Hi CAG, Just looking for a quick bit of info. Was placed in ESA Support Group for 2 years from Feb 15 - Feb 17. Obviously we are beyond that date so I'm waiting to hear something any day now. I go away for 10 nights on May 15th (First Holiday in around 10 years) wondering what to do if they throw something in my letter box asking for a re-assessment while I'm set to be away? Am I entitled to go away while I'm in the ESA Support Group and should I inform somebody that I have chosen to do so? Anybody got any idea how long I may be waiting to hear from then as we are now over the 2 recomendded years since I was placed. Thank you in advance for any input, Adam

Anybody on here who are on JSA who feel they should be on ESA and get more support/ help than just JSA claimants ? My story is ive been in between both as was diagnosed with chronic back and leg pain. Was deemed fit for work. Had little explained to me so was even looking for full time hours and i was riddled in pain. So much so i was having to job search and eat lying on my front. Having had to do that i now have RSI in both arms all the way down to my hands. More recently ive been getting neck pain and head aches. Doctor thinks it's all connected to my back pain which ive never been able to find a proper diagnosis. Feel helpless and after hearing stories of people getting benefit stopped is it worth me trying for ESA again as i was messed about before and lost out on money which i just cant afford to do. Partly their fault as my ESA form never got here and whilst in between job seekers and ESA i had a dentist appointment. I ticked ESA as it was going through but endeded up with a fine. Had i known id of just cancelled the dentist for a few days I also now suffer with a bit of depression ( didn't go out socially for 3+ yrs) and anxiety which i struggle to explain but having the pressure of being made to search for work when you wouldn't employ yourself as i once looked in the mirror and see a vibrant out going confident young man and now i'm just drained. Pain/ meds drain me. Any help/advice much appreciated.

]hi everyone , im hoping someone will be able to help me , my son has been given a "capability for work questionnaire" form to fill in , he had just put it under the sofa and i found it an hour ago , he has been on employment and support allowance for the last 2 years , he was sectioned mental health and they sorted it out , hes 28 and lives with me , he does not go out suffers terrible paranoia , he will have what we describe as a meltdown often this will be normally when he will drink vodka and overtake his medication then will either cry for hours or it will end up with us having to call the police as he smashes things up and threatens his father he can be quite frightening (this is what normally what happens) the police have been to my home around 15 times in the last 6 months , if it werent for the fact he has a daughter he wouldnt be alive , it breaks my heart to say it but he doesnt want to live , that pains me so much to say , i myself am recovering breast cancer stage 4 and lately lost 4 stone and im hardly able to walk , so this form im beside myself with worry , because there is no way he will put on that form what really goes on , just lately his sister made him go to the doctors (he hadnt been in years) because he run out of medication when that happens he is okay for a day then the paranoia starts and then aggressive , she told the doctor as much as she could as soon as she mentioned the voice he hears in his mind he got up and walked out , so hes not going to tell the full extent of what happens , my other son has been a angel helping us out and myself with my health issues , he walks here everyday and does things , do you think i should fill in the form or maybe my son ? i dont have a clue sorry if i seem to be rambling

Hi I was on IB before 2001 and recently transfered to ESA (con base) Im having problems with DWP not accepting Entitlement to Incapacity Benefit prior to 6 April 2001 they are deducting an element from my occupational pension I have written to them and 3 weeks later received a letter stating "you are being paid the correct amount taking into account the amount of occupational pension you receive" can anyone give me a link to an official document that sets out the above rule please. Thanks

Hi, Looking for some advice. I had a medical assessment now I got 0 points. I understand I can claim JSA and do a mandatory reconsideration, however the JSA claim online states you must not have received ESA within 1 calendar month? So, must I wait 1 whole month before applying? Thanks.

Hi Ive been in a mental health hospital for 8 to 9 years on a section 3 of the mental health act. My benefits stopped after a year or so after being detained. However through my Social worker I have applied to get Esa. And I have now recived a fortnightly payment of JSA. Can any one make any sense of this?

