estellyn
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Everything posted by estellyn
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There is no point in treating your alcoholism until they treat your anxiety effectively. I've seen this with schizophrenics who use alcohol to manage their condition - until the schizophrenia is medicated effectively, they will always use the alcohol. Have you seen a psychiatrist about the anxiety?
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The only time it is recoverable is if its a bacs error - but if it has your nino, this seems unlikely.
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Have you had any help or referrals for social anxiety? Is your doctor aware of it?
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The solicitor is not who you need to be talking to about an appeal - you need an experienced welfare rights adviser who can prepare your case. Is there a CAB or Welfare rights near you? You don't always have to qualify for legal aid to get help via welfare rights or cab. You also don't HAVE to be a passported benefit to get legal aid!!
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Any overpayment by the DWP due to official error is nor recoverable under social security law - as long as they have all the correct info, if they make an error they can ask for the money back - but you don't have to pay it. Please someone correct me if this has changed recently?
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surely the better option would be starting with trying to help your anxiety rather than dealing with the alcohol first. Have you been offered any help with the anxiety issues? My husband has severe anxiety as well, so I can relate to how difficult it is to deal with.
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The question is, what bothers you? Having to attend with a work provider or having to go to AA? I agree that they're on dodgy ground forcing this on the assessment phase. But you need to ask yourself, are you willing to try to work on your addiction, or are you unwillingly to let it go? Do you see this as something being forced on you, or someone offering help to fight the addiction. Morally, I'm kind of in two minds about this - an addict wants government help for money, but won't engage with support services, when surely support services offered at the earliest possible opportunity is best - ie during the assessment phase. On the other hand, why are different conditions being treated differently - surely early help is best for any number of conditions, like depression, with a similar reluctance to engage with support services - but therapy or a psychiatrist's referral isn't mandated for depression. I'm of the opinion that being unable to work because of a condition should mean that you get access to additional support in order to help get better. Being unable to work means that illness has progressed to a point that it has become unmanageable with work. So surely this should mean that priority assistance should be given - this is WRAG and even some in the support group, SHOULD be about - getting people the help they need, whether rehab or consultant referrals or CBT or counselling, or pain clinc referral - give people access to help that might improve their condition so that they could work. Hell, maybe if I got access to the help I need I might get out of the support group and be able to work - I'd so love to be well and working again. I loved my job. Sorry went off on a tangent there!!
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It should just be a simple form you need to return to Tribunals Service now - it asks if you want an oral or paper hearing and if you want an interpreter or can attend at short notice. This gives you time to read the rest of the paperwork, and write a 'submission', which is a statement of your arguments as to why your appeal should be allowed (ie why you should win). Near the front of the pack of paperwork should be the DWP submission, which is their arguments as to why they should win - this is a good starting point. We're here to help, you're not alone. do you have a welfare rights or cab in your area?
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GP interference with Attendance Allowance decision.
estellyn replied to hensteeth's topic in Benefits and HMRC
And from the ICO:- 23 replies
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- 1
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- allowance
- attendance
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GP interference with Attendance Allowance decision.
estellyn replied to hensteeth's topic in Benefits and HMRC
I don't think we're going to agree. My point is that as the patient has the right to be a direct recipient of the letter, by law, that they are not classed as a 'third party recipient'. If the numerous Tribunal judges I've dealt with accept and prefer this type of evidence with no questions over 'authority' and never being ruled as inadmissable, then I'll trust their years of legal experience over your opinion. ETA And in the passage you quoted the 'third party information' is refering to documents sent by a doctor to ATOS that he/she has no right to send - a doctor has no right to send a copy of a letter sent by another doctor to a third party not legally entitled to it - for instance DWP or ATOS, a doctor can write his own report and send it to ATOS, but cannot send another doctors report to ATOS - and if he does ATOS are not allowed to read it or use it. -
GP interference with Attendance Allowance decision.
estellyn replied to hensteeth's topic in Benefits and HMRC
Patients have a right under law to a copy of all hospital letters, therefore consent of the author for the patient to have the letter is enshrined in law - they are unable to withdraw their consent, therefore consent always exists, and the information is not unauthorised. -
They mean available for on the day in question that you have applied for backdating - not available for a position you applied for while supine. I'm not trying to be difficult, but if your doctor told you that you needed to go home and rest, then the DWP would not consider you to be available to go to work on that day. Sorry but its just the reality of the regs.
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For JSA you would have to satisfy the 'available for and actively seeking work' condition for backdating, which it sounds as if you don't.
