ESA - Desperately Seeking Help

[Downer111]

After hitting a dead end brick wall ,i have come onto here to seek some assistance .

 

I had a medical test on the 21/11/12 and called atos and had it changed to the 28/11/12 ,

My GP faxed a letter to atos requesting a home vist ,After this period i recieved a form asking why i did not attend the medical,

I explained my gp had sent in the information required and atos did not get back to me in time .

 

Fast forward to january this year ,my ESA was stopped by a decision maker ,i phoned up straight away and was told i could not appeal the decision and althought it could be a mistake on their part i could only make a new claim for benefit .

I made a new claim for ESA which turned into a rapid reclaim ( 17/01/13 ),i recieved a letter requesting my wifes birth certificate which i sent in straight away ,then i heard nothing ,after phoning up they said they required a new medical certificate ,so i sent a new medical certificate ,after numerous calls they told me i will have the decision last wed 6/2/13 ,i called in on thursday after not recieving any letter of a decision or otherwise.

 

I was told i would get a 3 hour ring back ,which did not happen and the office closed for the night ,i rang 8 am on the 8/2/13 and was told i would get a 1 hour ring back ,it didnt happen ,so i called at 10am and was told it would be elavated to a manager and i will get the ring back in an hour ,it didnt happen again ,so i called at 11:30am and was told i would get a call back by 12:30 it didnt happen ,after two more attempts i finally got a call back and the lady on the otherside just didnt want to know about my problems and said that the decision will be made by next friday she told me atos did not send the letter from gp back asking for the medical so she deemed it didnt exist ,she said i shouldve appealed and not made a new claim as i was advised and now 1 month had elapsed i couldnt appeal .she said i should fax through the doctors letter and mark it to the attention of the appeals section.

 

Yesterday on the 11/02/13 i called the citizens advice and they said they dont have any appointments to help deal with my claim and closest one i have got is next monday .

Today on the 12/02/13 i called up the office again ,after no call back within 3 hours and having to call again for a 1 hour call back i recieved a call ,The person from the benefits delivery center told me that a decision was made and until i attend a medical i would not recieve payment of any kind ,i told her everything which happened ,she said the gp letter from friday wasnt recieved and if i could get another one faxed to the attention of petra.

I went to my gp office and my doctor and secretary were furious and she said she had faxed that document through herself ,yet they refaxed it to the attention of petra .I went to my local mp and his secretary said my mp will write a letter on my behalf he took a copy of the doctors letter too .

 

After coming home i phone the dwp to ask them if they had recieved the fax and they said my notes werent updated ,

and i will recieve a 1 hour call back ,it didnt happen .

 

I'm so stuck with a 1 year old and 4 year old ,making ends meet with esa is hard enough and now i really feel like im rock bottom ,

i'm getting letters of eviction from the local housing office as my housing benefit has been suspended since january ,and my bills are falling into arrears ,i dont have savings or anything to use ,i've used the 3 crisis loans they give you per year .

 

I cant sleep at night and really feel like this is the end ,theres nothing more i can do .

[SWLABR9]

You should be telling all this to your MP, that's what they're there for. I believe too you need to fill in a nil income form from the council to get your housing benefit and you'll need to try to get it backdated to when it was first stopped obviously. The rest your MP should deal with. Write everything down you can remember about all this as soon as you can and keep a diary of what's happening till this is resolved. That's all I can advise personally. Is there a welfare rights officer local to you? They'd be worth contacting. I'm sure others here will offer more advice.

[Downer111]

Just recieved a call from the BDC ,

the person asked why the date on the gp letter was the 28/11/12 same date as my atos appointment ,i explained it was the nearest date i could get from my gp,after the original was changed from the 21/11/12 . It was a non emergency appointment i.e not health related ,she asked me to get a fax reciept from my gp and i got no idea if my gp even stores the fax receipts.

The call ended with her saying she will take the letter up to the DM and see if the decision can be overturned .

It's not looking hopeful as i am at their mercy.

 

 

 

EDIT : -

 

 

Just called the call center and the person said my claim has been filed back to the new claims department pending a decision

what does this mean ?

 

thanks

Edited February 13, 2013 by Downer111

[**Margaret**]

:Hello Downer111:

 

What an appalling catalogue of errors. From Atos (par for the course) and what's known as official error from Jobcentreplus. Hopefully the call you received earlier will lead to a quick reconsideration in your favour but if not:

 

http://www.trusselltrust.org/map

 

Entitlement to housing benefit depends on low income, not being in receipt of benefits. As :SWLABR9: advises; contact your local authority, explain what's happened and ask for a nil income form. Some councils have specific forms for claimants who've been disallowed benefits, others use general change of circumstances forms.