Hello all I get ESA CB Support group and recently posted my ESA50 reassesment. I am worried that if I am asked to attend or even if I manage to get a F2F at my home and due to my Bowel issues I am unable to attend or even if its at my house and I am stuck in the bathroom and I am unable to answer the door and he or she leaves. Now what happens then? I know they will send me a letter and asks me for good reason I did not attend, but then what if the same thing happens again if they make a new appointment? and again? Will they eventually end my ESA claim? and then would I have to appeal to have my ESA reinstated? and if I win my appeal to have my ESA reinstated would I immediately be requested to attend another ESA assessment? OK well if that doesnt happen what if I was being assessed and was unable to continue after even a few seconds, would the assessor class that as non attendance? or how would that work? and how would I appeal if this happened and I was removed from ESA? what would be the process? Thanks all in advance"

Last week I informed the dwp that I had moved in with my partner. they sent me an ESA3 10/14 form to fillout which I think just assesses financial eligability for the benefit. I know that due to my partners income and savings I will lose all benefit. The form is a bit confusing and I cannot get through to the DWP to speak to them as they are always busy even if I wait an hour on the phone. My queries are these: 1. It asks me if my partner agrees to my making this claim? My partner knows he has to give his details but isn't happy about giving his savings information and so on. He says he is not making any claim, which he isn't. 2. As I have just moved I am currently in the process of switching doctors, this will take a few weeks to do but I have to send the form back asap. Should I just put the name of my old GP or the name of the new surgery I will be going to even though I don't have a doctor there yet? 3. The form asks about work my partner has done since I made my first claim. My partner has always worked since 2002 and earned a good wage (he also has savings in excess of £30,000) however we were not partners then and I only moved in together last week. I am worried that by filling this in the DWP will say he should have been supporting me for the past 5 years even though we haven't been together that long and were only just living together now? 4. The form says they will tell me if I am not entitled to ESA they will write and tell me. I expect to not get any money but I am not better at all and would still like to have my stamp covered by being on the benefit, will this be ok? Thank you for your help!

Hi guys i wanted to ask has anyone on here come across the same prob now as myself I have been claiming jsa for nearly 2 years i have also had my mortgage interest part paid i have just recieved a letter teling me after next month i wont be getting any more help with mortgage payments and to make payments to them myself now this is going to be hard as im only on £100 a week for me and wife Can anyone tell me if there is any help out there at all to help i have worked all my life paid all my taxes and when i need it during these tough times its about to make me homeless unless i can pay my payments please any advice

Hello, I am posting here to see if I can get some advice regarding employment and support allowance. My history is that I currently recieve ESA in the support group and have been on this benefit for four years now with 3 reassessments including my first in 2012. Twice I was placed in the support group after a WCA but after my second assessment I was initially told over the phone I would not get any benefit. I asked the DWP on that call to reconsider and about an hour later they called back telling me I was again in the support group. I am now waiting to find out about my next assessment for ESA and I have some questions. Firstly does anyone know how likely it is that after 4 years in the support group it will be that they can remove the benefit from me? My condition can in some cases improve but in my case it has not and I still attend the hospital regularly 2 or 3 times a year and I am awaiting a further referral. Surely it would be very difficult for the dwp to remove me from a benefit they previously agreed I was entitled to? Also if I am called to a face to face assessment I will not be able to take anyone with me I don't think which I have done in the past, I will be able to get a lift to and from the centre but nobody is free in the day anymore to come in with me. Will not having a companion at the wca be bad for my claim? My last question is on the new esa50 the say not to send any appointment letters. I feel I should send them copies of my appointment letters as it lets them see that I am still being seen regularly by the hospital and have been for some time. I don't have any reports to send and feel it is important to send something. What should I do?

I was awarded ESA support group in 2014. On November 21st 2016 I was interviewed by a Health Care Professional. This interview was postponed from May 2016 because someone had lost my file. On December 22nd 2016 a decision maker telephoned me to ask questions as the assessor had awarded 0 points and he was puzzled by her report. during the interview he thanked me several times for providing more information and each time said "she didn't put that down." When the interview was over he said that he would award me 15 points and that my benefit would carry on at the same rate until furthur notice. On 24th Janaury I reveived a letter stating that I had been moved to the WRAG group on December 20th 2016. On 25th January I phoned to request a mandatory reconsideration. I was told that someone from DWP would ring back later that day. No one did. On 30th January I wrote asking for a reconsideration and also for copies of the evidence used to make the decision. On 4th February I receieved a letter which said that DWP would not change the decision, including infomation that although they are aware of my previous record of mental health poblems that it was not taken into account because it was my condition on the day of the assessment which matters. They did not include copies of the requested evidence. The letter also said that no new information had been received, I wasn't given the opportunity of providing any. I intend to appeal but the letter does not contain the information as to how to do this despite the original letter to me saying that if a reconsideration did not result in a change, information about an appeal would besent to me.

