LCWRA, ADVICE PLEASE

Izzybell

Hello, 

I hope someone could please help. I was awarded LCWRA just a little over a year ago (13 months) after handing fit notes in for a number of months prior. I also am in receipt of full PIP, I have a number of long term health conditions and I’m under various consultants, regular hospital visits and have a great deal of support from my nursing team. 

I logged on to my Universal Credit account yesterday to find that I have been asked to provide a fit note again, I don’t know if this is related but two weeks ago we were asked to provide 4 months worth of all our bank statements which we have sent across, but not heard anything since. 

All this has caused me so much stress, I posted a question on the journal asking if I will be sent another form to complete but they haven’t responded. My husband called them during his lunch break but they didn’t have a clue as to why it been asked for so couldn’t help.

I really don’t know what to do, It’s not a problem getting another fit note my GP will support this but I’m just so confused, and would like some clarification.

Has anyone else had to do this?

I’ve looked at the initial letter and there is no end date, is this the norm, sorry for all the questions!

poppy123456

It's not normal but it does happen sometimes. As you already have LCWRA then you do not need to provide anymore fit notes. It's probably an error on the system and it's generated a message to ask you to provide a fit note.

My daughter had the same thing about 8 months after she was found to have LCWRA and in fact "provide a fit note" is still on her to do list.

The reason they probably haven't responded is because you don't have a work coach and very often in this case messages go unanswered. Just put another message on your journal to remind them that you have LCWRA and you do not need to provide fit notes. They will either remove the request or ignore it.

When you're eventually referred for another WCA you will know because you will receive a letter on your journal telling you they are referring you. A few days later you will receive another UC50 form. Although at the moment for the majority of people that have LCWRA reviews are still suspended.

I know it's difficult not to worry about the fit note request but everything will be fine I'm sure and it's likely just an error.

Izzybell

Oh thank you so very much for replying so quickly, I finding dealing with Universal Credit so incredibly stressful, mainly because when you call them up they don’t actually seem to have a clue what they are talking about. I have tried to look through their guidelines online but I can’t find anything, it’s all so ambiguous. I sometimes think it’s deliberately set out that way, if only they had clear guidelines for all to see and follow.

poppy123456

You're welcome. I'd advise you not to bother ringing their helpline because they are call centre staff with very little benefits knowledge. If it's not on the screen in front of them, very often they haven't got a clue.

Izzybell

That explains it, you would think a little bit of training and knowledge would be helpful.

Thank goodness for forums like this :)