Why am I being re-assessed now if a tribunal said do not?

hughie1

I received the letter and ESA50 form this month. I have to return it by the 9th August.

I was originally re-assessed back in 2016. This resulted in a disallowance. I EVENTUALLY took it to a tribunal in November 2018 and the decision was overturned. I was placed in the support group.

On the letter I received from / after the tribunal it said:

"DO NOT RE-ASSESS."

This is the first re-assessment since that tribunal decision. Why am I being re-assessed if the tribunal recommended do not re-assess me? 

Why now?

Is it possible there has been a mistake?

FYI: I am on ESA because of my OCD. I have severe OCD. I barely leave my bedroom. My situation has not improved since I was last re-assessed or since the tribunal decision.

I don't want to have to go through all of this again. It took me two and a half year's the previous time, from the disallowance to the tribunal overturning it. It was an EXTREMELY difficult period in my life.

I find it so difficult to answer the questions on these forms. And I just make it in to a mountain. I overthink it. I perfect over it. I procrastinate. And I am so busy with my OCD rituals. 

This is causing me so much stress and anxiety. It's overwhelming me.

Is there anyway I can avoid having to complete and send the form? What if I or somebody else on behalf of me calls up the DWP and reminds them of the "DO NOT REASSESS" thing and also that my situation has not improved. Could this make a difference?

Appreciate your input.

bg844

Unfortunately, DWP can re-assess a decision at anytime (even if awarded by Tribunal) and before the date it states. There are huge backlogs with reviews across all benefits so we can only guess why you are being reviewed. You should treat the form as a new claim, explaining in detail how your conditions affect you.

WhatThe

Hi hughie1 

It's horrendous and I feel for you.

A completed ESA50 will be processed as a UC50.
Why invite a new claim for UC with such backlogs?

Unless you have reported a change of circumstances (CoC) you need a reason for that letter. It's possible that your benefits are only suspended rather than stopped. You have not recovered as they are speculating.
     
Dig out all the paperwork prior to the 2016 reassessment and the Decision Notice of 2018 because DWP made serious errors the first time round and you don't deserve this again. 

poppy123456

WhatThe said:

It's possible that your benefits are only suspended rather than stopped.

I don't see where hughie said that their ESA has actually stopped. Payments continue during a review.

WhatThe

The disallowance decision was found to be unlawful and hughie1 is naturally afraid of a repeat. 

IMHO there is no good reason for putting him through such trauma again

WhatThe

DWP aims to get decisions Right First Time not replicate the failures

In my case, I successfully appealed a Section 10 decision but DWP revised it under Section 9 and continued to persecute me

hughie1

bg844 said:

Unfortunately, DWP can re-assess a decision at anytime (even if awarded by Tribunal) and before the date it states. There are huge backlogs with reviews across all benefits so we can only guess why you are being reviewed. You should treat the form as a new claim, explaining in detail how your conditions affect you.

Do the HAAS or the DWP treat assessments and reassessments differently or both the same (i.e. reassessments as a first time assessment)?

hughie1

WhatThe said:

Hi hughie1 

It's horrendous and I feel for you.

A completed ESA50 will be processed as a UC50.

IS THAT TRUE? CAN ANYONE CONFIRM?

Why invite a new claim for UC with such backlogs?

Unless you have reported a change of circumstances (CoC) you need a reason for that letter.

ARE YOU SAYING THEY WOULD ONLY SEND BECAUSE OF A REPORT IN COC? I DID NOT REPORT ANYTHING.

It's possible that your benefits are only suspended rather than stopped. You have not recovered as they are speculating.
     
Dig out all the paperwork prior to the 2016 reassessment and the Decision Notice of 2018 because DWP made serious errors the first time round and you don't deserve this again. 

poppy123456

hughie1 said:

bg844 said:

Unfortunately, DWP can re-assess a decision at anytime (even if awarded by Tribunal) and before the date it states. There are huge backlogs with reviews across all benefits so we can only guess why you are being reviewed. You should treat the form as a new claim, explaining in detail how your conditions affect you.

Do the HAAS or the DWP treat assessments and reassessments differently or both the same (i.e. reassessments as a first time assessment)?

