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Urgent WCA help needed
- Monti
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8 years 3 weeks ago #155553 by Monti
Urgent WCA help needed was created by Monti
Hi. I have a WCA appointment on Friday 8th April. It has been delayed 4 times as they kept wanting more and more Dr's letters because I requested a home visit as I have had that before when ATOS were in charge. I have Degenerative Disc Disease in my back, am in constant pain on morphine, use 2 crutches, have severe depression, arthirtis in my knees, Hidradenitis Supperativa and IBS.
Despite my Dr writing a letter to say I am unable to travel in a taxi they are refusing a home visit and saying they will send a cab. The only way to avoid it is to get more letters from my Dr's but it takes 3 weeks to see a named Dr at my surgery (one who actually knows anything about my history). They said the other option is not to turn up and they will send me a form to fill in. Will they stop my money in the meantime? I have no idea what to do, I am at my wits end and seriously cannot take anymore. Please can someone advise me.
Despite my Dr writing a letter to say I am unable to travel in a taxi they are refusing a home visit and saying they will send a cab. The only way to avoid it is to get more letters from my Dr's but it takes 3 weeks to see a named Dr at my surgery (one who actually knows anything about my history). They said the other option is not to turn up and they will send me a form to fill in. Will they stop my money in the meantime? I have no idea what to do, I am at my wits end and seriously cannot take anymore. Please can someone advise me.
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8 years 3 weeks ago - 8 years 3 weeks ago #155555 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Urgent WCA help needed
Monti
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
I'm afraid your options are limited, decisions on where a face to face are to be held are at the discretion of Maximus.
First of all, is this your first appointment or have you re-arranged or missed a previous one?
If it is your first appointment then you can cancel this appointment without it having an effect on your benefit.
However, if this is your second appointment due to your non attendance, as opposed to Maximus cancelling any previous appointments, then failing to attend this appointment will result in your file being returned to the DWP. They should write to you for an explanation of why you have failed to attend, but if they do not accept your reasons then your claim will be closed. This is an appealable Decision but could take months to resolve with no guarantee that they will find in your favour.
As your GP has already written one letter why you cannot use a taxi, it would seem unlikely that a second letter will have much effect although I would still source one if you can, it may be that the phraseology that your GP has used has left the question open!
I would contact your MP for their support, it is surprising how often decision get changed when they become involved. See
Contacting your MP
I would recommend that that you have a good read of our ESA Claim guides, the ESA50 you completed is a poor reflection of the ESA Descriptors that you will actually be assessed against. See
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
If you have further questions then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
I'm afraid your options are limited, decisions on where a face to face are to be held are at the discretion of Maximus.
First of all, is this your first appointment or have you re-arranged or missed a previous one?
If it is your first appointment then you can cancel this appointment without it having an effect on your benefit.
However, if this is your second appointment due to your non attendance, as opposed to Maximus cancelling any previous appointments, then failing to attend this appointment will result in your file being returned to the DWP. They should write to you for an explanation of why you have failed to attend, but if they do not accept your reasons then your claim will be closed. This is an appealable Decision but could take months to resolve with no guarantee that they will find in your favour.
As your GP has already written one letter why you cannot use a taxi, it would seem unlikely that a second letter will have much effect although I would still source one if you can, it may be that the phraseology that your GP has used has left the question open!
I would contact your MP for their support, it is surprising how often decision get changed when they become involved. See
Contacting your MP
I would recommend that that you have a good read of our ESA Claim guides, the ESA50 you completed is a poor reflection of the ESA Descriptors that you will actually be assessed against. See
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
If you have further questions then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 8 years 3 weeks ago by Gordon.
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8 years 3 weeks ago #155579 by Monti
Replied by Monti on topic Urgent WCA help needed
I have had home visits in the past years but this particular assessment has been postponed for the 4th time by them so that I could gather further medical information, which they have chosen to ignore anyway.
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8 years 3 weeks ago #155580 by Monti
Replied by Monti on topic Urgent WCA help needed
We used to have our MP's secretary who we could contact for help but she seems to have left and I have no idea who the new one is. Jo Johnson takes forever to reply to mails.
This one assessment has been postponed 3 times before by Maximus to allow me to get more info from my Dr which they have chosen to ignore.
This one assessment has been postponed 3 times before by Maximus to allow me to get more info from my Dr which they have chosen to ignore.
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8 years 3 weeks ago #155597 by Gordon
Make sure that you emphasise the timescales that you are having to work to.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Urgent WCA help needed
Monti wrote: We used to have our MP's secretary who we could contact for help but she seems to have left and I have no idea who the new one is. Jo Johnson takes forever to reply to mails.
This one assessment has been postponed 3 times before by Maximus to allow me to get more info from my Dr which they have chosen to ignore.
Make sure that you emphasise the timescales that you are having to work to.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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8 years 3 weeks ago #155604 by Monti
Replied by Monti on topic Urgent WCA help needed
Thanks. I mailed him today with details of the appointment date and asking for urgent help.
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