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Newbie
8 years 1 month ago - 8 years 1 month ago #153998 by bro58
Hi J,
Welcome to Benefits and Work
Yes, you are in the right place.
Firstly, were you already in The Support Group (SG) when you received the letter two weeks ago ?
If you were, it is likely that the letter that you received was simply the normal ESA "uprating" entitlement letter that all ESA recipients receive annually.
These letters have been late going out this year.
Other members have been confused by the annual uprating letter, one member Here thought that it was to inform them that they had once again been placed into The SG after reassessment.
You could contact ESA if you are still unsure : 0345 608 8545 (Open 8AM-6PM. Mon-Fri.)
In the mean-time you could make a start on the ESA50.
Just to make you aware that : The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) (aka HAAS) (Maximus) who took over the ESA WCA Contract from ATOS on 02/03/15 now carry out ESA Assessments/Re-Assessments.
There have not been any changes to ESA Legislation since January 2013, however you should always use our most current Guides.
There have been some changes to The ESA50 itself.
Now that you have The ESA50, you may want to consider :
Using The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire
Whilst referring to the guides on this page, 2nd & 3rd links down :
ESA Claims Guides
See also :
How long do I have to complete the ESA50?
ESA50 too big for the envelope
&
Sending Documents to the DWP or Maximus. (aka CHDA, aka HAAS.)
You should treat this re-assessment as if it was your first assessment and not assume that The Assessor will have access to any of your previous evidence. They may not even know that you are currently in The SG, so you should make it clear that you are.
It is therefore important that you reiterate how and why you still qualify for The SG, in that the limitations that you suffer as a result of your medical conditions have not changed nor diminished to such an extent that you no longer qualify for The SG.
Nor have you learned to deal with or adapt to your limitations since your last assessment.
If you are aware how and why you were placed into The SG last time, you could cite that also.
If you want to obtain fresh evidence such as a letter of support from your G.P., obtain it yourself and post it with the ESA50.
Do not rely on Maximus/DWP contacting your G.P. , even if you request that they do so.
They seldom do and are not legally obliged to do so.
You should Bookmark/Favourite this page in your Internet Browser now.
That way you can return to this topic easily to pose any further queries that you may have by replying to the topic.
See : This Topic also !
Thanks in anticipation of your future co-operation in keeping all your ESA related queries to this topic !
bro58
Replied by bro58 on topic Newbie
Julie wrote: Hi, I have just joined and am unsure if I have posted in the right place. I received a letter from DWP two weeks ago stating that I had been placed in the Support Group for one year but I received an ESA50 form in the post yesterday, I'm a bit confused, do I have to send the form back?
Hi J,
Welcome to Benefits and Work
Yes, you are in the right place.
Firstly, were you already in The Support Group (SG) when you received the letter two weeks ago ?
If you were, it is likely that the letter that you received was simply the normal ESA "uprating" entitlement letter that all ESA recipients receive annually.
These letters have been late going out this year.
Other members have been confused by the annual uprating letter, one member Here thought that it was to inform them that they had once again been placed into The SG after reassessment.
You could contact ESA if you are still unsure : 0345 608 8545 (Open 8AM-6PM. Mon-Fri.)
In the mean-time you could make a start on the ESA50.
Just to make you aware that : The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) (aka HAAS) (Maximus) who took over the ESA WCA Contract from ATOS on 02/03/15 now carry out ESA Assessments/Re-Assessments.
There have not been any changes to ESA Legislation since January 2013, however you should always use our most current Guides.
There have been some changes to The ESA50 itself.
Now that you have The ESA50, you may want to consider :
Using The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire
Whilst referring to the guides on this page, 2nd & 3rd links down :
ESA Claims Guides
See also :
How long do I have to complete the ESA50?
ESA50 too big for the envelope
&
Sending Documents to the DWP or Maximus. (aka CHDA, aka HAAS.)
You should treat this re-assessment as if it was your first assessment and not assume that The Assessor will have access to any of your previous evidence. They may not even know that you are currently in The SG, so you should make it clear that you are.
It is therefore important that you reiterate how and why you still qualify for The SG, in that the limitations that you suffer as a result of your medical conditions have not changed nor diminished to such an extent that you no longer qualify for The SG.
Nor have you learned to deal with or adapt to your limitations since your last assessment.
If you are aware how and why you were placed into The SG last time, you could cite that also.
If you want to obtain fresh evidence such as a letter of support from your G.P., obtain it yourself and post it with the ESA50.
Do not rely on Maximus/DWP contacting your G.P. , even if you request that they do so.
They seldom do and are not legally obliged to do so.
You should Bookmark/Favourite this page in your Internet Browser now.
That way you can return to this topic easily to pose any further queries that you may have by replying to the topic.
See : This Topic also !
Thanks in anticipation of your future co-operation in keeping all your ESA related queries to this topic !
bro58
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