Esa stopped cos hubby moved in

[Mrmagoooo]

hi

thanks to all who have replied and Bribones it was very sweet and thoughtful of you to reply it means a lot , they made me do a "new claim" this time a "ESA" claim and asked me to fill it out a small form (thought it would have been those huge ones) and also insisted i get a medical certificate from my doctor which they wanted it backdated to 8 weeks (2 months !) luckily i had made an appointment with my GP as with my DR he is usually fully booked for 6 weeks , Doctors appointment nightmare as usual ,

So after i sent that in to the ESA (they told me nothing would be paid until i sent it in) i almost lost my house i was given a reposession order and if it had not been for my granmother who loaned me money i wouldnt have my house and there is still no guarantee as they have put a "hold" on the court case for respossesion order they want to monitor my payments (im a council tennant)

And after 6 weeks with no money and 2 crisis loans later they awarded me the new claim for ESA and i had a cheque for £732 backdated money ,im on a reduced rate i get £30 a week less as for my old claim i have put an appeal in but im unsure wether that will now make a difference as they have me on this new ESA one now , do they put you back on your old claim if your appeal is succesfull ? if anyone knows ,

What is strange to me is on the sheet "How your money is worked out" it says im getting "Severe Disablement allowance" which i had before ,

now if they give me this but then say "fill out this form for us to determine if you are sick or not" they contradict themselves and confuse the heck out of me !

They,ve sent me the huge form to fill in to determine if im fit for work or not and also im on a "13 week assessment phase" it said on the notes about claiming ESA that after the 8th week ill have an initial work focused interview with my persoanl advisor (whoever that is) (dont these people think at all , if i was able to go to meetings with this personal advisor id defo without questions go out and have my old normal life again and i wouldnt have a need to make the claim in the 1st place !

Im worried about filling out this form incase i dont put things right as im told if you dont put your illness in the way "they want it to be" it makes things worse

today would have been my partners birthday and i hate this time of year as the anniversary of his death is the beginning of next month ,its how all this started its 7 years because he died in a car accident it affects me daily ,if anyone i love goes in the car somewhere i get into the worse state possible thinking and even waiting for the dreaded knock on the door to say ive lost them and ive got to fill out that form and say everything about this over again

 

I'm sorry but is it just me who thinks there's something wrong with this? Why would they put someone on ESA when they're appealing against an IB decision? They're two different benefits. If receiving incapacity credits only they should be put on the IS reduced rate until the appeal is resolved, although in this case shouldn't the IB be reinstated then he be called back for a medical?

 

It's almost like they ignored your appeal for IB and made you make a fresh claim, i.e- ESA.

 

Any word on the IB appeal?

[Bribones]

this is what makes me think there trying a backdoor route to avoid backdating any monies,by changing the claim they avoid any costs involved in backdating if the appeal is granted,id query why there going this route if an appeal is active

[ThePonderer]

OK, well as long as we are all coming out of the closet, put me down as another suffering with this wretched thing.

 

I got a few other issues physically too and it makes life just a bit uphill to say the least. I have no support network at all.

 

I can well imagine how this is making you feel. People could not imagine how bad this thing gets. It's totally draining.

 

I wish us all good luck and boy do we need it. I've never come across a specific support group for agoraphobia and have been looking for years.

 

Even the definitions of it found online are woefully short on knowledge, they omit loads of 'orrible effects it can have on you.

[banksarggg]

They told me that because my claim had been stopped and that i would not get any money while the appeal was going on,and was told to claim esa otherwise id have nothing,i personally think that its there way of getting me on esa as they want everyone off IB ! , i find it weird that although ive given them my bank details they are stil sending me a "Giro" every fortnight and my 3 month sick note runs out on the 15th they havent sent a reminder letter , and they want that huge form filled in by the 28th july ! ,ive not heard nothing at all about my appeal ,il ring them later on to see whats happening, thanks all

[banksarggg]

Had a letter back from the DWP telling me "No Change" in there decision and that its going to a tribunal , they told me they didnt think my reasons were good enough (i put down as much as i could about why i didnt attend "panic attacks" etc) they even had the cheek to put "this person ACCEPTED the appointment for the medical " more like i was told "NO home visit and if i didnt accept the appointment they would stop my money"

and it says there isnt enough evidence supporting my panic attacks etc !!

i dont know where i am with them i really dont

[doktorjohn]

I was on IB/Income Support, had it stopped after an assessment in March 2010 and I was told I would get my IB/Income Support minus 20% and minus the Disability Premium. And I don't have to send any med certs in.

 

I was on £91 per week and now it's £52 per week up to the tribunal.