I have been on ESA for approx 3 years with anxiety and depression, after having my appointments at my local job centre last year being cancelled one after another, i think i only attended once, I received a assessment form to complete towards the end of the year and was subsequently called in for a medical by the lovely ATOS in December. During the 3 years I have also had arthritis which has developed into severe osteoarthritis of both knees and hip resulting in me taking 25 tablets a day including Morphine. Needless to say the result of my so called examination was that I scored zero points and was taken of ESA, I received this notification beginning of January this year. I requested a copy of the report as I intended on requesting a Mandatory Reconsideration and was horrified to read the contents, the so called HCP had lied on throughout and twisted my answers so I mediately compiled my MR along with a supporting letter from my GP and the help of a friend of mine and submitted it. I received my decision back yesterday only to find that they are still not willing to change it despite outlining the areas where the HCP had been creative and gave them my correct answers as well as covering other areas raised. I am now at the point thinking is it worth taking it to a tribunal and causing more upset and stress just to be met with the same response or just call it a day as it has certainly impacted on my health, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Tim.

On 22/09/16 I bought my home outright for £44,000 with roughly £46,000 I had in savings. The following day I put in a claim for ESA starting from 01/10, then once I'd received the ESA50 I declared the savings that I'd had in the last six months and how I'd spent them on my house leaving me with under £16,000 in savings. I spent the next three months sending bank statements, CHAPS receipts, investment bond statements and more bank statements trying to prove what I'd had and what I'd spent it on, but have so far received no assessment phase payments. At no point did I receive any request for fit notes or other medical evidence. On 11/01/17 I finally had my work capability assessment but two weeks later received the news that I'd be awarded 0 points, and that my claim would be denied from 08/10/16. My sister made a call a few days later to find out why I still hadn't received any assessment phase payments, and was told that a letter would be sent out. I then received a letter stating that they could not pay me an allowance from 08/10/16 as I had been declared fit for work at my assessment. Is it right that they can retroactively deny me the assessment rate phase like this? It seems incredibly unfair that they could be allowed to do such a thing and I now have no money left to get by on.

I have used this forum a couple of times for myself but this time am enquiring for a friend who has MS and leukemia and is highly anxious at present. She had been on ESA until March, having been forced out of her teaching job in quite harrowing and underhand fashion a couple of years ago. She was put onto JSA and has been supplying bank statements to the Benefits Office here. She had been paying her rent out of rapidly dwindling savings until her savings fell under the limit preventing a housing benefit claim very recently. Despite her condition she has in the year that I've known her continued to apply for work in teaching, and is registered with at least three agencies. She has had interviews and trials which have come ot nothing. It does seem the MS is the likely reason. My friend has run herself into the ground pursuing these jobs and is clearly upset at not winning them. She is a genuine and ethically-minded person. It's clear that stress is affecting her symptoms, and this week's events have really been out of order. She has just had a 'compliance meeting' this week which has not gone at all well. The person carrying out the interview is from the 'Fraud and Error' department. The DWP employee does not seem to have been very sensitive in the way he handled things, and my friend brought the meeting to a halt and said she wanted a witness present. She then rang me. I've never heard her in the condition she was in. Despite her condition she is a tough thing and represents herself well normally, with proper assertiveness and self-respect. I scarcely manage the same myself. I got the the Benefits Office about half an hour later and the meeting was resumed. We had asked ot record the meeting. The employee said he wasn't sure that could be done and would have to get advice, and we ended up settling for my being present as a witness - my friend is burying he rmother in the next week or so and doesn't want things dragged out with all that's going on. My friend and I both referred to the misconduct we have expeienced in the last year, which is from the housing department of the council and the DWP alike, in both our cases. My friend's Maximus assessment for example was carried out by someone who was then sacked, and I've seen the lie-strewn report he wrote on my friend, a not-quite-separate matter that will be attended to. A statement was typed in by the employee and my friend asked me to read it, as she was getting befuddled both with the stress and as part of the MS. She signed the statement. It was a pretty awkward meeting. The fella didn't really seem to know what he was doing, and I would hope he feels bad for the distress he caused my friend. We would like some things cleared up. This DWP employee used the phrase 'deprivation of capital' in reference to my friend's having gifted her son with money. He did not explicitly say that the gifting would be viewed as such but it was muddily expressed, and we're wondering how arbitrary the notion of 'deprivation of capital' is. My friend is a single mother in her 50s with one son, who has mental health troubles and seemingly something on the autistic spectrum, and has been neglected by professionals. After her divorce from a man who wasn't the boy's father she has been very supportive of her son including financially. I think anyone would be the same and that my friend's gifting him money should not be viewed with cynicism. Ordinarily as far as I know - and I think I read this this week in relation to something else - there is no limit to money being gifted. The amount since my friend has been claiming JSA I would think is all that is relevent too. In no way has the gifting been a dodge of any kind, but is of a compassionate basis that it would be shocking to have to explain. The other question is asked because my friend is worried about being treated as a fraud case. We think we've established that either all or almost all of the period she claimed JSA, her savings fell under the threshold. But she also submitted all those bank statements, and from March till now nothing was said. (Weirdly today she has been asked for the bank statements again by this man, who is sitting in the building where the DWP's copies are held - why can't he just access these?) So if there was any period, say for a few weeks or so, where she recieved JSA but had over the threshold amount, this can't become a fraud case can it? She declared everything. She was in receipt of the lowest JSA amount and was looking for work. At worst this is an employee's error isn't it? She was put on JSA when the ESA ended. I understand there are two different sets of criteria for JSA but presumably my friend has fallen inisde one of them to have been put on JSA. Sorry I haven't been able to make this shorter, but it would mean a lot to my friend and me also if we could get good response on this. I'll see the friend tomorrow and would like some good, calming news if possible. Many thanks.

