking this seriously. I am just wondering wether to claim the full cost of the holiday or the cost of the new Hotel and also what to put on the claim form for Brief details, should it be negligence? Any advice or similar experiences would be very helpful. Thanks