Decision came through this week that because I can pretty much talk and walk I don't qualify. I mean how effing ill do you have to be. I requested a copy of the report and it came through this morning and isn't accurate at all. I will contest the decision obviously.
I have emailed my GP telling him because all I am surviving on at the moment is a basic £74 per week with ESA. Have asked him if he could do a medical report for me to assist my claim. Have heard NOTHING back from him the bastard, not even a yay or nay to my request!
Have been waiting a home visit health assessment for ESA for 5 months now, before my payments can go up, and still nothing so I have phoned and am awaiting an appointment to go in, which is going to be difficult with the agoraphobia (which is why I requested a home visit).
Had a couple of reasonable days this week which might be due to the Gabacore I am taking but NOW I am feeling as miserable as ever again.
As I wasn't happy with my Functional Medicine Dr in the States I have sought out one in the UK. She is cheaper than Dr C in the States and certainly knows her stuff. Can't do anymore yet until I get the results of my stool test to check for Candida, Leaky Gut (again) and gut parasites.
Just don't know what to do with myself I feel that miserable and anxious and not due to test thyroid levels again for at least 2 weeks
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Jefner
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Have you heard of the Benefits and Work website? It takes you through how to complete forms to lodging appeals etc. It's basically a step by step guide and explains what the assessors are looking for. It costs about £20 annual membership but is worth every penny as it is run by a Barrister. I receive highest rate ESA and PIP for Hypothyroidism and Addison's disease and know that if I hadn't found that site I would probably be in your predicament. Have a look and see what you think. You have to fight the bastards and not let them grind you down! Good luck.
Hi Jenfer, I managed to get both awards by stating that I could not do things repeatedly because of fatigue etc. The Benefits and Work website helped me understand what the assessors are looking for and although I didn't meet a lot of the stupid box criteria I did meet the repeatedly and safely. It sounds awful but you do have to a bit over the top and base your answers on your worst days because they have absolutely no understanding of the effects of these illnesses. I had to go to Appeal for my ESA and the two people there, one was a GP were really nice but that is not always the case I'm afraid. My PIP was awarded after a Mandatory Reconsideration but I actually said within my papers to them that if they didn't award it I would Appeal! A lot of the points that they had or had not awarded were totally inaccurate and I actually felt they hadn't even read my form. I know it's difficult because you feel so rubbish and unwell but I had to be honest with myself and face how unwell and limited my life was which wasn't easy and did get me down. Any supporting letters from GP, friends other professionals will also help. I'm afraid its all a game and you have to be prepared to fight and play it. Benefits and Work supply template letters etc and guide you through the whole process.
they actually consider supporting letters from friends? Am surprised at that.
As regards the Mandatory Reconsideration, in what form does that arrive. Is it another form you have to fill in giving your own personal account? Do you include any medical reports etc?
I felt they havent read my form either because the assessor gave quite good descriptions of my problems at the beginning of the form but when it got to her "personal views" section she contradicted herself by saying I could do this and that with no problem. There are also several inaccurate statements that I need to correct
If you get practical/emotional support from friends and family then yes. Your trying to build a picture of the realities of your daily life. With my Mandatory Consideration they sent me piles of paper showing how I had been scored. Yes exactly I don't think they read most of it, just into meeting targets that's why it's worth standing up to them. As I say go onto the website and that will answer your questions.
On indefinite DLA since 2001. Have still to go through transfer from DLA to PIP😬 Been a member of benefits and work since transfer from indefinite IB to ESA... nightmare... they put me in WRAG though I qualified for Support group on first descriptor alone then ignored all evidence given. Even said the opinions of my consultants and GP were irrelevant. Oh I won't go on but Appeal took less than ten minutes, including calming me down, they were so nice, to put me in Support group. Firstly you have to ask for Mandatory Reconsideration within a month of the date on your decision letter. Go through the descriptors you believe you should get points for and tell them, giving examples. There is great guides on b and w explain how to do this on every question. Plus always remember you must be able to do things reliably, repeatedly when required and safely... plus in timely fashion and explain if you can't for anything. Aaargh burbling. Check out the site. Most mandatory reconsideration just agree with original decision but if you qualify and know you do then appeal.
Just a thought, if you Get ESA have you applied to be assessed for income related top ups?
