Recieved esa form

pjd wrote: Hi,

This is a latest continuation of this thread. As already stated, I receive an esa form with no covering letter or date of return. I emailed atos who told me they do not currently have a referral or any records for me. They then suggested getting in touch with the benefit office about this matter. as atos said that dwp may have sent the form to me instead.

I emailed back and queried this and told them that I have been told repeatedly by the dwp that they do not deal with the esa form and to wait to hear from atos.

Atos emailed me back again to say that have spoken to the dwp about this matter and they suggest sending the esa form to the address on the return envelope (atos, jupiter drive, chester), and put a note with it stating that this has been received but you are not sure that I should be completing this currently. Atos can then look into this matter, as it is not clear why the esa form has been posted to you at this moment in time.

I emailed atos again, asking for clarification of whether the form should be completed or left blank, and also asked that when they spoke to the dwp, did the dwp say whether or not they sent the form out. Atos replied saying that the dwp were unable to say where the questionaire came from, as there is nothing showing on my records to confirm this.

My questions are:-
1. - Do you think I should return the form blank or fill it in?
2. - Im concerned that if I do this and then I later get notified that my money has stopped because I didnt return the esa form by the supposed date of return.
3. - Should I try contacting the dwp again even though atos said that the dwp told them there was nothing on my file.

I know there are changes coming in after 28/1, so I just don't know what to do. I am massively stressed out by all of this.

Any advice would be great.

(soz for the long msg.

Hi pjd,

It looks like you are aware of the potential problems that "MAY" ensue.

On the positive side, you do have written confirmation that you have queried this.

I cannot really advise whether you should fill it and return it, or return it blank.

You could of course e-mail once more, and request a definitive answer, with regards to whether you have to fill it in and return it, and if so, by what date, and to which address.

It may be a good idea to copy your M.P. on the proceedings thus far, as further back-up.

Contacting your MP

You could choose to fill it in and return it, if you feej that this could be done without suffering any detriment, however, as always, only you can make this decision.

bro58

thanks bro58,

I am just not sure what to do for the best, its a complete mess and I havent even filled the blinkin thing in yet.

Would you advise contacting the dwp, or take the word of atos who told me they had spoke to dwp, who suggested sending the form back in the atos envelope.

I asked atos to clarify this and whether the form should be left blank at this time. They replied that as atos are unable to ascertain who or why the form has been sent to me, I can either contact the benefit office or send the blank esa50 form back to them.

This seems contradictory to me as why do I need to contact dwp if they have already said there is nothing on my file. Im confused.

Also I dont know if there is any point filling it in because they have said they have no referal/records for me - so what would happen with my form?

pjd wrote: thanks bro58,

I am just not sure what to do for the best, its a complete mess and I havent even filled the blinkin thing in yet.

Would you advise contacting the dwp, or take the word of atos who told me they had spoke to dwp, who suggested sending the form back in the atos envelope.

I asked atos to clarify this and whether the form should be left blank at this time. They replied that as atos are unable to ascertain who or why the form has been sent to me, I can either contact the benefit office or send the blank esa50 form back to them.

This seems contradictory to me as why do I need to contact dwp if they have already said there is nothing on my file. Im confused.

Also I dont know if there is any point filling it in because they have said they have no referal/records for me - so what would happen with my form?

Hi pjd,

I really cannot advise specifically, as previously stated, you could push for definitive answers, contact your M.P. and inform ATOS and The DWP that you have contacted your M.P. regarding this.

The main reason for also writing to the DWP would be to create a further paper trail.

You could even pose you request for definitive answers in the form of Question1, Q2, etc etc, as you did in your previous post.

bro58

Hi eveyone,

Latest update of this issue. - what a mess.

After atos told me they spoke to the dwp, who suggested sending the esa form back blank, with a note attached. I decided to contact dwp for confirmation that my records definately do not have anything on them about the esa form being sent out.

