Exceptional Circumstances and Questionnaire

Hello there everyone
The person I am helping with ESA would probably qualify for the Support Group because of exceptional circumstances, supported by a GP letter. He also has numerous physical problems which would also qualify him. Should he send in the GP letter and make his claim under exceptional circumstances now before he gets the questionnaire, or would there by any advantage in completing the questionnaire to record all his physical problems as well ? might he then get a higher benefit or might it help with his DLA claim in the future? Thank you.

Thank you Gordon for your reply. Yes we started drafting replies to the ESA50 questionnaire a long time ago as we didn't know how soon the questionnaire would arrive but he has now only just received the letter a few days ago. Thanks again.

f you believe that your friend meets descriptors you should make that clear rather than relying on the exceptional circumstances.

Yes he does meet one of the descriptors. Thank you.

The exceptional circumstances clause is only considered if none of the descriptors are met. Better to try and prove the case from the descriptors first and keep the exceptional circumstances as a back-up if needed.