I do get standard ESA which I have been receiving now for 12 months. I booked for a home health assessment due to my agoraphobia and that was back in April and still heard nothing. They won't top up my payments until they have had the assessment so in desperation I phoned on Friday about the possibility of getting an appointment to try and go in and I could still be waiting months. When the lady went off the phone to another department and then came back again to chat I decided that a home assessment would be the better option if they couldn't allow me to stipulate am or pm. She then told me they had taken me off the home visit list....all done within seconds.
Now I am in the shit because the woman I spoke to couldn't get into the system to put me back on the list. I don't know what to do now as I am not sure (with the agoraphobia) that I can get to the appt at all
So you have applied for ESA, filled in and sent the ESA50 form and on assessment rate only? How long have you been waiting since sending form back? You really should go to the benefit and work forum for advise, the Moderators there are very knowledgeable and helpful and have all been through it themselves. The call centre advisors for DWP have very little training I'm afraid
I have been on basic ESA for 12 months. Have been waiting for my home health assessment since April. I have joined the website and posted there thank you
No I am on contributions based and my darling husband works full time as well as being my cater. Be aware there won't be a mod ontill 2pm tomorrow. Short of MODS and as they're also sick and disabled not on all the time
I have also emailed my Functional Medicine Dr in the States asking if he could provide me with a brief report on me. Knowing him, it will cost me and I bet he will refuse :(. As I said in my original post I emailed my GP asking for one and have heard nothing back, not even a yay or nay
Just on the website now where it says about requesting MANDATORY RECONSIDERATION and I am going to phone and also write as they recommend. Do I at this point include any further evidence with my letter or will they be sending me more forms to complete so I can add any additional evidence at that time?
So I can at this point state my case with any additional evidence for them to reconsider OR do the send me more forms to complete for the "reconsideration" when I send the extra evidence then?
Up to you, important thing is to get M.R request in within time scale. Many though are finding MR decision being made before they have received the extra info☹ A simple 'rubber stamping' of original decision 😕 A phone call requesting MR can be accepted or a letter stating same. They're supposed to take 4weeks to give time for extra info but as I said, often just rubber stamped 😠If as much effort was done to do fair and thorough assessments as is put into trying to make people give up trying to get help they need the system might actually work Garr.
you have been so helpful, thank you so much for giving me so much time. I have compiled a letter to PIP using one the templates for the MR. I am going to add more evidence to it and also detail at length as to how they can reach their decision on their stupid point system when their advisor only spent an hour with me! I mean how the hell can she tell what I am like from one day to the next ffs. Several of what she said on the form is incorrect which I will be correcting and also "her" observations were incorrect as well.
If the ESA don't put me back on the waiting list for a home visit assessment tomorrow when I phone I will tell them I will be contacting my MP due to their incompetence
A high percentage of those that appeal win the benefits.
It annoys me that you have to jump through hoops for them, even when GP backs your claim.
The assessors have targets to meet, hence they are keen achieve "computer says NO" result.
llttf.com/ This may help with the agoraphobia / anxiety / depression. It's self help CBT. The latest fad of colouring in also reduces anxiety - I know a couple of folk for whom this works, as it's a distraction from their thoughts and everyday life.
I'd get Citizen's Advice involved, as officials (in my experience) respond more positively if you have headed paper via a 3rd party.
I'd write all the facts out before going to CA, as again you can present it all clearly, and you don't forget anything.
If you decide not to go it alone, then I'd put everything in writing to DWP - that way you have a copy for evidence, and you can take your time over wording it with buzz words, eg degenerative condition, etc.
Don't give up. Appeal! My daughter, who suffers from severe spinal problems and needs a stick to walk less than 50 metres before needing to stop for a rest, was told that nobody gets a PIP on their first application. You have to keep appealing and setting their statements straight. My daughter was lucky that her GP wrote a fantastic medical report for her appeal (they didn't ask for it for their first decision, even though it was made available!) This is all in a cynical attempt to reduce the welfare bill, hoping that too many people are just too ill to argue. As I said at the start... DON'T GIVE UP! My daughter was lucky and got hers on the first appeal, but many have to go beyond that, so keep fighting.
Point it out but concentrate on showing what points you should have got. The decision letter should have info on what to do next if you disagree with the decision. You must go through Mandatory Reconsideration first before you can Appeal. Done to try and put more people of trying.
