help advice regarding ESA wrag

hi

just need some quick advice after being on IB since 2004 my hubby has just been transferred to ESA but he's been put into WRAG group which I believe is wrong he should be in support group. the letter says ESA will start from 19.10.12 on same weekly rate he was on for IB.

I want to argue for support group but not sure whether I should ask for appeal or decision to be looked at again on the basis of and then give reasons. he went for medical and dr was very sympathetic.

PLEASE can someone advise me if I ask for decision to be looked at again and it stays the same can I then appeal the decision further. obviously it would be my hubby doing the asking but I do all forms and letter writing in my house lol

thanks

You have 2 choices - 1)you can ask for a reconsideration and then submit an appeal if the recon is not in your favour or 2) You can submit an appeal straight away. We usually advise option 2 as a mandatory recon will be carried out anyway. Bearing in mind that I have just waited almost 6 months for the outcome of a mandatory reconsideration, you can imagine how long-winded the process can be and I suspect that you don't want to do anything to make it even slower!

There are some things that you need to be aware of - Firstly, the process does carry a theoretical risk of losing ESA totally

Is there any risk to challenging a decision?

Secondly, your husband will still have to undertake WFIs while awaiting appeal - although it is often possible to get them held over the phone or in your own home

Do I have to attend WFIs while I appeal?

I would suggest that your first stage should be to request the paperwork associated with your husband's case

ESA medical – what forms to ask for

mum0f6 wrote:

hi

just need some quick advice after being on IB since 2004 my hubby has just been transferred to ESA but he's been put into WRAG group which I believe is wrong he should be in support group. the letter says ESA will start from 19.10.12 on same weekly rate he was on for IB.

I want to argue for support group but not sure whether I should ask for appeal or decision to be looked at again on the basis of and then give reasons. he went for medical and dr was very sympathetic.

PLEASE can someone advise me if I ask for decision to be looked at again and it stays the same can I then appeal the decision further. obviously it would be my hubby doing the asking but I do all forms and letter writing in my house lol

thanks

Hi m0f6,

As you may know, you have one month from the date of the adverse decision letter, to either ask for a reconsideration, or to appeal.

B&W recommends that you submit an appeal in the first instance, as an automatic reconsideration will then take place anyway.

If the decision is not changed in your favour at this stage, you should be informed, and your appeal will be sent forward to the Appeal Tribunal Service, without you having to take any further action.

You can of course just request a reconsideration in the first instance, however if the decision is not changed in your favour, you will then have to submit an appeal as a seperate action.

Pertaining to the above, have a look at :

How to submit an appeal

From :

Appeals FAQ’s

See also :

Qualifying for the Support Group

From :

ESA FAQ’s

And : Employment and Support Allowance appeals
35 page guide to revisions and appeals for ESA.

Which is the 5th link down this page :

ESA Guides

It would be advisable to review all the Appeals FAQ's and ESA FAQ's as they will give answers to many of your potential queries.

bro58