 

Disallowance for failure to attend a work capability assessment is an appealable decision and until the rules change in April, Jobcentreplus has to consider a late appeal. GL24 form, available on request from your benefit delivery centre or downloadable from the internet. Reason for the late appeal? You were misadvised by Jobcentreplus! It happens. Come back to us if you need help with an appeal.

 

Should the reconsideration not go in your favour I'll be back with some advice about trying to speed up the work capability assessment for the new claim.

 

Sincerely, Margaret.

 

On this occasion, ignore the call centre. The operator's just told you what's showing on his/her screen. It's limited info which may not be up to date.

Edited February 13, 2013 by **Margaret**

[Downer111]

Thanks SWLABR9 and thanks Margret ,

it gives me an idea of how to battle against them (feels like a battle) ,its so hard because they are deliberately trying to trip me up .

should i ring them asap for the GL24 form or wait until the new decision comes through ?

[**Margaret**]

: Downer111:

 

Assuming you can't print a GL24 from the internet I'd phone for one soon as poss. Better to have it and not need it, rather than the other way round.

 

Regards, Margaret.

[Downer111]

I called up the call center for a 3 hour call back yesterday at 12pm , the call didnt come ,so i called this morning and they said i would get a 1 hour call back which didnt happen ,so i called again and despite being told a 1 hour call back will happen it didnt happen.

 

I searched the internet for a direct number to basildon benefit delivery center and spoke to a manager who said they would get a call back to me asap, within 45 minutes i recieved a call from the most aggressively charged phone advisor ever ,

 

She said the decision on my new claim by the DM is until i attend a medical it will not go into payment ,she said the claim which was closed down if its in an appeal stage then i will recieve a decision seperately ,i asked if it is in a appeal stage and she said she could not comment .

 

I explained i had no food/gas ( only cold water ) but she didnt care ,she said i should go on JSA as its only way i could get money,i said im not well enough to be on JSA and how could i sign the agreement on JSA if i cant work ,she said its something i need to take up with them ,I'm not even sure if they lodged an appeal against my original claim .

 

I informed her i could not get a crisis loan because i had 3 already and she said i should go find somewhere where i could food parcels ,I told her the DM is playing god with mine and my families lives and they probably want me dead to which she replied thats a threat and she will inform the police ,

 

I managed to request a appeal form prior to her hanging on up me ,she said i was getting a bit loud and to be honest maybe i was getting fustrated ,week after week of being lead on and then being told this .

My phone bill will be through the roof too now

 

Dont feel human cos i havent been treated like one ,if it werent for the look on my kids faces i wouldve gave up ages ago .

 

Monday i have an appointment with citizens advice they seem to be my last hope .

Edited February 15, 2013 by honeybee13
Spacing.

[Guest]

Basildon I can say from personal experience are the most rude and offensive people I ever had the misfortune of speaking to. I emailed ministers@dwp and told them about the situation and how I had been treated. For me it was too late to avoid tribunal as they had already passed it on, so there wasn't much could be done, although I got an apology, and went on to win the tribunal.....if I ever speak to any one at that office again and get the same treatment I will email the ministers@dwp straight off, and play merry hell. CAB is a good idea. As for the other bunch, from my experience is that if they will make you feel as you describe, its not personal, they did it to me and probably many others. Take strength from this and get advice, appeal, complain way above their heads, draw attention to it, and don't take it!!!

 

Good luck for Monday......and remember on here is good advice and others who really do know how you are feeling, having been there.

[Downer111]

Thanks for the reply ,some additional information : -

 

i suffer from severe depression and my partner suffers from depression and hyperthyrodism ,we both take alot of medication for our conditions ,we have 2 children under 5.

 

Can we claim income support ,is it worth trying to claim income support while all this is going on ?

 

want to know what my options are

 

thanks

[**Margaret**]

:Hello Downer111:

 

Afraid I've not much to offer for now except sympathy and clarification of what you were told on Friday.

 

From what you've written you don't have a live appeal. Technically the 'appeal' that you requested by phone is a reconsideration of the decision by a decision maker to see if it can be revised. For appeals to be 'duly made' they have to be submitted in writing; either a letter or a completed GL24. Did you receive a copy of the form? If not, Citizens Advice may be able to give you one.

 

Following a disallowance of benefit for failure to attend an assessment it's normal procedure to withhold payment of a new claim until there's a decision of limited capability for work.

 

One possibility that's occurred to me to speed up some payment (I'm fairly sure it can be done but not 100% certain) is for you to close your new claim and get your wife to claim instead, assuming the closed claim was for both of you. Ask Citizens Advice?

 

Basic info about income support can be found at;

http://www.gov.uk/income-support/eligibility

But you can't make a new claim solely for disability.

 

Best wishes, Margaret.