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DLA - to ask for a review or leave well alone?
estellyn replied to reallymadwoman's topic in Benefits and HMRC
That must be really hard for you. My car is a lifeline - I don't use it much, as I'm mostly housebound, but its worth using the HRM for. -
GP interference with Attendance Allowance decision.
estellyn replied to hensteeth's topic in Benefits and HMRC
Please do dig something up, as in years of repping for DLA, Incap or ESA appeals, I've never had a problem having evidence from someone's own medical records accepted - in fact, medical records containing letters such as these are often requested by Tribunal chairs - without the getting the authority of every consultant in the the file who has written a letter - which frankly, would be silly. My understanding about third party evidence that couldn't be accepted without authority, would be for instance, a medical report commissioned and paid for by an insurance company - not someone's own medical records. If you need permission to use documents gained through FOI, and subject access requests, then how do journalists get away with using and printing these documents?? In addition, records obtained through SAR (ie medical records) are regularly used as evidence in civil cases, for instance when suing a hospital - if the consultant was reuired to give permission for these documents to used, then hospitals could not be sued! -
write a letter requesting a reconsideration of the decision, stating the regulations and asking that they amend their decision accordingly. You may also want to appeal the decision placing you in WRAG if you believe you should still be in the support group.
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If you have a disability that can affect you finding work, you only need to work 16 hours a week to claim tax credits. As you already claim CTC you would just need to call them and notify your change of circs. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/who-qualifies/workingtaxcredit/disability.htm However many self employed hours you work, you don't have to prove it, just state the hours you work. You do have to register as self employed. While doing permitted work, earnings are not deducted from ESA or HB or CTB
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DLA - to ask for a review or leave well alone?
estellyn replied to reallymadwoman's topic in Benefits and HMRC
Also invalidates your insurance. -
GP interference with Attendance Allowance decision.
estellyn replied to hensteeth's topic in Benefits and HMRC
The information in the letter is about your wife, it is part of HER medical records. She has the lawful right to receive copies of everything in her medical file and use that information as she wishes. She is a lawful recipient of that information and as such does not need to get the permission of the author to use the letter. -
That seems pretty arbitrary to decide two weeks, why not 1 week, or 3 months? I would give the DWP a call, ask for a call back from a decision maker (the person on the helpline usually knows nothing). It could be one of two things - the have a policy of no-end-date fit notes to be entered as two weeks, or someone made an error in processing the fit note. To me a fit note with no end date should logically be for the maximum - is that 3 months, now? Not sure.
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Need urgent advice about Jobseeker's Allowance
estellyn replied to K301982P's topic in Benefits and HMRC
If you'd read the posts, you would see that yes there was the confusion over the date of the first appt, but there was more recently an appt missed due to sickness. There's no need to jump to conclusions like a daily mail reader. -
So from what I can understand, it appears that an automatic overpayment notice was generated due to your informing them about your wage changes. then due to the fact you failed to notify changes an IUC has been triggered. Yes, a prepared statement is a very sensible idea, as I feel it would be easier to get across the difficult circumstances that made you neglect to notify all changes - not through any deliberation. And also detail the other changes that took place regarding your tax credits that you also didn't notify (but not in your favour). In my experience when the caution is read, the person feels really freaked out, which makes it difficult to think clearly - heck on my first IUC as a rep, knowing nothing, I was freaked out by the caution - which the investigator who was friends with my boss laughed at with her later, saying I looked like a bunny in headlights! Just be prepared for the caution, and it won't scare you so much. The other thing is the fact that you did eventually notify them yourself. HOWEVER, if this happened after they asked your employer for pay details, then it won't hold any weight, as they will just assume you acted to inform them once you thought you were under investigation. If they contacted your employer after you notified the change of circs, then it is worth mentioning your voluntary notification albeit very late! Its also worth being very sorry in the statement. Genuine remorse and full co operation can, in my experience, go a long way.
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I really understand where you're coming from. I'm in the support group, luckily without needing to go to appeal, and also get DLA MRC, HRM - and I have to say that even with years of benefit knowledge, I know that at my next assessment it may all go wrong and on the basis of an incompetant assessor (on one that has a vague relationship with the truth). The ESA, DLA and husband's carer's allowance could all stop on the basis of a 20 minute 'assessment' that is incorrect. I can't say that the thought hasn't occured to me to end the claim and for husband to claim income support as a carer instead.
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Not sure what point you're trying to make.
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GP interference with Attendance Allowance decision.
estellyn replied to hensteeth's topic in Benefits and HMRC
I agree, the data is about your wife, not someone else. She is entitled to a copy of her medical records which can be used as she sees fit. As the letter is part of her medical records, it can be used without a problem.
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