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Help needed please - ESA 0 points

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7 years 5 months ago #169174 by Tayfun
Help needed please - ESA 0 points was created by Tayfun
Hi

Have just recently joined and would like help and advice on appealing my mothers recent 0 points decision for her existing ESA support group benefit.

My mum has been on ESA support group for over 10 years (it was income support but then migrated to ESA a few years ago). She also receives PIP on enhanced daily living which was only assessed last year!

My mum has been suffering with severe depression since my fathers death which affects her daily activities. There are days when she struggles to even leave her bed and suffers from daily incontinence. She also suffers from frequent falls which has resulted fractures and sprains

We received a form to complete which I did using pass copies of her form and subsequently received a F2F assessment appointment. I attended the assessment with my mum to translate for her and provide support. The assessment lasted only 15 minutes, naively I thought that the assessor could quite clearly see her condition and that they already had all the evidence and statements from her form.

To our shock the decision letter arrived and she has been awarded 0 points. The decision letter contains false statements for each activity as the assessor has quite clearly falsified our verbal statements and furthermore some of the related questions were not even asked during the assessment. For example the report claims that my mum suffers from no incontinence whereas this is completely untrue and this question was not even asked furthermore we quire clearly stated this on our forms!

My mum is in now total shock and distress and is now convinced that she will be homeless as her housing benefit has now also been stopped. I have obtained a small letter from our GP who confirms my mums conditions and her incontinence and the fact that she needs support for her daily living activities.

I will be submitting a mandatory reconsideration request as stated but don't know where to begin (I have looked at the guide but seems more geared towards tribunals), as my mums sole child I am completely stressed and worried. Do I mention the false assessor comments? Can I write the letter on behalf of my mum?

Apologies for the long post - but I am in dire need and would appreciate any help and guidance

Thanking you all in advance

Ty

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7 years 5 months ago #169226 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Help needed please - ESA 0 points
Tayfun

The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your mother's claim, have a look at our ESA MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the ESA area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1

You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, ask for the ESA85, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.

Your primary task is to show that she meets the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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7 years 5 months ago #169231 by Tayfun
Replied by Tayfun on topic Help needed please - ESA 0 points
Thanks Gordon

The decision letter is 12 pages long which details each area that was assessed and the points awarded. Is the assessment report in addition to this?

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7 years 5 months ago #169238 by Bill24chev
Replied by Bill24chev on topic Help needed please - ESA 0 points
If your mother was placed in the Support Group previously it may be a good idea to do request all the documentation from that assessment such as the ESA 85 or 85A if there was no F2F then and if you do not have a copy the ESa 50 from that award and then compare them for anomalies.

You can obtain a form to get your mothers previous ESA and i would also get her PIP records as well by following the link from this Government Web Page

www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-r...personal-information

Request all the information from last assessment for Incapacity (when income support was in issue) to present date.

This may taker some time to reach you

so

Still do as Gordon said and ask by phone and in writing to the office dealing with your mothers current claim for the Assessment Report (ESA85)and any request for a Mandatory Reconsideration mus be received by DWP within one month of Decision Letter date.

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7 years 5 months ago #169267 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Help needed please - ESA 0 points

Tayfun wrote: Thanks Gordon

The decision letter is 12 pages long which details each area that was assessed and the points awarded. Is the assessment report in addition to this?


You will have received the Decision Makers Statement of Reasons, the assessment report is only sent on request.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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7 years 5 months ago #169272 by Tayfun
Replied by Tayfun on topic Help needed please - ESA 0 points
Hi Bill

I photocopied her previous ESA50 form and have checked both forms and there are no anomalies. In addition I have obtained the PIP statement of entitlement which details the areas that my mum was awarded points

I will now be requesting the ESA85 for her current claim

Thanks

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