 

dj

[banksarggg]

Hi All Again ,

i Asked The DWP To look at there decision at stopping my claim and they said they will not change it , sent me loads of pages of all my claims etc (doesnt really make sense) ,

What i wanted to know is because they made me do a new claim ESA , and i had to give them a medical certificate and it was for 3 months ,

 

Its due to run out on the 15th july but they havent sent me any reminders , havent said they need another one ,

 

Do they normally send you reminder letters as im not sure now if i need to send another in or not , its really hard to get an appointment with my DR as he is always fully booked

any help gladly appreciated

[RaeUK]

Hi banksarggg,

I presume, from your post, that you're currently in the assessment phase of ESA.

From my experience it's a case of yes they do sometimes but certainly not always. I always make a note in my diary when I'm due to send off another medical certificate. At the end of the day I look at it this way: No covering certificate, no ESA. So I make sure it's one thing I'm on top of.

If yours runs out tomorrow (15th) then you need to get your skates on!

Give your local BDC a ring and ask when it runs out (I know you know) then apologise profusely and ask if you can fax the new one to them from the surgery (my BDC will allow this, others apparently may not) then get down the docs asap. Your ESA will stop until you renew your certificate...

Best wishes

Rae

Edited July 14, 2010 by RaeUK

[honeybee13]

Hi there. For what it's worth, I too wouldn't count on being reminded about certificates. Hopefully you can organise something shortly. Can you ring the surgery and speak to your doctor's secretary? That works well at my surgery.

 

HB

[speedfreek]

They sent me a reminder letter after I called them to ask them to check when I needed to send a new one in.

 

So reminding them to remind you seams to work well!

 

Give em a call as they may hold payments until the note is received (has something to do with when you're next due to be paid by them)

 

Unless you can fax it across (?) it will take 7-10 days before they receive/process it.

 

I scan a copy of all my fit notes to PC, plus note the date in my ESA file and call up 7-10 days to check receipt by ESA folks.

[banksarggg]

hi

Thanks all ,

my doctors surgery i know if i ring up at 8.30am i can get the same day appointment luckily my money isnt due till the 22nd july so hopefully they will get it in time , i have a family member who goes to tescos and copies my medical certificate incase they do the "we have not recieved it" which happened to me in the past and my doctor told me to do a copy ,

 

i had a letter off them this morning saying that they are awaiting my "ESA50" form they told me they wanted it back on the 28th july , so ive made sure ive taken my time in answering every question right (before i never used to put everything down)

 

its funny there quick enough to write a reminder for the form to be filled in yet a reminder for a medical certificate they dont do ,

 

i know they used to send a reminder , i just wasnt sure if they did anymore ,

 

i still find it strange how they are still paying me by "Giro Cheque" even though ive supplied my bank details to them ,

anyone else had this ?

 

Thanks again i really do appreciate the time people give

[Two4Tuesday]

Regarding your last point, I gave the DWP my Post Office card account details for them to pay in my DLA but they kept paying by Giro.

 

A few weeks ago, I got into contact with them after getting a letter about providing bank details for benefit payments, and it seems that while they had input my full bank details onto their system, they didn't complete the process. They fixed it and now my DLA is correctly going straight into my card account.

 

Give them a ring and let them know. It should be easy for them to solve.

[antone]

Until quite recently, I processed ESA for a living. Here's my main point: do not assume you will get a reminder letter when your medical certificate is about to expire. You might, the computer system is supposed to send those letters, but they are regarded as a courtesy, it is your responsibility to make sure you have provided the appropriate medical evidence.

 

If you've provided bank details but still been paid by giro, call your Benefit Delivery Centre. It's possible that the payment you've received was issued before they were able to update your payment details (payments are normally issued three working days before they are due to be received), but you'd want to be sure.

 

The ESA50 reminders are issued by a different computer system, and (as it happens) a much more modern and reliable one. I could explain more about this, but it's really not very interesting But I'm glad to hear you are taking the ESA50 seriously. A lot of people don't, and that's a big mistake.

[banksarggg]

i resheduled a medical with atos cos of the state of my mind , my next one is tomorrow but ive had so much bad things going on that i really cant go , its mostly down to fear as im agrophobic i aint slept properly in days because its all i can think of , my heart is beating and im getting all worked up the fear is so stupid i feel really angry with myself thinking why cant i just go like everyone else

i really dont know what to do , and as i got an appeal going on because they stopped my incapacity benefit and they,ve put me on ESA and the medical is because ive been on it for 13weeks (will my appeal be successful if im now on esa cos i thought i was appealing to be put back on the money i was having wont it just confuse matters ?

i was hoping news of the appeal would have come through and i wouldnt have to go to the medical

ive tried so many times to tell them "Im agrophobic its on my medical records" but it falls on deaf ears

if any one can help much appreciated

[tinafromeast]