Hi all, I have recently had yet another WCA and have been placed into the WRA group, obviously this is not the worst decision that I could have got but I was previously (from a WCA only a year earlier) in the care group. I don't understand why I have been moved down a tier after only recently having been moved up, I have been getting ESA WRA for years and have previously been in the care group many, many years ago and have had periods of bouncing back and forth between JSA and ESA under ATOS, the point being, my condition back then should have had me in the care group, but ATOS... and although things have been getting better gradually over the years I still have years of recovery ahead of me, which I thought had finally been reflected in me being put in the care group, but now no longer! The thing is, I provided the exact same information this time as i did last time, I told them that my condition was unchanged, and that it's not going to change if an ESA50 lands on my doormat 6 months after every decision (btw, it took another 6 months from sending in my ESA50 to getting an interview, so that was half a year of barely contained nervous breakdown and another big hit to my recovery). In my ESA50 I stated that given that they are making a decision based on the same set of rules, using the same information, speaking to the same person with the same condition, then making any decision that differs from the last time would be a logical fallacy. The implication of that of course being that if all the factors remain the same then the outcome should remain the same, if it does not then it implies incompetence, dishonesty, fundamental flaws in the system or simply that the decision has been unduly influenced by the personal feelings of the assessors and/or decision makers, it was only implied, but I don't think they liked that...I can't escape the feeling that they know I am not fit for work and have bumped me down a notch out of spite because they don't like being told what to do, even when they know it's perfectly logical and the correct course of action. Pointless though it is anyway. I know what will happen, I'll go to a WRA interview, the conclusion will be reached that they should just leave me alone to recover on my own time and if I want help I will ask for it, and that will be that, same as the last 3 times. Essentially all they have done is cut my income for no good reason, at a time when I actually need that extra due to a drop in our household income, and moreover, they are giving me less to live on while requiring me to shell out extra travel expenses for WRA? wtf? Initial ramble over with, and thanks if you've read this far, I will now endeavor to get to the point. I want to ask for Mandatory Reconsideration but I have a fear that if I do so then they will yet again reinterpret the same information and somehow come up with a way of throwing me back into JSA hell again, and I don't think I can take that, in fact I know I can't. If that were to happen now, i'd lose my mind, my home, my friends lives (who share my home) would be turned upside down too and I'd likely end up back on the streets, living in a forest and selling the big issue again, i'm basically on the edge here, i'm at a turning point in my life where things could start to get much better, or they could get much much worse, and the decisions that influence that are out of my control. Sorry for the ramble, but I can't take my meds til this is done, my question is, has this ever happened to anyone? Asking for reconsideration and ending up with a worse result? Second question, the sticky on MRs states that benefit payments will stop while the reconsideration is going on, I understand that there are different rules for differing circumstances but the CAB website says that I will continue to get ESA while the process is carried out, can someone clarify this for me, will I retain my ESA while asking for MR? will it be at the same WRA rate or will it be cut? One final thought, if my benefits will be cut in any way then I simply cannot afford to ask for MR, seems like an effective deterrent to fair treatment to me, ahem, but is it possible, under those conditions, to make a formal protest without asking for MR? e.g. I have them send me the reports from this and the previous WCA, I pick them to pieces and write up a statement elucidating where they are right and where they are wrong and why the decision is unfair (or indeed fair, i am prepared to concede to a logical argument) but with a clear caveat that this is for the benefit of informing future assessments and I cannot at this time financially afford to ask for a MR as any cut to my household income would be harmful. Would there be any point to this? do the WCA people even look at past decisions and evidence?. So to sum up: 1. Has anyone ever had a MR return a worse result than the one you were appealing? 2. What happens to my ESA WRA payments while in MR? 3. Is there any point in making a formal protest if I cannot ask for MR? If you got this far then thanks again for sticking with it, I do tend to produce TLDR walls of text. Any input will be greatly appreciated, I only have the next few days to decide what to do. Thanks again, Stu.