All info on what you can do if you disagree with the decision should have been included with the letter! Including the form to send for Mandatory Reconsideration Apologies but I have bad foggy brain and struggling to take in and retain. Have reread your post and see you have waited 5 months so far for an assessment☹ The system is so broken making the sick sicker.
No hun, you arn't confusing me, I just feel rotten again today and brain fog is bad. I just requested a copy of the report when I phoned. I will phone tomorrow. I am in a mess now with the ESA because the idiots cancelled my home visit after being on the list for 5 months. All done in seconds when all I enquired was the "possibility" of getting in instead and what were my options on appts ie. could I stipulate am or pm? They have taken me off the list and are now sending me an appointment because the stupid girl couldn't get into the system to put me back on the list. this was all done in seconds after I asked ffs. Now I have the hassle of getting back onto the list somehow
You've been waiting 12 months for an assessment? Disgraceful though I've heard worse☹ You say you've been in the list for a home assessment for 5 months? Confused... nothing new for me. You sent in the ESA50 form 12 months ago and still waiting assessment then 5 months ago asked for home assessment yes? You really need experts advice and I would contact your MP about this mess, A call from an MP can get things moving. If you do phone them up ask for a call back from a manager, they at least have training in ESA and PIP.
No hun, I have been waiting for a home visit assessment since April but have been receiving basic ESA since last September.
I will call the home visit department tomorrow and ask how things are coming along. I will have to play dumb and pretend I don't know they have cancelled my home visit and put me on an appt list. When they mention that, I will have to say I went through that department to "enquire" as to possible time slots if I thought I could get in, instead of having a home visit. then if they say that it has been cancelled again I will then say I will get in touch with my MP.
Plus, I always get names when I phone places like that before I speak
When you apply for ESA you get ESA50 form to fill in and send back and you go onto assessment rate until decision is reached as to wether you have been successful and put in WRAG or SUPPORT group or failed and found fit for work. A FTF isn't always done, sometimes aHCP will do it on the ESA50 and other info sent alone. You have not been assessed as you are still being paid the lower assessment rate which is for 13 weeks as you're supposed to be assessed within that time frame. When decision is made if say they put you in support group then this will be dated from the 14 th week inc. And you will get a lump sum for the difference. But you don't need to ask for an assessment as that is part of the process and must be done, paper or face to face.
I hope zI'm making sense... probably telling you what you already know lol
sorry hon I realise now I have re-read it. How do I handle the mess I am now in with regards to the ESA, they have friggin cancelled my home visit appt. Am gonna have to phone and blag my way through it now
Make sure you take her to task on every single point! As fibrolinda says, you only have 30 days in which to demand this Mandatory Reconsideration(for them to receive it from the date of your decision letter), so you need to get onto it. If you have someone who can help you that will make things easier for you.
The most annoying thing is that these people that come up with these decisions are not even medically qualified to make the judgements they come up with, in fact most of them don't have any medical qualifications or even training at all! They're just a bunch of bloody pen-pushers that have been given the power to make life-changing decisions about matters they know nothing about!
thank you hon, I am busy trying to gather medical evidence ie. report from my Doctor (although the <deleted by admin> hasn't come back to me yet) and also doing a long report myself addressing each question, my answers and "her" observations and correcting her on that as well. Gonna do a bit every day so I don't rush it.
Thanks also for reminding me that I can also mention their lack of medical knowledge and training as assessors PLUS I read on the Benefits and Work page that they are so-called trained in a week ffs
Hi jenifer, you need to appeal. You can do it in a specific form. But you don't need the form. The most important thing you do is you write the letter of appeal. Making sure the letter says I want to appeal. They will automatically do a reconsideration. Let it go the full distance. You also need to read up. Pip is a points based. Certain things give you the points you need. Good luck. X
To get the best support I advise contacting your MP. They will put you in touch with a support group that will take you through the process. If you can't your MPs phone number. You get it through the House of Commons. X
I'm currently in process of appeal for pip . At my assessment I had a speech attack , which was not mentioned in report at all ...even though I couldn't speak for rest of meeting ...it was acknowledged in my reconsideration but as I had completed 50 % of the interview they class that as acceptable regardless of my neurologist and hospital reports that state it happens repeatedly lasting for days without being able to communicate . I also used the online website , as well as advocate for appeal . I've been sent a copy of their response to my appeal and again they are not acknowledging the speech attacks ...just looks as if they scan ,but not actually reading evidence !
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