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Advice please
- Paulie
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2 years 11 months ago #268649 by Paulie
Advice please was created by Paulie
I had PIP assessment over Phone with IAS in February of this year. Declined. I called DWP yesterday to advise them of my intention to
challenge their decision. As previously mentioned in my previous posts, I have been in ESA SG for over a year. It is my understanding from DWP that I am in the group until April 2022. I have been advised on this forum of DWP backlogs and I have not yet been notified of another ESA assessment date. In yesterday's post I received what appeared to be a standard notification letter, advising me of an increase in ESA payment rate. It stated the increase would be effective from 11th April until December 2022.
Later on, yesterday I missed a call from an outfit called Donard Recruitment. When I googled them it advised of them being to do with PIP assessments. I was curious, due to my PIP assessment having been conducted by the other firm I mentioned earlier, IAS.
Based on the above information, do I conclude that my ESA payment letter indicates an extension from original review date of April 2022 to December 2022 ? Or will all SG people have received this standard letter with the same dates ?
My understanding is DWP should normally contact claimants 6 to 8 weeks before ESA review date (in my case, April). As I mentioned above, I have received no contact.
Does anyone know if Donard conduct ESA assessments, as well as PIP ? Could the call I missed have been them wanting to arrange an ESA assessment date ? Or,do DWP normally send a letter of notification of a new assessment ? Rather than a company contacting the individual, directly.
I do not really want to call Donard back, or the DWP.
I would appreciate any comments on the matter. It's all very worrying.
Thanks
challenge their decision. As previously mentioned in my previous posts, I have been in ESA SG for over a year. It is my understanding from DWP that I am in the group until April 2022. I have been advised on this forum of DWP backlogs and I have not yet been notified of another ESA assessment date. In yesterday's post I received what appeared to be a standard notification letter, advising me of an increase in ESA payment rate. It stated the increase would be effective from 11th April until December 2022.
Later on, yesterday I missed a call from an outfit called Donard Recruitment. When I googled them it advised of them being to do with PIP assessments. I was curious, due to my PIP assessment having been conducted by the other firm I mentioned earlier, IAS.
Based on the above information, do I conclude that my ESA payment letter indicates an extension from original review date of April 2022 to December 2022 ? Or will all SG people have received this standard letter with the same dates ?
My understanding is DWP should normally contact claimants 6 to 8 weeks before ESA review date (in my case, April). As I mentioned above, I have received no contact.
Does anyone know if Donard conduct ESA assessments, as well as PIP ? Could the call I missed have been them wanting to arrange an ESA assessment date ? Or,do DWP normally send a letter of notification of a new assessment ? Rather than a company contacting the individual, directly.
I do not really want to call Donard back, or the DWP.
I would appreciate any comments on the matter. It's all very worrying.
Thanks
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- Gary
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2 years 11 months ago #268674 by Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gary on topic Advice please
Hi Paulie
You will need to contact DWP.
The first thing you need to do is contact DWP and ask for a copy of the assessors report called a PA4. You could then ask about Donard but if Donard contact was about ESA then you will probably be asked to contact ESA dept.
When you have the assessors report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.
I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.
Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.
Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide, half way down the page for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
Do not get PIP and ESA mixed up. ESA is an ongoing claim until you are reassessed.
I have never heard of Donard Recruitment, I cannot see why Donard would contact you if your assessment was by IAS. It is DWP that you need to contact for a copy of the assessors report.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gary
You will need to contact DWP.
The first thing you need to do is contact DWP and ask for a copy of the assessors report called a PA4. You could then ask about Donard but if Donard contact was about ESA then you will probably be asked to contact ESA dept.
When you have the assessors report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.
I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.
Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.
Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide, half way down the page for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
Do not get PIP and ESA mixed up. ESA is an ongoing claim until you are reassessed.
I have never heard of Donard Recruitment, I cannot see why Donard would contact you if your assessment was by IAS. It is DWP that you need to contact for a copy of the assessors report.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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- Paulie
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2 years 11 months ago #268681 by Paulie
Replied by Paulie on topic Advice please
Thank you for your excellent and detailed response, Gary. I will use your advice going forward. The report PA4 is on it's way to me.
Kind Regards
Paulie
Kind Regards
Paulie
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