Hi all, Having been in work for over 30 years, I have had to apply for ESA. I phoned the application number on Monday and answered all the questions (1hr 35 mins) The girl on the phone was a 'trainee' and started to ask me for my partners information. I pointed out she did not need these and she put me on hold. Finally she admitted she did not require my partners details. This is just my story and I hope it could help someone in the future. I was released from work on the 28th October 2016 due to Capability. (L4/L5 Discetomy and decompression operation on 8th May 2015) left with residual nerve damage and L4/L5/S1 Neropathic back pain due to a crumbling spine. First 7 days are self certified and unclaimable due to ESA rules. I have requested a Dr's note from 7th November 2016 and will need to send it off to the address advised by the 'Advisor' (loosest possible description) Will keep this thread updated all the way forward. Jogs

Hello I hope you can help - I have someone who is a decent human being but has been put is a difficult situation. Someone else was helping him before but I’ve been called on-board as the other person hasn't got the time. He has been on ESA for a long time, He suffers from severe social anxiety, depression, body image issues and also post-traumatic stress due to many issues; most of which are childhood-related, whereas the traumatic stress (I believe) was relatively recent (5 years ago) due a severe facial injury that required intense facial- reconstruction; (were talking hours of surgery and many surgeons) He has been on a continual downward spiral since as he has no support network and his heavy drinking with which he has used to cope with his social anxiety! This has now culminated with him having a psychotic episode a few weeks ago that resulted him being imprisoned for 6 weeks on remand. He received a suspended sentence plus counseling for drink. No one was hurt, though I’m assuming the experience hasn’t been pleasant for anyone that was involved. I cannot stress enough that the person Is decent human being that hasn’t had the help he’s needed for years. His ESA was such that even wrote him off (never needed a tribunal etc) but since coming out of prison he has found that his ESA has been stopped. Im assuming it was because he went to prison the last amount paid into his account was june 6th! and nothing after this. He doesn’t have the skills to get it reactivated on his own! I have done some homework, and found that he is classed (still) as a remand prisoner as just being locked up from June 6 to approx 5-6 later! I believe from my own research (limited) that..... 1 There is a 12 week period within which the EAS can be re-activated / or linked) is this correct? 2 and that this means that there is not major/ substantial extra information needed to be sent to the dwp? And that it is merely a case filling in a new form and re-activating the claim? 3 However he hasn’t been in proper contact with a DR due to him slipping off the radar in terms of doctors notes (he hasn’t needed them for over three years, so you can imagine that someone who suffers from such conditions has simply let things continue!) will he need one now? 4 Or is it simply a case of filling in the correct forms etc? He has no money since coming out of prison- his rent was paid by housing benefit but the short-fall which was made up by himself with the ESA which obviously means the current situation is-not sustainable 5 he will not need to see Atos, surely if it is simply the case of linking the claim? In conclusion I’m unsure which type of ESA he was on but I’m sure it falls within the category of not needed to attend any support group. He hasn’t needed to supply an updated Dr’s note to Atos or the dwp. I have not phoned the ESA yet on his behalf as I’m not sure if I’m up to the task. But the idea is I would like to get the ESA up and running the way it was before, but obviously to try and get him some type of support group as well. Can anyone help? As the 12 week cut off period is looming? Thanks

