ESA mandatory reconsideration

A friend of mine was claiming ESA for depression and anxiety . he had a WCA and then received a letter on 17th July from the DWP saying he hadn't enough points to claim ESA and his benefit was stopped , He noticed some inaccuracies in the letter where the HPC report is summed up . He rang the DWP a couple of days latter to ask for a full copy of the HCPs report .
After waiting on the phone for half an hour , a woman answered and said that if he wanted to appeal he would have to do it then and there and asked him what the inaccuracies were, he was flustered after waiting on the phone for that length of time and he said you have put me on the spot but she insisted he answer . he made a couple of points that he could remember but felt he didn't convey enough facts .

A little while later he received a phone call from another person saying that his appeal had been sent to the Arbitrator and he would be contacted again when a decision had been made. as to whether he can appeal or not
Hes not received the copy of the HCPs report yet .
Is this the correct procedure , is there any point in contacting the DWP again and asking if he can add anything to what was said .

Also , the person who sent the letter from the DWP said they had tried to contact my friend by phone on the day the letter was sent but didn't get an answer. That is not true as my friend was at home and thee no message on the answer phone or no record of any calls to his phone .
Thanks in advance .

Hi Ted,

I am a little confused by your terminology. Is your friend currently asking for a reconsideration? Or has this been completed and he is now progressing to appeal?

Either way I would say - from what you have told us - that DWP have not followed the process as they should have.

The claimant has 4 weeks in which to request an MR. This can be done over the phone but we usually suggest following this up in writing so that there is an audit trail. If the 4 weeks has passed, and up to 13 months, a MR can still be requested but the claimant must show 'good cause'for the delay.

I don't understand talk of an adjudicator - unless the MR request was outside the 4 week limit and DWP are assessing whether there is good cause for the delay.

If the MR has been completed and we really are talking about an appeal, the request must go to the tribunal service, not DWP.

Have a look at our guide which explains how things should work

ESA mandatory reconsiderations and appeals

Whether this is a MR or appeal does not make any difference to the fact that DWP should have sent out a copy of the assessment report on request!

May I suggest that you bookmark/favourite this on your web browser now so that you can find it easily in future? This will allow you to return with further questions or comments about your friend's ESA without having to start a new topic each time. We ask members to keep everything relating to the same claim in one topic as it helps us enormously - and I hope you will find it useful too

Thanks very much for your reply . Im sorry for any confusion , I'm confused myself!

He is asking for a mandatory reconsideration and has about two weeks left. By arbitrator I meant the person who decides the MD, I understand they are independant from the DWP.
is that correct ?
i will advise him to write a letter . In the letter he has to ask for an MD and the reasons he is asking ? How detailed does it have to be ? If he does get permission to appeal , will he be able to add any more to the information he has already given to the MD ?

i will download the guide and go through it with him .
Thanks again , this has been very helpful and will give him the reassurance he needs.

Hi Ted,

The MR will be conducted by a different DWP Decision Maker. The Tribunal Service (for appeals) is independent.

The claimant does not have to supply a lot of information when requesting the MR. However, in order to get the decision changed the claimant must clearly show how/why he meets the descriptors. I suspect most people do this when they first request the MR - but if time is tight it is better to get the request in and explain that it will be followed up with detailed information.

Extra information can be added if the case progressed to appeal. However, there is nothing to be gained by holding back evidence/information at this stage.

That is very useful to know and a great help.