The dwp man from bristol informed that there was nothing on my file and repeatedl told me to contact atos. He was quite abrupt it. I told him I had emailed atos about it already and they said to contact the dwp. He didnt seem interested and said there is nothing on my file. I asked for a callback so there is a record of my calling, and he said there is no point as the call is recorded anyway. I told him I received no covering letter with the esa form, and he replied they dont do a covering letter. Every question I asked was replied with ' just call atos'.

As both the dwp and atos have nothing on file about me, I am sending the blank esa form back and just have to hope that it will not have an adverse effect on my benefits (as the form had to come from somewhere)

My questions are:-

1. If I wanted to confirm in writing what was said, what address do I write to?
2. Is there any point in do this?
3. Are the emails from atos enough to cover me at this time.


I apologise if I am repeating myself but the whole situation is a mess and the dwp needs to get their act together, as its stressful enough having to cope with chronic ill health, without having to deal with all this.

Thanks.

pjd wrote: Hi eveyone,

Latest update of this issue. - what a mess.

After atos told me they spoke to the dwp, who suggested sending the esa form back blank, with a note attached. I decided to contact dwp for confirmation that my records definately do not have anything on them about the esa form being sent out.

The dwp man from bristol informed that there was nothing on my file and repeatedl told me to contact atos. He was quite abrupt it. I told him I had emailed atos about it already and they said to contact the dwp. He didnt seem interested and said there is nothing on my file. I asked for a callback so there is a record of my calling, and he said there is no point as the call is recorded anyway. I told him I received no covering letter with the esa form, and he replied they dont do a covering letter. Every question I asked was replied with ' just call atos'.

As both the dwp and atos have nothing on file about me, I am sending the blank esa form back and just have to hope that it will not have an adverse effect on my benefits (as the form had to come from somewhere)

My questions are:-

1. If I wanted to confirm in writing what was said, what address do I write to?
2. Is there any point in do this?
3. Are the emails from atos enough to cover me at this time.


I apologise if I am repeating myself but the whole situation is a mess and the dwp needs to get their act together, as its stressful enough having to cope with chronic ill health, without having to deal with all this.

Thanks.

Hi pjd,

I do understand how stressful this must be.

The people that you speak to initially on the phone are purely "Call responders"in a call centre, they have little knowledge of the the benefits system, and can be guilty of spouting utter rubbish.

If you ask for an escalation to a "Manager" and are persistant, (stay calm) you should eventually get to speak to someone of relevance. It is your right.

If you do get to speak yo someone as above make sure you log the time of the call and the name of the person and which office/department they are based at.

Do you have any way of recording the conversation yourself ?

If you do decide to send the blank form back, I would also include a resume of the events, and copies of the E-mails that you have regarding ATOS. I would also send copies of the resume and the E-mails to The DWP office dealing with you.

The more of a paper trail that you have the better.

With respect to obtaining a copy of a recording of the telephone conversations, you are entitled to a copy if one exists, and would have to submit a Data Protection Subject Access Request.

You could send this to the address of the benefits office that deals with you, put Data Protection Subject Access Request, in the top left front of the envelope.

Again it may be helpful, depending how things develope, I am not sure how long they store these recordings though.

They can only help, if further problems ensue, have a look at this topic :

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum?view=topic&catid=10&id=96415

bro58

Hiya bro58,

If they are only call responders and I am asking them questions about my records, why do they not put you through to someone who knows what they are talking about. Its just daft.

Should I call them again then, despite him saying there is nothing on my file and atos saying the same. Do you know if when atos call the dwp do they speak to managers or just to call responders?

Unfortunately I dont have any way to record the conversation.

I have noted the date, time and name of the person I spoke to, but he would only say it is david at the bristol office, I don't think I have any other choice but to send a blank form back as they will not process it if they have no file for me, will they?

Would I need a copy of the recording at this point in time, or is it best to wait to see what happens?

My initial letter informing me of the changeover from ib to esa was from a jobcentreplus, in preston. Is this who I would write to then?

Thanks.