hi im new on this site, been reading some of the threads re:esa appeals, ive got mine in 2 weeks and im really nervous/anxious about it, i suffer from lower back problem and anxiety/panic attacks. i failed my atos last june (nil points) a lot of information is missing from the atos report, ie it states i was there longer than i actually was , never asked questions re:anxiety or the incontinence i suffer with ,and a lot of it is exaggerated to say the least, i got a solicitor involved to help with tribunal, with the info i gave her she had scored me more than 15 points ,the only downfall is that my dr,s report is not helpfull says my solicitor, which has made me feel worse than ever ,solicitor thinks i will scrape through with out the dr,s report which she is not submitting, she told me to go through the atos report and make notes of which i agree, any help would be gratefull as im very down about this ,todays not been a good day. other thing is i have to travel out of town to the tribunal and they are paying for a taxi to and from the tribunal, but dont have anyone to go with me, the solicitor says it will not go against me as there will be the taxi driver with me going and the clerk when i get there, as i get really anxies/panic attacks in unformiliar places ,and usually rely on help from friend/family, but they are unable to come with me, do you think this will go against me. many thanks.

Can anyone help. Due to depression and anxiety i was on esa, i was in the support group and allowed to do permitted work. I failed my assessment and have been taken off ESA. on all other occasions i have been told that permitted work will have to stop so that is what i did this time. I am now being refused full jsa because i stopped the permitted work. I did ask what i should do about permitted work when they told me i could not claim esa anymore but no one seemed to know so that is why i finished as that had been the case before.

Hi there, do you have any idea on filling out self-assessments (uk) - My background.. Basically, I had an injury with left me unable to work before the 2015-16 tax year started. I was self-employed with my own business which I officially ended a few days into tax year, and had a day job but didn't work the entire year due to my injuries so was on SSP (Statutory Sick Pay). My boss held the job open for when I recovered after the tax year, the SSP ended, and went in to ESA and then also later in that tax year PIP. So my query: 1. At the end of the year instead of a P60 my boss sent me a P60U, was I meant to be given a P60 as well, seeing as I was just on SSP? 2. Does the P60u cover the ESA & PIP, or was I meant to be sent something for PIP as well to put in my self-assessment? Many thanks, even if you can just answer 1. or 2. !!

I'm on ESA, I am currently having mental health issues, my doctor writes fit notes to say so and I am seeing the Community Psychiatric Nurse fortnightly. I sent my ESA50 away many months ago (stupidly forgot to make a copy to keep) and have been on ESA longer than the supposed 13 weeks assessment period. First it was a total faff involving multiple phonecalls to them in order to get an appointment in a suitable place. But anyway, they have my ESA50, fit notes all sent, I have asked for it to be recorded in advance etc etc. I turn up really early. Was fighting a panic attack for days, building up a lot during the day before the appointment. Then a full hour after my appointment time I get taken into a room (panic attack at defcon 1 by this point, given the ridiculously long wait!) only to be told because I mentioned Sciatica somewhere on the ESA50 they cannot do the medical! Some nonsense about needing a neuro something specialist. I am totally confused at this point, I say my sciatica isn't really any issue at the moment, the whole reason I'm here is due to my mental health, the sciatica is pretty much gone - I don't even remember what I put, must have said something about the pain still flairs occasionally. My partner says "couldn't you have told us this an hour ago?" and she says she's only just looked at the form. That in itself is worrying, that nobody bothers to read the damned form until 2 minutes before the medical? That can't be procedure, surely. But is it even likely to be true? I suspect she just wanted to go home early as my appointment was already an hour late. Funnily enough, someone who had been waiting even longer than me walked out 1 minute later, wonder what excuse they were given. I am now very worried that next time I won't get a mental health specialist, which is what I really need. The woman didn't seem to give a monkeys about all the anxiety and stress this had all caused me. I had to sit in the car for another half hour until I felt able to drive home. My partner is going to write a complaint, for all the good it will do. Is this all part of the mind games they play?

