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EFFECT OF WCA BEING DELAYED

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7 years 11 months ago #160709 by STUART EDGE
EFFECT OF WCA BEING DELAYED was created by STUART EDGE
Can anyone give me some guidance please. I submitted my ESA claim last September and had my claim back dated to 01 July 2015 as I was self employed and had to close my business due to a serious lower back problem. Had my operation at the end October 2015 and a slow recovery but now I am now fit again, not 100% but getting better by the day. I was called in for a WCA in mid May 2016 and with no real surprise they have deemed me fit for work and have stooped my ESA payments as of last Friday, received notification on Wednesday, the shock being the immediate action by ESA in stopping payments even though my medical certificate runs out end June 2016.
However my real issue is that the WCA should have been completed within 13 weeks and it wasn't completed until 35 weeks after my claim (or 45 weeks from the start period), and if the WCA had been undertaken within the guideline timescales I would have been put into one of the support groups for a period of my convalescence with the appropriate enhanced payment.
My question now being can I claim some form of additional "compensation / benefit" as the DWP clearly have failed in their own targets thereby penalising the claimants, for the intervening period? I do not think that I need to request a mandatory reconsideration or appeal to the findings of the WCA but to prepare a claim to submit direct to DWP.
Any comments and guidance would be greatly appreciated.
It does prompt a question as to whether DWP are deliberately delaying the WCA's to avoid paying out enhanced payments in cases like mine where it is a "short term" claim.
Thanks
Stuart

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7 years 11 months ago #160716 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic EFFECT OF WCA BEING DELAYED
S

Welcome to the forum.

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I'm sorry but there are no opportunities for redress, whilst it is the intention of the ESA system to assess claimants within the initial 13 weeks, it is not required by law.

Gordon

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