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Appeal Won and now ESA50 has arrived today

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6 years 8 months ago #192410 by Rumplestiltskin
Replied by Rumplestiltskin on topic Appeal Won and now ESA50 has arrived today
Thank you, Gordon, for the prompt response. I will be following the guidance provided here to the letter.
We won the last appeal due to the appalling error-ridden DWP paperwork (again it was a zero point decision) and we tried to make sure that we covered all the bases this time to prevent a repeat - that appeal took a year to get through the bureaucracy but at least she got a year's full back payment and all thanks to this site. I will certainly update you at every stage. Keep up the good work.

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6 years 8 months ago #192506 by Rumplestiltskin
Replied by Rumplestiltskin on topic Appeal Won and now ESA50 has arrived today
The 11 Page letter arrived on Saturday. I was quite shocked. I will be sending the required letter for a Mandatory by tomorrow. The letter even states she can go up or down 2 steps without assistance when, as I mentioned in earlier post, she couldn't even attempt to do so at the assessment.. When it comes to the bit, what is the preferred choice of words between "error" , "mistake", and "big black lie". There is a statement that she was observed rising from a chair without arms (the chairs that is) on two occasions. On the two occasions, I Had to help her up and support her right arm till she reached a standing position. I am aware that one of the occasions was in the waiting room and we were under rather discreet CCTV coverage - should I ask for a copy before it is deleted or overwritten or do you know if they normally would have retained it anyway? My inclination is to request a copy under Data Protection Legislation.

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6 years 8 months ago #192550 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Appeal Won and now ESA50 has arrived today
Rumplestiltskin

I probably would not use the word "lie" but feel to state that things did not happen if they didn't, use as it as a way of undermining the assessors opinions.

I would not bother with the CCTV, the DWP Decision Maker won't look at it and appeal panel probably won't have an interest either. Remember awards are made by the claimant showing that they meet the criteria for one, showing that assessment report is wrong is important but doing so is unlikely to result in extra points.

Gordon

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

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6 years 6 months ago #195818 by Rumplestiltskin
Replied by Rumplestiltskin on topic Appeal Won and now ESA50 has arrived today
Well, received Mandatory Reconsideration which upheld original decision.
Lodged the appeal. Basically we are appealing on the basis of erroneous assumptions made by the assessor which fly in the face of evidence submitted e.g. "she was observed walking 7 metres from the waiting area so is expected to be able to walk 200 metres." There are lots of examples - an another one is "she can obtain a NHS wheelchair and reasonable adjustments can be made by an employer to accommodate the chair." Our submitted evidence included that we had in fact purchased a self-propelled wheelchair and she cannot turn the wheels even one a part revolution due to wrist and hand damage." which makes me wonder if they actually read the application properly. It's wait and see time now, again.
Used your guides for the appeal paperwork - such a boon.

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6 years 6 months ago #195852 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Appeal Won and now ESA50 has arrived today
Rumplestiltskin

Don't forget that you will only win your appeal by showing that you meet the criteria for an award, disputing the assessment report may help you do this to some extent, but you must show that you meet the Descriptors to score the points you need.

Gordon

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

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6 years 5 months ago #197982 by Rumplestiltskin
Replied by Rumplestiltskin on topic Appeal Won and now ESA50 has arrived today
Well, today the evidence pack for appeal arrived - all 107 pages. Stress levels rising.
She got a letter from DWP saying she had been awarded JSA, which she had not applied for. This was shortly followed by a letter saying ESA had been restored for a maximum of 365 days but she may have to attend work-related interviews.
The documentation also contains the 2013 assessment which scored Zero points and was overturned at the last appeal. There has been no health improvement since then.
Taking Gordon's point that she has to satisfy the criteria rather than just rubbish the assessment report, I take it all we can do is go in and explain more fully the extent of the mobility impairment - despite our belief we had done so in writing. (The assessor states she can dress herself from the waist up and we haven't yet lost our sense of humour with the connotations of that statement.)

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