ESA ...here we go again

[spots1]

Well here we go again ...been on ESA and now have a second form sent to fill in :/ ....can someone tell me have they changed the form since last year as it seems different :/

 

Are the discriptors the same or are there new ones for 2012-2013 ?

[reallymadwoman]

Can't answer about the form but the current descriptors are in schedules 1 and 2 here:- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/228/contents/made. I believe they did change at the beginning of last year.

 

Do you have a copy of your last form or the medical report from your last assessment?

[spots1]

Thank you RMW for that ...have the medical from last one... but sadly not the form from last time ... thought I had copied it and other half posted it before I had found out I had`nt ...was busy making sure copies of medical evidence was done

[reallymadwoman]

You could try ringing DWP and asking them for a copy, but I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for them to send it.

[**Margaret**]

Employment and Support Allowance Descriptors:

 

The descriptors, and the ESA50 form, changed from 28 March 2011.

 

A written subject access request to Jobcentreplus will get you a copy of your last ESA50 form, and any other info you want from your claim history, eventually! They don't charge for subject access requests.

 

In theory Jobcentreplus have forty days to comply with your request but like everything else ...... I waited fifty-seven days for a recent request. Don't be tempted to delay returning the ESA50.

 

Written by :leemack: there's a guide to completing the first part of the ESA50 among the stickies.

 

Best wishes, Margaret.

 

Edit:

 

Whilst a letter is fine, I've just remembered the downloadable subject access request form on the Work n Pensions website.

 

Unfortunately :leemack: couldn't finish the second part of the guide.

 

Good luck with the form, Margaret.

Edited August 24, 2012 by **Margaret**

[spots1]

Cheers Margaret

Have only just over 2weeks to get the form back and it only came this week ! So in theory the form has to be there filled in before I would get the first one back from a SAR ....it really is so annoying that the time limits are so tight...pity they don`t have the same time limits on getting their facts together and doing the job right !

 

I will be looking at all the discriptors thanks ...had a recon last time GP & Mental Health were not amused that they were not contacted

[spots1]

Oh and still they have not put anywhere on the form that you are able to request a Recorded Atos Assesment !!!!!...they must think we don`t believe what is said and written about us

[Nystagmite]

There should be a box at the end - extra information, I think it's called. I wrote it in there.

[reallymadwoman]

I put mine in the box about special arrangements for the assessment, right at the beginning.

[osdset]

I put mine in the box about special arrangements for the assessment, right at the beginning.

 

I would do that

There should be a box at the end - extra information, I think it's called. I wrote it in there.

I would do that as well

 

I have one of those cheap rubber stamp thingies that you can rearrange the letters to spell out an address or whatever, so that's I WANT MY ASSESSMENT TO BE RECORDED stamped on every bit of blank space on the form and the back of the envelope.

[reallymadwoman]

I would do that

 

I would do that as well

 

I have one of those cheap rubber stamp thingies that you can rearrange the letters to spell out an address or whatever, so that's I WANT MY ASSESSMENT TO BE RECORDED stamped on every bit of blank space on the form and the back of the envelope.

 

[Dilizjo]

I would do that

 

I would do that as well

 

I have one of those cheap rubber stamp thingies that you can rearrange the letters to spell out an address or whatever, so that's I WANT MY ASSESSMENT TO BE RECORDED stamped on every bit of blank space on the form and the back of the envelope.

 

Love it:D

[osdset]

One thing to bear in mind, as of some time next year we will all be migrated onto the doomed-to-fail-disaster-waiting-to-happen that is Universal Credit, and this latest government waste of time is digital by default, I can see this working initially to start a claim but what about forms like the ESA50, will they then be in PDF format? What about supporting evidence, and sick notes? Will the DWP accept a scanned sick note that has not been validated and faxed over by JCP as is the system now?

 

 

I think not, it's going to be horrendous, a mixture of online form filling, and frustrated phone calls to BDC's who will automatically refer the claimant back to the internet, there is still bound to be actual paperwork to fill in and send off, or will GP's for instance now e mail sick notes direct to the DWP? What's been put in place, does anyone know? Does the government even know?

 

The BDC's are currently snowed under with claims, and appeals log jamming the system are we to believe that all this will miraculously be sorted before UC gets rolled out? It ain't gonna happen.

 

Digital by default = Disaster by default.

[spots1]

you do cheer me up ...universal credit ...I dread to think:madgrin:

[count orlok]

To say nothing of all the appeals that are going to be required to decide what a bedroom is and how many rooms are needed. I live with my wife in a 3 bedroomed house, but medically we need 2 rooms, and the 3rd room in the house is not big enough to legally be called a bedroom (it is a box room), plus we have 2 very big walk in cupboards. So how many unneeded rooms do we have?

[spots1]

So I have sent the 2nd ESA50 form back complete with med reports that never get read

I have put on the form begininnig and end that recorded assessment required if I have to have another one

 

Now if I have an appointment sent will it or should it say that it will be recorded ...and if it don`t have that info on what should be the correct way in telling them I will not attend without recieving a sanction

Can I request they put into writing that it`s their fault and not mine

 

NOT THAT I DON`T TRUST THEM COS THAT WOULD BE SHAMEFUL OF ME

[reallymadwoman]

It's quite acceptable to insist that ATOS put everything in writing, however they 'may' ignore you. I've stopped phoning and email customer services instead to avoid this problem.

 

The general trend seems to be that if your assessment will be recorded it will say so on the appointment letter.

[Dilizjo]

You can request that they confirm it is their fault in writing, which I did, but it was not until my MP got involved in my ATOS "I want my assessment to be recorded" saga that I actually got it. They tend to shy away from taking any responsibility for their actions until pushed into a corner.

[**Margaret**]

spots1:

 

Am truly shamed and for my utter lack of faith in the Atossers. Not.

Could be something to do with the partially upheld complaint we've got against them.

 

Jumped off DWATO's call centre roundabout years ago. Way, way too stressful and nothing in writing. Earlier this year, in response to receipt of a standed appointment, I sent a simple letter to my local Atos office to ask that it be recorded. Two days later, they sent written confirmation that it'd been cancelled. So far, haven't heard from them again. However you'll note from above that DWATO's policy is far from consistent.

 

Unfairly (more inconsistency) some people are forced to choose between a non recorded assessment and risking a failure to attend. Hope it doesn't happen to you, or any of us, but you may like to think about what you'd do in that situation.

 

Sincerely, Margaret.

Edited September 15, 2012 by **Margaret**

[debt4get]

To say nothing of all the appeals that are going to be required to decide what a bedroom is and how many rooms are needed. I live with my wife in a 3 bedroomed house, but medically we need 2 rooms, and the 3rd room in the house is not big enough to legally be called a bedroom (it is a box room), plus we have 2 very big walk in cupboards. So how many unneeded rooms do we have?

i would think that they will assess it as, if you can hammer in 2 nails and hang a hammock from said nails, then it will be classed as a bedroom LOL