Hi, my name is poofiemoo!

poofiemoo

I first started handing in fit notes back in 2019. However due to COVID i guess? i was no longer asked to provide fit notes & wasn't given any further appointments. At the beginning of January 2022 i was assigned to another job centre as I had moved I was then asked to provide fit notes & attend appointments. My support worker asked when I would receive a UC50 form? Cut a long story short..my support worker ended up getting a form from another job centre.. filled the form in.. apparently it was never received? 2nd form was physically handed in to be sent off. The 22nd December 22 I received a call the medical assessment was done over the phone..24th December 22 received a letter via my journal to say I'd basically passed. They only backdated me 5½ months & went into my payments history & altered all my payments from June 22 which stated I'd been paid the extra £354 plus stating they have been paying me my rent? Please someone help? Surly this can't be allowed? Are they allowed to go into your previous payment history & change the payments. 

poppy123456

They have to recalculate your past statements to work out exactly how much is owed. The new statements will then replace the old ones. 

The extra money is paid from the 4th month after you first reported your health condition, providing you sent a fit note within 7 days of that and continued to send them without any gaps until a decision was made.

During Covid fit notes only stopped for about a month but that was about December 2021 I think. Other than that you were asked to provide details of the fit notes and keep them in case they asked to see them. 

Usually you have a reminder on your journal that a new fit note is needed, weren’t you receiving those reminders? 

Alex_Alumni

Hi @poofiemoo and welcome, thanks for reaching out.

I can appreciate you must be feeling anxious about what has happened, and I hope Poppy's reply has helped to reassure you a little. 

If you still have questions or would like a hand with anything else, please do ask   

poofiemoo

I've been through my journal just to double check.. but no not once was I asked to provide fit notes. Also another question .as I stated in my first message about them altering all my payments from June 22.. when I received a letter stating I'd been awarded LCWRA...it said we have decided to pay you from the 1st April-1st December £7,000 however because we have already paid you £509.28..which I think it was meant to of said £5,07.28 we owe you £1993? I was baffled at these figures..then I realized where they got that amount from. From June they calculated my normal pay plus the £354 plus £489 rent! Firstly they wasn't paying me my rent secondly I wasn't awarded from June because 7 months doesn't add up to £1993 and thirdly I certainly wasn't paid no £509. Also I was only awarded LCWRA on the 24th December 22 so how can they go into my pervious payments & alter all my payments?? I have a print out of my bank statements to show them what payments I had received from June.. which was my standard money. I hope this all makes sense. 

poppy123456

When you have a decision on the WCA that award starts from the assessment period in which you reported your health condition. You then have the waiting period, which is 3 full assessment periods and the extra money is paid from the 4th month of your claim.

When they recalculate your past statements they have to do this to work out exactly how much is owed. They calculate how much you have received and how much you should have received and they then pay you the difference between to two.

You mention £509, are you also claiming New style ESA as well as UC? If so then the ESA will be deducted in full from your UC entitlement. ESA Support Group is £117.60/week but there's more than 4 weeks in a month so to calculate the monthly payment you need to "times the weekly amount by 52 and then divide it by 12, you then get the monthly amount which is £509.60/month.

As for the fit notes, if you report a change of circumstances and then report your health condition, it's standard process that it should then prompt it to ask you to report a fit note. If you didn't report your health condition this way then this maybe why you weren't asked for fit notes.

For all your other deductions and the amount you've received in the past and what they owe you then i'd advise you to speak to an advice agency near you and show them your journal statements and bank statements and they will hopefully be able to advise you further. Sometimes this sort of advice isn't possible on an internet forum and face to face advice is better because they will be able to see everything.