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It's unclear if my ESA health assessment (in 2 days) has been cancelled or not

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1 month 1 week ago #289272 by May
Hello,

It's unclear if my ESA health assessment appointment (in 2 days) has been cancelled or not, and I have nothing in writing.

I had a phone call yesterday from the Maximum health assessment people, a local branch of it. A very nice girl told me apologetically that my health assessment appointment this week has been cancelled (because they have no doctor on that day, and I need to be assessed by a doctor, she said). She said it was their fault entirely and that they would send a "CBAP" to the DWP to let the DWP know that they had cancelled the appointment, not me. They said I would get a new appointment notification in the post.

This morning I decided to call the DWP to confirm that the appointment had been cancelled. The DWP didn't have any cancellation in their system. (Alarm bells started ringing in my head.) I told them all about the phone call yesterday, and they said they were putting a note of that in their system. They read out the note, and I thought it didn't fully explain that Maximus had cancelled the appointment, so I asked them to fix that, and I thought their response was a little vague. I wish I'd followed that up and asked them to read the new comment, but I felt the normal social pressure to not make a fuss.

Then I called Maximus. They said there was no cancellation in their central system, and they confirmed that my appointment is still in their system! They gave me the number to call the local branch that called me yesterday.

So I called the local branch (the one that had called me yesterday). I told them all this, and they said....the appointment was still in their own system, and had not been cancelled in their system "because I hadn't confirmed". I explained that they had called me to cancel it, and that I had accepted that, and said I was giving an official confirmation now that I had gotten that message. The girl said she would update it in their system.

What is going on?! I'm asking myself if this is just an innocent admin tangle or is it an attempt to mess around with my health assessment somehow...! It feels weird that engaging with the DWP makes one so suspicious.

My question here is:
What should I do now? I don't have anything at all in writing about them cancelling my appointment. They said I'll get a new appointment letter in the post, but my assessment appointment is / was for 2 days time. I can keep ringing them all, all I like, but there's nothing in writing.

Thank you.

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1 month 6 days ago #289303 by BIS
Hi May

It's an admin mess and incredibly stressful for you, but don't waste time thinking it is a deliberate attempt to upset you. It isn't, but I understand why you would feel that way.

I would write to the DWP just to confirm the conversation you had with them and what Maximus have told you and ask them to add it to your records. That way - you know there is a written record of your dealings from your point of view.]
Keep a copy of the letter for your own records.

BIS

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: Sheila 966

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