ESA50 denied before WCA

Just posting on behalf of s.o. else - they got a friend to call the appointment line only to be told that the appointment cannot be changed even though the last ESA was sent in more than 1.5 years ago - B&W states the normal DWP procedure is that an ESA50 should be issued to all claimants prior to a face to face assessment being booked.

How can this be challenged at short notice? The the call centre staff refused to postpone the appointment and fobbed off the friend who called by claiming either the GP or DWP would have to request a new ESA50 to be issued. The GP won't have any say in this anyway as they don't control the procedural aspects?

Some quick responses would be much appreciated due to the urgency and little time left before the assessment date.

Thanks

11 wrote: Just posting on behalf of s.o. else - they got a friend to call the appointment line only to be told that the appointment cannot be changed even though the last ESA was sent in more than 1.5 years ago - B&W states the normal DWP procedure is that an ESA50 should be issued to all claimants prior to a face to face assessment being booked.

How can this be challenged at short notice? The the call centre staff refused to postpone the appointment and fobbed off the friend who called by claiming either the GP or DWP would have to request a new ESA50 to be issued. The GP won't have any say in this anyway as they don't control the procedural aspects?

Some quick responses would be much appreciated due to the urgency and little time left before the assessment date.

Thanks

Hi 11,

Welcome to Benefits and Work

Maximus (CHDA) cannot refuse to rearrange an appointment for a face to face if it is your first appointment that you wish to rearrange.

See the following extract :

"Changing your appointment

If you cannot attend your assessment, please contact our Customer Enquiries team on 0800 288 8777. This line is available Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm, and Saturdays 9am to 5pm.

If your appointment is for a Work Capability Assessment, we can give you a new appointment only once. If you cannot attend for a second time, DWP will ask us to send you a form. Please use the form to explain to DWP why you could not attend."

From CHDA's Webpage : Here.

So they can't refuse, and you do not have to give any particular reason,and you can now quote their own information back to them.

Even though you may wish to phone them due to time constraints, I would back up any phone call with an E-mail reiterating the conversation, so that you have a paper trail.

Contact CHDA.

If you are still getting fobbed off, I would escalate to a complaint and ask to speak to a Manager/Supervisor.

Whilst in contact with them, you may wish to request that any ensuing face to face is audio recorded.

If they are to rearrange, I would request written confirmation of this.

Failure to attend a 2nd appointment, without "Good Cause", (and it can be most difficult to prove "Good Cause") will result in your file being returned to The DWP and ESA payments being stopped for being found fit for work due to failure to attend.

The following FAQ may help further :

Invited to an ESA Face to Face Assessment (ESA “medical”) but no ESA50 sent.

Good luck and please keep us updated by replying to this topic.

bro58

Thanks to your response - which pointed towards some missing information in my inital post:
the question was rather that the f2f should be postponed at no fault to the claimant as CHDA failed to send out an ESA50 prior to the appointment ( as per Scenario 1 in the above mentioned FAQ-link ). In fact, after checking the dates it turned out the previous ESA50 was sent bit more than 2 years! ago.

11 wrote: Thanks to your response - which pointed towards some missing information in my inital post:
the question was rather that the f2f should be postponed at no fault to the claimant as CHDA failed to send out an ESA50 prior to the appointment ( as per Scenario 1 in the above mentioned FAQ-link ). In fact, after checking the dates it turned out the previous ESA50 was sent bit more than 2 years! ago.

Hi 11,

It would be up to you to pose that argument, and you could cite CHDA's responses to B&W as seen in the linked News Articles. If necessary involve your M.P.

bro58

You can print out an ESA50 - I think I got one from .gov website.

At my assessment, the HCP said that I was probably not sent an ESA50 as the one from early 2014 probably hadn't been processed. But I suspect they have reasons for not sending ESA50s to people with mental health conditions, even though they say they are sending them.

The HCP did get my new ESA50 before the assessment, but tried tricks like pretending I had not had my main health problems for as many decades as I have.

I think now that I should have paid less attention to the pressure of time from it running so late, and I should have directed the HCP's attention to places in the evidence that contradicted her false assertions, and I should have said, "Show me the medical evidence you say you have which is incorrect". (They said we would come back to it later, but it didn't happen.)

She also said I was not allowed to take notes. This is not true.

Do record it, whether with permission or not. And do take someone to take notes and to witness what happens.

And when they try to get you to agree to statements which are not accurate, even if they appear to accept what you say, ask them to delete their own inaccurate statement and just leave your words there.

Don't let them push you into agreeing with their own way of expressing anything. Keep to your own words always.

Best wishes!

apricot wrote: You can print out an ESA50 - I think I got one from .gov website.

At my assessment, the HCP said that I was probably not sent an ESA50 as the one from early 2014 probably hadn't been processed. But I suspect they have reasons for not sending ESA50s to people with mental health conditions, even though they say they are sending them.

The HCP did get my new ESA50 before the assessment, but tried tricks like pretending I had not had my main health problems for as many decades as I have.

I think now that I should have paid less attention to the pressure of time from it running so late, and I should have directed the HCP's attention to places in the evidence that contradicted her false assertions, and I should have said, "Show me the medical evidence you say you have which is incorrect". (They said we would come back to it later, but it didn't happen.)

She also said I was not allowed to take notes. This is not true.

Do record it, whether with permission or not. And do take someone to take notes and to witness what happens.

And when they try to get you to agree to statements which are not accurate, even if they appear to accept what you say, ask them to delete their own inaccurate statement and just leave your words there.

Don't let them push you into agreeing with their own way of expressing anything. Keep to your own words always.

Best wishes!

Hi a,

Yes, there is a PDF ESA50 download link available from one of the links that I have provide in my previous response.

"At my assessment, the HCP said that I was probably not sent an ESA50 as the one from early 2014 probably hadn't been processed. But I suspect they have reasons for not sending ESA50s to people with mental health conditions, even though they say they are sending them."

Guidance states that allowances and further investigations should be made before finding a claimant fit for work for failure to return an ESA50 where the claimant is known to be vulnerable due to suffering MH issues.

However, it does not state that an ESA50 should not be sent out to such claimants.

There should be no reason to covertly record an ESA face to face, as Maximus (CHDA) do openly offer this facility as long as you give them enough notice.

Extract from : Their Website :

"Audio Recordings

We will accommodate requests for an audio recorded face-to-face assessment where possible. You must make this request before the assessment.

If you want your assessment be audio recorded, please call our Customer Enquiries team on 0800 288 8777, open Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm, and Saturdays 9am to 5pm. Make your request at least two days in advance or as early as possible so it is part of the appointment booking process. Audio recorded assessments can be arranged whether they take place in one of our Centres or in your home."

I would always advise claimants to make this request with the ESA50, and then follow it up when they receive the letter of appointment to ensure that the facility will be in place.

bro58