Hello I was moved to the esa support group in August/September this year, but I received a letter from DWP this morning telling me to go and meet my job coach on the 11th January 2017. The letter says that I must take steps to prepare for a return to work when I am able and says that I must also tell them about work-related activities that I've done. They also give a warning about my payments, saying that they know how important the payments are to me! They say that they want to help me keep them, but in return I must do work-related activities. Its all very confusing to me, so can anyone help me with some advice? Thanks.

Hello I am in receipt of CB ESA with the support component having been migrated from Incapacity Benefit several years ago. I also receive DLA High Rate Mobility and High Rate Care. I had no entitlement to Income Related benefits as partner was in full time employment. New scenario - Partner has to leave employment due to chronic lung condition. We ask at Jobcentre how and who should claim. Were told partner should make separate claim for ESA which he did. Was placed in support group without a medical. When he asked for housing costs (SMI) to be included, these were added from 13th week, (this was waiting period at the time). My question is - When I advised DWP of the change of circumstances (partner leaving employment), should this have prompted a supersession exercise to establish potential entitlement to Income Related ESA, and the issue of form ESA3 ? If my claim had been made into the joint claim would SMI have been payable straight away or would I be subject to the waiting period. In addition to housing costs, several premiums would also be included in the applicable amount. I have raised this query with DWP and have a letter that says if I had made the claim for Income Based ESA, I would still have had to serve the 13 week qualifying period. Having looked online the information I have found suggests this is incorrect. Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received. Thank you.

Good evening all, I wonder if someone can advise me on the following? I'm an auxiliary nurse with the NHS. Just over 12 months ago I was struck down with Rheumatoid arthritis and was unable to work. My sick pay and SSP ran out and I have been claiming ESA since last April despite remaining employed. As my condition has improved somewhat and as I was about to be considered for medical retirement/dismissal, I took the only course open to me which was to apply for redeployment to a lighter less physical role. Such a role(Admin) became available recently and I've embarked on a one month trial. I was given a Fit note by my doctor and posted a copy to the DWP and to my HR dept. I backed this up with a phone call to DWP advising I was returning to work on 21st Nov. I also seperately advised the DWP as I had an imminent work capability assessment. I assumed this would suffice as the last thing I need is to receive any payments I'm not entitled to. However, yesterday I received the usual letter/reply paid envelope from the DWP that they send out to return your sick notes. I then checked my bank account and found I'd just received a fortnight's benefit! Is ESA paid in arrears and could I have actually been due the recent payment or do you think the DWP have just ignored my notifications and paid me by mistake? I'll obviously give them a call on Monday but right now I'm worrying

seems these guys like to kick you when you are down... and right next to christmas as well!!! i started claiming ESA at the start of june 2016 this was mainly due to problems with my back and feet. both these are constant and i am subscribed 3 different types of pain relief taken on a daily basis to try to relieve it. anyway i had waited for over 5 months for an assessment... they only pushed it along because i visited my local job center to ask why it was taking so long... as you only get put into a different bracket after the assessment i had only been getting the standard amount of money each week. today i noticed a payment for £10.45 for ESA!!! had no idea what it was for... then i get a letter in the post saying due to the assessment i am able to work and as of the 7th december my money has stopped... whilst on ESA in september i tore ligaments in my ankle caused by balance problems... i was unable to walk for a week or so. now i have to use a crutch, then i found i had a DVT a week after the fall possibly caused by the trauma to the ankle. as well as the pain killers I see a physio for my back problems and have steroid injections in my feet for the pain. my wife lost her job and started claiming JSA in november. so at the moment we do not have a lot of income. all this aside i was wondering if anyone could give me some advice... the assessment took ages and now they say i am able to work they will not pay me the money that was supposed to be back paid from the 13th/14th week after making the claim upto the assessment date. the least i was expecting was to be put in the work-related activity group and to get a couple of hundred quid back pay just before christmas i got sick notes as was asked, also had to go to A+E a number of times due to serious falls. i have been feeling low for some time now and this could be the nail on the coffin adding severe depression into the mix. i read that i can ask them to take a look at it again... there is no time frame for them to do this so i could be waiting 6 months again without any money. After they have looked at it and still said they are still not paying it i then have to appeal it and even more wait. JSA is listed as an option but if i claimed that it would be saying i am fit for work and that is not the case, that is why i applied for ESA in the first place. sorry if i rambled on a bit... any help would be welcome