i desperately need advice please.4

[claraward]

please help.i have been claiming ESA for 7 years for GAD.when i first started claiming i was with the father of my 3 kids .long story short me and my partner split 6 years ago after his one night stand daughter came a knocking for her daddy ,she was 16 at this time .we split and reconciled a few times but last september i threw him out for good ,i changed my claim to a single claim and we both moved on (although his family gave us grief).

 

 

in march this year i failed my ATOS medical and so i appealed straight away.i have rang the dwp loads of times and found out on monday this week that it has now gone to a tribunal hearing.

 

i rang the tribunal and was asked security questions to confirm my identity and when i said my address he said it was incorrect and i protested it wasnt so he updated the computer and told me a letter had been sent out to wrong address supplied by the appeals within the DWP.he ordered another letter to be sent to me and i recieved them today.on the address on the actual letter (not the envelope ) it is my ex sister inlaws address wrote there.i have never used her address for anything at all but my ex used it for his JSA claim when we split.

 

 

i rang the ESA who told me they had been given that address by the CSA (i have never dealt with the CSA at all ) on the 17th of october 2012 as my new address.

 

 

i rang CSA who said it was a system upgrade that changed my details.

this is now my major problem (sorry its so long ,but got no family to support me )

 

 

i havent spoken to my exes mum in 6 years since my exes daughter turned up on the scene and all his family played happy families with her TONIGHT out of the blue she arrived on my doorstep with all my appeal papers and two additional letters that her daughter (my exes sister who we have a restraining order out on ) had recieved to her address.all the letters were open and the pages on my appeal were in the wrong order (showing they had been read).

 

 

there is some very sensitive information in the appeal about my health and now too many people know my mobile no,house no,NI number and doctors referals to mental health teams and thier conclusions on my mental health.

PLEASE HELP ,WHOS AT FAULT HERE? my ex mother in law took satisfaction in hinting they had laughed at me .

Edited November 14, 2012 by citizenB
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[flumps1976]

It is illegal I believe to open mail that is not addressed to you.

[claraward]

the excuse was that my name wasnt showing in the window of the envelope ,but there was 3 letters all adressed to me and coffee stains on the middle of the appeal papers.i know the family well enough to know thier mentality would be to read all the letters ,that doesnt surprise me but as for the CSA and ESA they are both denying they are at fault for sending personal info to an address that has nothing to me.i have claimed ESA for 7 years at my address and dont understand how this could happen.

[estellyn]

You need to start a complaints procedure with both the CSA and DWP. Highly personal information got into the hands of the people you would least want it to for no fault of your own. I'd be horrified if detailed medical info about me got into the hands of my ex's family ( though to give them credit, whatever my issues with them, they would never open mail meant for me), so I can relate to the horror you must be feeling. The DWP and CSA between them have broken data protection law in not keeping your information safe. Maybe someone else can chime in on whether a copy of the complaint should be sent to the information commissioner?

 

http://www.ico.gov.uk/complaints/handling.aspx

 

Were it me I would be demanding compensation - especially as the personal information was sent to the address of someone you have a restraining order against. Make that fact very clear in your complaint.

[claraward]

thankyou for taking the time to reply,much appreciated.i havent actually slept yet i am so wound up.i have read the appeal papers again and again just to let it sink in to what info that family now hold about me and i am horrified.there is letters to the appeal service from my befriender who i see once a week highlighting briefly about my problems with my family history (i was with my partner 18 years and he didnt know most of it ) and about my financial worries and failing health.im distraught.

i am still in shock his mum came to my door because we have avoided the family for years even though we live on an estate where everybody knows your business .

[Nystagmite]

I am really concerned about how someone was able to change your address. I know that when I've changed details, they (DWP) have had to confirm that it's me they're speaking to.

[reallymadwoman]

I remember reading on the Parliamentart Ombudsman website about a similar case where a wrongly input change of address on, I think, HMRC's system got passed around to every other government department.

 

I am going in search of a link. Back soon.

 

http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/6411/PHSO-0108-HC-709-report-final-web-11012011.pdf

[estellyn]

It sounds as if the system upgrade by CSA, wrongly changed her address to his address. I've heard of these types of glitches happening before.

[reallymadwoman]

Having skimmed the report again, the first thing to do is make a formal complaint. Given the recommendations that the Parliamentary Ombudsman made, it should be sufficient to make one complaint and for one of the departments involved to then investigate. I think it would be easiest to make the complaint to DWP, via which ever office deals with your ESA claim.

 

You must point out that there has been a very serious breach of data protection in which sensitive personal information has been disclosed to a party who is likely to use it maliciously.

 

It would probably really help if you could get support from e.g. CAB to make your complaint. Give them the link to the report above.

[claraward]

thankyou so much for replying ,i really appreciate any advice given and intend to start the ball rolling in the morning with a clear head .theres so much ive not included here due to trying to keep my question to the point .thanks again .

[reallymadwoman]

Unless you're really good at making formal complaints I would really strongly suggest you get help with this one. Someone has made a mistake somewhere which has possibly caused you a lot of harm when the agencies involved have already been told not to allow this to happen again. In fact, I wonder if it would be worth asking your MP for help since s/he might be able to go straight to the Parliamentary Ombudsman without trying to get DWP etc to sort out their error.

 

Otherwise, try CAB or Welfare Advice if your council has them. Maybe someone else can suggest something else?

[claraward]

i have been trying to contact my CAB today because one of the ladies there helped prepare my appeal back in sep 2011 and the appeal i will attend next year.considering the dwp had my appeal since april 14th this year and its only just gone to a tribunal its been stressful enough trying to fight the decision without all this happening as well.

i will need support from her because its something ive never done before and although im very good at writing letters ,and fighting my corner i just feel worn out anyway trying to convince the dwp and atos that GAD isnt an excuse not to work.

im very concerned about my telephone numbers leaking out because my exes daughter caused me and my 3 kids a lot of grief when she first appeared on the scene and we changed our landline no 4 times in the space of the 6 years and my mobile no just as many times through harrassment.

my ex was never aware that every wednesday i saw a befriender, i told him i saw a well woman nurse so that his family wouldnt find out (they are vile people), but in my appeal papers my befrienders letter is there stating some of what we discussed at our meetings and my mental health nuirses letters are there so its just a matter of time until comments are thrown my way .thankyou for listening .