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Debbie's ESA renewal topic
- debbie
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My husband was placed in WRAG last year. He had his renew face/face on 9.12.16 and they phoned today to inform him he was declined ESA. When he asked why they informed him he could wash his hand and shower (when inget him to shower!) which showed dexterity. He answers the phone to myself and daughter. I work fulk time and as he is home alone intext 3 times days to check in all is ok. He replies "yes". If his phone rings he get myself not daughter to answer it which she did to their call today.
When asked if he drove he said once as I at work and he needed his medication.
On reflection he felt the person was putting words/ answering for him as his concentration is poor. Due to the fact I work shifts and I have to cook food ahead so he and my daughter have dinners, as he can put it in microwave this was considered as well.
When asked why he got it last year when his chronic pain is worse he was told he scored 0 points this year and last year. That the person last year felt he wasn't mentally up to working.
Is there room for appeal? Thanks Debbie
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- Gordon
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debbie wrote: Hi
My husband was placed in WRAG last year. He had his renew face/face on 9.12.16 and they phoned today to inform him he was declined ESA. When he asked why they informed him he could wash his hand and shower (when inget him to shower!) which showed dexterity. He answers the phone to myself and daughter. I work fulk time and as he is home alone intext 3 times days to check in all is ok. He replies "yes". If his phone rings he get myself not daughter to answer it which she did to their call today.
When asked if he drove he said once as I at work and he needed his medication.
On reflection he felt the person was putting words/ answering for him as his concentration is poor. Due to the fact I work shifts and I have to cook food ahead so he and my daughter have dinners, as he can put it in microwave this was considered as well.
When asked why he got it last year when his chronic pain is worse he was told he scored 0 points this year and last year. That the person last year felt he wasn't mentally up to working.
Is there room for appeal? Thanks Debbie
Hi Debbie and 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 have moved your question to a topic of it's own. We ask members not to piggyback on other people's topics as it is too easy for the wrong advice to be given/taken.
Your husband can ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration of his ESA decision. The request must be submitted within 1 month of the date on the letter, to the address on the letter.
You talk a lot about your husband's needs in regards help with showering etc but this will not gain him an ESA award. The criteria for this are explained in the ESA guide - as is the MR process.
ESA claims and appeals
This should help too
ESA mandatory reconsiderations and appeals
It will be helpful to get a copy of the full assessor's report from DWP. These are usually sent out on request without any problems. You can phone DWP for this although we always suggest following this up in writing.
If the assessor's report has not arrived in time to request the MR, don't delay the MR request. Tell DWP that you are waiting for the report and will send more info when it has been seen.
ESA will not be paid until/unless this 'fit for work' decision is overturned. If you need money in the meanwhile the only benefit open to your husband is JSA. The fact that he has been found fit for work allows this. Once the JSA claim has been accepted your husband can submit a new fitnote for up to 12 weeks and this should mean that he is excused all job seeking activities.
If your husband does not need to claim JSA in the interim, he should get fitnotes from the day after his ESA claim ended and keep them to one side, they can then be submitted to DWP when payment restarts (when he is awarded ESA or when his claim has progressed to appeal).
May I suggest that you bookmark/favourite this on your web browser now so that you can find it easily in future? This will allow you to return with further questions or comments regarding your husband's ESA without having to start a new topic each time. We ask members to keep everything relating to the same claim in one topic as it helps us enormously - and I hope you will find it useful too
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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- Bill24chev
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- Posts: 167
you said
When asked why he got it last year when his chronic pain is worse he was told he scored 0 points this year and last year. That the person last year felt he wasn't mentally up to working.
Is there room for appeal? Thanks Debbie
It may be worth asking for a copy of last ESA85 etc by way of a "Subject access Request! So you can see why ESa was previously awarded.
you can get a request form here
www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-r...personal-information
Bill
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