ESA review August worried

Hi Agis

I'm sorry, but we can't tell you anything that will allay your fears.

The number of face-to-face assessments are still small, but there is always a possibility that you could be called for one. The majority of assessments are still being done over the phone.

Will your review even take place in August? Again, I don't know. Yes, they are battling a backlog., but what impact it will have on your individual case, I cannot tell.

BIS

Hi Agis

There is a backlog with reviews so we are not able to give a timeframe.

The majority of reviews are over the phone, face to face and video reviews are taking place but as BIS stated earlier they are quite rare.

To prepare yourself for the review, read our latest guide and get yourself prepared;

If you have a look at our ESA guide at the link below you will see that there are a number of pages which include advice on telephone assessments. Yes, a lot of the questions are those that would have been asked if you had a face to face assessment. help-for-claimants/esa1

- Write yourself a bullet point list of any particular points you want to get over, so you have it by you during the assessment, tick them as you cover them during the assessment.
- have paper and pens to hand to make any notes such as the assessors name, date, time
- make sure you are seated in a comfortable chair, you are going to be there a while and at table to make notes
- if you can't hear or understand what is being asked then ask them to repeat the question
- don’t let the assessor rush you and get you flustered.
- don't forget to have a glass of water if needed so you don't get a dry throat and lose your voice!

You can ask for a copy of the assessors report called UC85 when you get the decision.

Gary