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7 years 2 months ago #178228 by adam_ant
What to do next was created by adam_ant
Ive been on support group ESA for 3 years. Went for assessment ESA cancelled on 11th Dec 16 Letter came 12th Dec rang up said i want to go for a mandatory review and i asked for a copy of the HCP Report. Rang on the 16th asked for the Report again as it had not arrived. Told i had to give it till 20th. No report so rang again told it would be out that night to me. Rang again on the 22nd no report. This lady said the other person i had spoke to wasnt sure what i wanted. She printed it off and told me i should get it in a couple of days. Rang back 28th spoke to same lady said it was caught in the christmas post but she would send me another one out. I got told i would have to give them till the 4th January 2017. One arrived 4th Jan and 5th Jan the second one.

What this lady said she had done to me was amazing. in the time i was in the room. There was so many lies written. She tried to bully me into saying i could walk for 5 minutes i wouldnt give her a time. What i said was it could only be a couple of metres before i needed to stop to rest for the pain.

Went to see my gp who said i was not fit for work gave me a 6 month sick note.

The letter from ESA
Told to go and sign on for job seekers, went to job centre they said as i had a doctors note saying i was not fit for work he wasnt sure i could get jobseekers Allowance. Today ive had a letter from them saying i cant be paid job seekers as ive not paid or been credited with enough Class 1 national insurance contributions.

Ive got my assessment for PIP in just 45 minutes i feel that the outcome will be that i dont have enough points for the car.

what do i do

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7 years 2 months ago #178243 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic What to do next
Williams

Dealing with the JSA first, you should be able to make a claim for Income Related JSA providing your circumstances; household income, assets and savings and any hours that a partner works allow you to do so.

You must not present the Fit Note when making your claim for JSA, doing so means that you are declaring as unable to fulfil any Job Search commitment and your local JC+ will have no choice but to reject your claim. You must wait until your JSA is in payment before you present the Fit Note and then should be excused any Commitment for up to 13 weeks.

As to your ESA. One immediate point that you need to be aware of.

ESA is not a walking test, it is a Mobility test! In addition to your walking it considers your ability to self-propel a manual wheelchair over the same distances, you do not need to be using a wheelchair or even to own one for it to be considered. SO even if you can show your walking is restricted, unless you can also show that you cannot self-propel the wheelchair you will still not score points.

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 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

Your primary task is to show that you meet 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
The following user(s) said Thank You: James45

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7 years 2 months ago #178616 by adam_ant
Replied by adam_ant on topic What to do next
thanks Gordon

Second meeting at JSA spoke to a lady who couldnt understand why i was there. She said they are not going to pay me anything and the thing she is going to do is close my jsa application claim.

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7 years 2 months ago #178625 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic What to do next
Williams

Did she say why she was closing your claim, the NI Contributions or the Fit Note? If the former then you can make an Income Related JSA claim subject to your circumstances.

If the latter then you should still be able to make a claim for JSA, but you must state that you are Fit for Work and you must not present a Fit Note until the JSA goes into payment.

Gordon

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

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7 years 2 months ago #178674 by Marie
Replied by Marie on topic What to do next

williams wrote: Ive been on support group ESA for 3 years. Went for assessment ESA cancelled on 11th Dec 16 Letter came 12th Dec rang up said i want to go for a mandatory review and i asked for a copy of the HCP Report. Rang on the 16th asked for the Report again as it had not arrived. Told i had to give it till 20th. No report so rang again told it would be out that night to me. Rang again on the 22nd no report. This lady said the other person i had spoke to wasnt sure what i wanted. She printed it off and told me i should get it in a couple of days. Rang back 28th spoke to same lady said it was caught in the christmas post but she would send me another one out. I got told i would have to give them till the 4th January 2017. One arrived 4th Jan and 5th Jan the second one.

What this lady said she had done to me was amazing. in the time i was in the room. There was so many lies written. She tried to bully me into saying i could walk for 5 minutes i wouldnt give her a time. What i said was it could only be a couple of metres before i needed to stop to rest for the pain.

Went to see my gp who said i was not fit for work gave me a 6 month sick note.

The letter from ESA
Told to go and sign on for job seekers, went to job centre they said as i had a doctors note saying i was not fit for work he wasnt sure i could get jobseekers Allowance. Today ive had a letter from them saying i cant be paid job seekers as ive not paid or been credited with enough Class 1 national insurance contributions.

Ive got my assessment for PIP in just 45 minutes i feel that the outcome will be that i dont have enough points for the car.

what do i do


If you were in the support ESA it's because you were severely ill. Your doctor has given you 6 months sick note because you are not fit for work, to top it all the jobcentre themselves has close your claim for job seekers, I would advice you to go to your MP and seek help, do not claim job seekers it won't help you will have great difficulty claiming ESA again because you'll be classing yourself fit for work .

If there are lies and your ESA has been stopped because of it your MP will get the ball rolling and can make a complaint to the correct place you'll have more chance of getting back your ESA support group. Another way you can also get a private welfare benefit solicitor as your claim was based on lies, the DWP would have to pay the cost of the professional fees you've needed to pay to get your benefit back. The private solicitor should know about maladministration payment. There are consolatory payment if you've suffered with your health including others who has suffered to help you with your claim.

Hope this helps.

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7 years 2 months ago #178675 by Marie
Replied by Marie on topic What to do next

williams wrote: thanks Gordon

Second meeting at JSA spoke to a lady who couldnt understand why i was there. She said they are not going to pay me anything and the thing she is going to do is close my jsa application claim.


Do not claim jsa and class yourself as fit unless you feel 100% fit to go out and look for a job.

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