A bit of a dilemma

Hello B&W,

I'm in a pickle due to events regarding my being taken out of the SG and being put into the WRAG (on 17th August 2016 after my medical in July.)

I received above notification from the DWP on 23rd August and, having phoned the DWP on 23rd August, to ask for an explanation, I was referred to a lady who told me the three main reasons for their decision (which I believe are trivial). I have requested a copy of my medical report 5 times (including today) and their records show that they sent out the report twice.

I still haven't received the medical report.

I received my second appointment for the Job Centre today, where I 'must come and meet (my) work coach'. I phoned up to ask them what was happening regarding the Mandatory Reconsideration letter I sent on 13th September (which I had to write without the medical report!), asking them to reconsider their decision. It also took them two weeks to find my letter. Luckily, I sent it by Recorded Delivery and at least I have the proof that they received it the next day, in Wolverhampton. I've been told today that the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice was sent out by them on 14th October 2016, and their decision is still to keep me in the WRAG.

I haven't received it.

I then informed the lady that I wish to appeal the MRN decision and how long do I have? One month, she said. The cut-off date is Thursday 10th November! She couldn't tell me if I could have it extended.

Please, what can I do? Am I too late to appeal?

She did give me a couple of tips. When I said I would contact my Royal Mail Sorting Office, she told me to ask for an 'incident number'. And to contact the Appeal Tribunal Court, to let them know what's been happening (what do I say to them?). My postman comes late afternoon, hence I've been unable to do it all today. Plus waiting in a phone queue for nearly an hour at the DWP.

The lady also said that I have to be very careful with an appeal, because they could overturn the whole lot and take me out of ESA altogether.

I've been at my wits end since the decision in August and I'm feeling overwhelmingly anxious today, especially. I can't think straight. At the moment, I can't even find the appeals and tribunals section on the gov.uk site. My illnesses are: fibromyalgia, severe anxiety and depression, ménière's disease, agoraphobia; and I have been on Incapacity Benefit, then ESA for many years.

I'm also going to look for an advocate to help me. The problem is, I'm running out of time.

Has anyone else experienced problems with receiving correspondence from the DWP? Thing is, the appointments calling me into the Job Centre both came the day after they sent them out.

Sorry for the ramble. First post as well.

P.S. I haven't had any trouble with my post before. Only with this lot, which I find very strange. They also said it could take up to five working days before I receive the medical report and MRN. If I ever do.

Hello Gordon,

Thanks ever so much for your reply.

Yes, the lady I spoke to the other day said she had put in a request for the mandatory reconsideration notice to be sent out to me again. She also said she would be sending me a copy of the medical report again, too; and that they could take up to five days to reach me. All of my other requests for the medical report have taken months and I still have not received it. Nor have I received the original mandatory reconsideration notice which they say was sent to me on 14th October.

I phoned Royal Mail and I now have the 'incident number', which they say will be dealt with internally.

I've also phoned the appeals tribunal court to tell them what has been happening. The lady there said that correspondence going missing between the DWP and the claimant are known to them. She told me to send in the SSCS1 appeal form anyway and to send the other information as I get it. However, on looking at the SSCS1 form I see that I cannot do that, as the first tick box asks 'do I have the right to appeal against the decision'? I don't know the answer to that as I do not have the notice to refer to. The form also says that I have to attach a copy of the notice with the SSCS1 form.

As I haven't received anything from them I am terrified that my latest requests won't reach me either.

Thank you for the link.

Some good news! I received three brown envelopes through the post on Monday: two ESA85's (one copy, one original) and one Mandatory Reconsideration Notice (even though they state they've sent me two).

So my appeal process begins. Hopefully the lateness will be accepted once I submit my SSCS1 form to the appeals court.

I have since been in contact with my local Mental Health Matters, and Citizens Advice Bureau to ask for advocacy services as I couldn't go to the appeal alone, for one thing. I've been told by both that they no longer have the funding to help in this way. Apart from Welfare Rights (which usually has a long waiting list here), do you know if there are any other organisations I could go to for help in this matter?

Today I received my LT54. There is nothing in there about my physical conditions, only my mental health - but nothing about my ongoing agoraphobic issues. Shouldn't this, my fibromyalgia and Meniere's disease come into the equation when the DWP make their decisions? Mental and physical? The fibromyalgia alone keeps me house/bed bound more than anything else.

I'm also further confused, as the LT54 states that I have scored 18 points from the descriptors. Then over the page it says:

coping with change - 6
going out - 6
coping with social situations - 6

I cannot cope with any of those. Are those high scores for what they think I can do rather than what I can't do?

One of the main reasons for their decision to take me out of the SG and into the WRAG is because I told them I had managed to go out for a meal with friends on two occasions - that's twice in a whole year! I am mainly housebound the rest of the time. How does that score a 6? The other two main reasons are: 2) that I went to the medical assesssment alone and by taxi. I did the exact same thing for my medical in 2014. The assessment centre is not unfamiliar territory to me. 3) that I showed no anxiety! I am constantly in a state of anxiety. I told her so, as well as not being able to concentrate during the questioning. I have tachycardia too - I wish I'd known, I would have asked her to take my pulse, to see just how calm she thought I was. I also internalise everything. On the ESA85 she states I wasn't anxious because I wasn't 'rocking to and fro'. I've never done that in my life, however extreme my anxiety has been. The medical also took me a long time to recover from.

Thank you.

Sorry I haven't posted before now. I've spent much of my time on the phone trying to sort out things for this appeal. I'm tired.