Each assessment is exactly the same as the first time you applied.

WhatThe

Either means a new claim start date which is not in your interests because you have an existing award (and UC is a digital nightmare).

It's why the decision dates and benefit types before reassessments on your previous claims are still relevant.

Completing the questionnaire/attending an assessment gives consent for the WCA process to begin. They will still make a decision and it should be a simple one for them - to not proceed with the WCA process ie not seek to revise the previous determination of LCW.    

This is my sketchy understanding of an alternative viewpoint

poppy123456

WhatThe said:

A completed ESA50 will be processed as a UC50.

I missed this! Where on earth did you get that idea from? That's simply not correct at all. A completed ESA50 form will be processed as an ESA50 for an ESA WCA. It will not be processed as a UC50 form. ESA and UC are 2 completely different benefits.

WhatThe said:

Why invite a new claim for UC with such backlogs?

No managed migration letter has been sent. Those claiming Income Related ESA will not be invited to claim UC until at least 2028 (unless they are claiming tax credits) or a change of circumstances prompts a move in the mean time. Contribuitons based/New style are not part of UC so claimants will never receive the migration letter to claim it.

You may mean well with the advice that you give but you do need to be careful because an awful lot of members rely on forums such as this as their only source of advice.

WhatThe said:

Either means a new claim start date which is not in your interests because you have an existing award (and UC is a digital nightmare).

It's not a new claim start date. It's a review of an existing benefit, which is the same process as the first time.

WhatThe

The benefit ends so as to allow the reassessment process to begin..

poppy123456

WhatThe said:

The benefit ends so as to allow the reassessment process to begin..

That’s not correct. 

WhatThe

A lot of misinformation was shared during and after the failed National Reassessment Programme of 2011 to 2014 and there is no sign of any improvement yet.
 

poppy123456

Please be mindful of the advice you’re giving because it’s very misleading. 

WhatThe

Poppy, you haven't believed much of what I've said about my experiences but when The Public Accounts Committee does not accept DWP's excuses for its errors, failures and underpayments, it means there really is a crisis afoot.

WhatThe

...errors, failures and underpayments as recently as 2022

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Hannah_Alumni

Hello @hughie1

I'm so sorry to hear that this is stressing you out. I know it's easier said than done, but please try not to get too worked up. Unfortunately, Poppy is correct in that they can reassess you at anytime. I know that must be so frustrating but we are here to support you

Have you got someone that can help with filling out the forms? Citizen's advice and Scope's Helpline are there if you need help. Also, your award will continue during this process. 

Kes1958

I am being reassessed although my ESA and PIP was meant to be for life. When I questioned it I was told it was because I was 65 yrs 6 months and it needed to be done before my pension was due. I had to do the whole tribunal thing. I was told by the guy I spoke to that they had my form, they had spoken to my hospital consultant, I was being paid PIP but they had contacted my GP to check the medical details of my epilepsy. Am I stupid in thinking that just possibly my neurologist might know more than my GP. Just to add in to that 14 working days after being told they had contacted my GP, and that was all that was holding up my ESA continuing, my GP has heard nothing from the DWP. The fact that the stress and concern of this directly destabilises me more is of no concern. Who are you supposed to speak to?
Kes

poppy123456

Kes1958 said:

I am being reassessed although my ESA and PIP was meant to be for life. When I questioned it I was told it was because I was 65 yrs 6 months and it needed to be done before my pension was due. I had to do the whole tribunal thing. I was told by the guy I spoke to that they had my form, they had spoken to my hospital consultant, I was being paid PIP but they had contacted my GP to check the medical details of my epilepsy. Am I stupid in thinking that just possibly my neurologist might know more than my GP. Just to add in to that 14 working days after being told they had contacted my GP, and that was all that was holding up my ESA continuing, my GP has heard nothing from the DWP. The fact that the stress and concern of this directly destabilises me more is of no concern. Who are you supposed to speak to?
Kes

There's no such thing as a life time award for PIP. The longest award length is 10 years, with a light touch review.

For ESA if you were placed into the severe conditions group after a review from 26th September 2017 then you would have no further reviews. There's no such thing as a life time award of ESA as such because this stops once you reach state pension age.