ESA contradictions

Hi all, just joined this excellent site and downloaded the many helpful guides, but I am new to all this and I am finding it a bit confusing and mind numbing!

My first question is that when I came off of income support because my son reached 9 years of age, I like many others had to claim ESA. Now when this happened I received a phone call from ESA, telling me that I did not need to send them a doctors note (even though I had done so)because I automatically qualified to go into a certain group (can't remember the name) because I receive DLA middle rate care component indefinitely, and that I would never have to go for a medical either!
Then a little while later (6-7 weeks) I am told I have to go to this medical assessment test for ESA, which they failed me on (like the thousends of others) because I was very naive about it and new nothing about it until now after the test.

How can they say that I will never need to go for a medical and then send me for a medical.

Also if I claim JSA while I wait for my appeal, will I receive any extra money because I am classed as severely disabled because I receive dla middle rate, or does that extra rate only apply with ESA?

Thanks
Darren

Dseven wrote:

Hi all, just joined this excellent site and downloaded the many helpful guides, but I am new to all this and I am finding it a bit confusing and mind numbing!

My first question is that when I came off of income support because my son reached 9 years of age, I like many others had to claim ESA. Now when this happened I received a phone call from ESA, telling me that I did not need to send them a doctors note (even though I had done so)because I automatically qualified to go into a certain group (can't remember the name) because I receive DLA middle rate care component indefinitely, and that I would never have to go for a medical either!
Then a little while later (6-7 weeks) I am told I have to go to this medical assessment test for ESA, which they failed me on (like the thousends of others) because I was very naive about it and new nothing about it until now after the test.

How can they say that I will never need to go for a medical and then send me for a medical.

Also if I claim JSA while I wait for my appeal, will I receive any extra money because I am classed as severely disabled because I receive dla middle rate, or does that extra rate only apply with ESA?

Thanks
Darren

I am guessing but did you come off income support after IB finihed and new claims are now ESA ? in which case unlike being on DLA gets you nothing and you have to have all medicals

You should be appealing against your medical verdict and being put on some kind of low-rate ESA while you wait for your tribunal. There are details on this site somewhere about how to do all that. Don't believe what government representatives tell you is my advice. Apart from some of them being in my opinion dishonest, given all the upheavals in benefits lately for DWP personnel to be making mistakes is perhaps understandable.

BB

Hello again. Thankyou everyone for the advice, I am appealing the descision. I am slowly getting a bit more clued up on these things, but considering this is my first time dealing with appealing, then I may need to keep asking the odd question here and there due to me being a bit .

I thought they had given me the wrong information, I should of recorded it in hindsight! ..anyway, I went to Cab today and they have given me the appeal form to fill out. I had prepared a letter over this weekend and cab complemented my intelligence for writing a good letter, but suggested it was a bit too long. (3 a4 size pages) They have booked me another appointment in 10 days to see them for them to help me write the letter, although I feel I can do this again a bit better now using what advice I can find on this site.

I seen my gp on friday about it and he was really annoyed with Atos, and will have a letter ready for me tommorrow, which I will photo copy and send with my appeal. One other thing, when I get the esa minimum rate payed to me will I still get my severe disibility higher rate too? I don't see why they can stop me having this considering I have dla indefinetly.

Darren

The way it works is that you get some money for being on the assessment rate, then you get more money for being in the WRAG/support group if you win your appeal. The money you get on top of your ESA because you are on DLA is called a premium, and you will continue to get it whilst you are on the assessment rate of ESA.