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IB to ESA Support Group (no medical)
13 years 3 months ago #65864 by madderbat
IB to ESA Support Group (no medical) was created by madderbat
Just wanted to share some good news and give hearty thanks to B&W for all the advice/support provided.
I was fooled by not receiving a dreaded brown envelope at first - ATOS sent the preliminary letter and the ESA50 in a sneaky white one.
I went through the worry of having a phone call, which went well as they rang me on my mobile while I was at a therapy session. The polite lady just said , "Oh well, I'm sure we can just send the form out" which they did.
When it arrived I contacted Mosaic our local disability help charity, and an advisor went through it with me by phone, giving me some good pointers.
I decided that typing was easier than writing, and definitely didn't want to complete it online in case they said I would be fit for work, so I created an office document and typed all my answers.
I went through it with my MS nurse who then wrote a letter of support. Sadly this didn't arrive until after the deadline so I completed the form and sent the letter a week later.
Because I wrote so much I ended up cutting and physically pasting all my typed answers onto the form, together with a few extra pages, all stapled and sellotaped on.
I photocopied it and sent it Special Delivery, tracked and signed for to avoid 'lost in the post' and it arrived before the deadline on 4th August. The following week I sent the letter from my MS Nurse, also Special Delivery.
On Saturday 20th August I got a dreaded brown envelope which I made my husband open. This was from DWP and I've been placed in the Support Group.
I am sure that giving them chapter and verse of my medical problems and how they affect my ability to work provided them with enough information to make the decision.
It's such a relief and a huge weight off my mind. I'm still getting used to the idea, but can now concentrate on keeping myself as well as possible and start to enjoy life a little.
One piece of advice to others: tell them exactly how things affect you, don't worry about repeating the same things in different places and as has been said before: make the form fit you, don't try and fit yourself into the form.
Good luck
I was fooled by not receiving a dreaded brown envelope at first - ATOS sent the preliminary letter and the ESA50 in a sneaky white one.
I went through the worry of having a phone call, which went well as they rang me on my mobile while I was at a therapy session. The polite lady just said , "Oh well, I'm sure we can just send the form out" which they did.
When it arrived I contacted Mosaic our local disability help charity, and an advisor went through it with me by phone, giving me some good pointers.
I decided that typing was easier than writing, and definitely didn't want to complete it online in case they said I would be fit for work, so I created an office document and typed all my answers.
I went through it with my MS nurse who then wrote a letter of support. Sadly this didn't arrive until after the deadline so I completed the form and sent the letter a week later.
Because I wrote so much I ended up cutting and physically pasting all my typed answers onto the form, together with a few extra pages, all stapled and sellotaped on.
I photocopied it and sent it Special Delivery, tracked and signed for to avoid 'lost in the post' and it arrived before the deadline on 4th August. The following week I sent the letter from my MS Nurse, also Special Delivery.
On Saturday 20th August I got a dreaded brown envelope which I made my husband open. This was from DWP and I've been placed in the Support Group.
I am sure that giving them chapter and verse of my medical problems and how they affect my ability to work provided them with enough information to make the decision.
It's such a relief and a huge weight off my mind. I'm still getting used to the idea, but can now concentrate on keeping myself as well as possible and start to enjoy life a little.
One piece of advice to others: tell them exactly how things affect you, don't worry about repeating the same things in different places and as has been said before: make the form fit you, don't try and fit yourself into the form.
Good luck
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13 years 2 months ago #65998 by pauldcox3
Replied by pauldcox3 on topic Re:IB to ESA Support Group (no medical)
madderbat wrote:
One piece of advice to others: tell them exactly how things affect you, don't worry about repeating the same things in different places and as has been said before: make the form fit you, don't try and fit yourself into the form.
Good luck[/quote]
Congratulations madderbat
What a great piece of advice.
Margaret
One piece of advice to others: tell them exactly how things affect you, don't worry about repeating the same things in different places and as has been said before: make the form fit you, don't try and fit yourself into the form.
Good luck[/quote]
Congratulations madderbat
What a great piece of advice.
Margaret
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