I wish I had some advice to give........but I've no idea how to help

 

I simply want to send you a hug and hope that somebody can help you x

[banksarggg]

Thanks tinafromeast much apprecaied

just want to know if you can cancel a 2nd appointment (as in if you cancelled the 1st one and reschedule and i reschedule another appointment )

[mazbck]

I had to miss my 2nd appointment due to illness(1st one clashed wiht a hospital appointment), and the jobcentre called and asked why, told them my OH couldnt get through to ATOS on the day to cancel(he had been trying to call for most of the morning with no answer at ATOS) and they have now sent out a letter to say call them to make another medical.

 

I had to appeal the 1st medical a year ago, to which I won and was put into the support group, so I can see me having to appeal again.

[banksarggg]

so its ok to reschedule another one if i say im ill will they want a doctors note backing this up ?

thanks

[mazbck]

I think it should be but not 100% sure, I would also call your advisor at the JCP and tell them what is happening to be on the safe side.

[Penny For Them]

Please be careful when cancelling ATOS medicals as DWP can stop benefit without warning. My cousin who suffers with depression, had this done to her after the second cancellation. Her benefit was reinstated after her GP wrote a letter confirming that she was ill. Despite the letter, ATOS still sent out another appointment.

 

In view of your state of mind and the agrophobia, ask your GP to write a letter, requesting ATOS make a reasonable adjustment by conducting a medical at your home. Ensure you have someone with you when ATOS calls to conduct the medical. Get the person to ask the Doctor what is their speciality. If it is anything other than mental health, ask them what experience they have in this area. You never know how useful this information can be in the future.

 

I know it is easier said than done but try not to worry.

 

Best wishes

[Helen2264]

"Im agrophobic its on my medical records" but it falls on deaf ears

if any one can help much appreciated

 

I feel for you I am agoraphopic too and suffer from panic attacks I have all the symptoms you have most of the times I speak to my doctor on the telephone because I am tired of having panic attacks in her surgery yes I agree with you it all falls on deaf ears I will have a medical soon as I am filling my IB50 form but this time round I am prepare to fight, if you are very bad I believe they do come to your house to do the medical make it clear when you ring the medical people tell them about your agoraphobia and that you cannot get out your house you should speak to the dwp first before you speak to Atos and you might also get more sympathy out of the dwp than Atos, Atos gave me 1 week to fill in my IB form I rang the dwp department they gave me a month and I agree also with another poster make sure the person that will give you the medical are qualify with regards to your illness my last medical I had a woman that speak ten to the dozen and type at 100 miles per hour without giving me a glance or a proper medical please try and be calm and think to yourself you are fighting for you.

 

take care

[banksarggg]

Hi thanks all

i appreciate all of you for taking the time and effort , i rang to try and cancel and the person said that they were not able to do it on there pc he said he would make a note on his computer and they will send a form asking why i didnt attend

but im so scared to do that just incase my money gets stopped ,

ive tried saying to them that im agraphobic but they just tell me on the phone that if i dont make an appointment my money will stop and they cant do a home visit

[catkin417]

Hi

I knw what you are going through i can only suggest like the others you contact your GP and get a letter of support that you require a home visit.

If you have a CPN see if they can do a letter also.

You say you are appealing the IB medical decision.

As far as i am aware you can claim IS whilst waiting rather than ESA. To qualify for IS they would have to take into account if you have a partner and their income.

[Mrs E Blackadder]

Hi banksarggg,

 

as you can see from here there are plenty of us who suffer from the likes of anxiety, depression and agorophobia so please don't torture yourself by thinking that everyone else can do it and you can't!! You are certainly not alone and those of us who know how you feel will empathise with you thoroughly.

 

Can you get out at all, even if just for a short distance, or perhaps you would cope better in a car rather than on public transport? (To this day I still can't travel on a bus more than about 2 stops without having to get off in a panic) My thought is that perhaps you could manage it if you had a good friend or supportive family member who could go with you. Only you, of course, have any idea whether or not this is practical or even possible. If it isn't, then the general opinion of most people is that your GP should write and explain just how impossible it is for you to get out. As your GP knows you and your situation I think they would be more than prepared to put things in writing.

 

Best of luck, and try not to worry too much. Yes, easier said than done, but just remember that some of us know exactly how you feel and I hope that, in itself, makes you feel a little better.

[Penny For Them]

Did you take the name of the person who advised you that ATOS cannot do a home visit? ATOS can and have made home visits following a GP's recommendation. The failing to attend a medical form you describe above is used by a decision maker to determine whether or not they should stop your benefit.