Getting ESA while waiting for appeal hearing

carol16

Hi i had ESA taken away in dec 2016 due to having a capable work assessment in nov 16 the assessor gave me 0 points even though I have various health problems strokes in past ashtma rheumatism uncontrolled Diabetes depression and anxiety in his report he lied about everything saying he medically examined me which he didnt also what im supposed to have said to him I had a witness with me have gone through the MR stage am now waiting for the appeal to be heard as DWP agreed with his report ive been told i qualify for Reduced ESA Payments till my appeal is heard could someone tell me how long before the payments should start? Ive been told it can take up to 28 days before i receive anything I dont receive any other benefits except pip and am finding it very hard to cope im unable to claim JSA as im not fit for work.

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hello carol16

It is right that some people can claim ESA (assessment rate) pending an appeal decision.  

It can take around 2-4 weeks for payments to come through. It can take this length of time as the Tribunal Service have to inform the DWP that you have correctly lodged an appeal e.g. the appeal was lodged within the time limit.  

How do you know that the DWP have been told that you have lodged a correct appeal? Well, when you receive an appeal acknowledgment letter from the Tribunal Service, the DWP should receive this letter at a similar time.  It will of course take the DWP a few days to lodge this letter onto their system.

Once there is  a note in the system that the appeal has been lodged and if a fit note has also been sent to the DWP, then the DWP can look into awarding ESA pending the tribunal's decision. So at this point you can start contacting the DWP and asking that ESA be awarded. 

Kind regards

maria

carol16

Hi Maria thank you for your reply I received a letter from the tribunal service on the 22nd February 16 telling me they have received my request for appeal as i have problems talking on the phone my daughter in law called the DWP last week to ask when i would receive ESA at the reduced rate they said it could take upto 4 weeks for any money to be paid I was told prior to this by my local CAB that I should receive ESA within 2 weeks of receiving the letter from the Tribunal service thats why im a little confused.

Justice

Hi Carol,
   I hope that this is sorted out for you very soon. i do not have physical problems myself, but am a carer for my Husband who happens to have Parkinson's Disease. Why am I here on the Scope site you may wonder:-) well I had a very helpful conversation with a member of staff from the office today, I also used to work for Scope some years ago.

 I go through all the stress, and anxiety caused by these appeals, not only the appeals but the inefficiency, and the appalling attitude of the people from the DWP, and the assessors themselves. I have decided to write a book about the way the most vulnerable people in society are treated, despite the fact that we have a Disability Rights Act in force in this Country it seems that people are being discriminated against by the very organisations who profess to have their best interests at heart.

I want real stories from real people. If any of you wish to tell me how you have been affected by these assessments, and how it has affected your carers and family then please send me a private message and I will elaborate.

Anyone who agrees to let me use their story in the book can rest assured that names are changed, and any personal details kept in the strictest confidence.

I must stress that I did ask permission this afternoon before going ahead and posting this. Thank You.
Justice

carol16

Hello Justice Thank you, I hope it gets sorted soon to as im really struggling financially as im not claiming any benefit at the moment and am having to rely on family and friends to help me also its not helping with my anxiety and depression as im getting much worse with the stress of it all...I would be interested in telling you my story but i dont know how to send a private message on here perhaps you could tell me how kinds regards Carol

Justice

Hi Carol,
   Try to keep your chin up, not easy I know, but at least we have some sunshine today( Here at least), which always seems to make things a little less bleak.
I am so pleased that you are interested in telling me your story with a view to including it in the Book.I cannot put my email address on an open forum, for one thing I don't think it is allowed. I am new here too so no idea how to do the private message thing, but I am trying to find out how to do that. Hopefully it wont take too long.
Justice x

carol16

Hi Justice i am trying to cope best I can its been a lovely sunny day here too which was great when you find a way of sending private messages please let me know

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi Carol

I'm afraid there are often delays with this issue, as my colleague Maria described.

If it has been an unreasonable delay and is affecting you in the way you suggest then you might like to consider complaining. You can do this via the gov.uk site here but this can in itself take a long time. You might like to visit your local MP as they sometimes get involved and can speed things up considerably.

David

Candyfloss

Hi Carol @ Justice.This reply concerns you both as I to am going through the same ,so try and find something to make u smile every day and remember each day takes u closer to a verdict good or bad ,at least you will be able to move forward Carol...When u find out how to process  private messages I too will be happy to add to your book Justice please keep me informed on your progress......

Justice

Hi @Candyfloss, thank you for the offer. The book is now finished and on Amazon Books. I can't advertise it here of course, Scope will provide a link with my next Blog though :-). No idea how to private message, not sure everyone has that ability active on here.

mellymoo

I've had no money for 7 wks now. How do u get some sort of payment til they decide my esa appeal which is the.5/03 a few wks yet I need. Help now so need a advance payment til then

maggietate000

Hi my claim is with the tribunal court and I'm waiting for a court date since Nov 2017 for ESA. I was wrongly advised and was told to go back on jsa 
I see another coach as my one was on training she told me I should be there and said that I should be back on ESA pending appeal 
Another certificate had to be sent in....done ...but when I phoned the lady said I would be on a lower rate she's passed it to the person who will be phoning me back to confirm is this right or should I be on the same amount before my appeal! I'm really confused 

maggietate000

I have ostioarthritis in my thumb joint and dislocation of my thumb and being left handed makes it worse my surgeon has put me down for surgery 3 months waiting list my fit note is for 3 months ...ive also got ostioarthritis in my right hand starting ..im waiting for a date from the court ...just wondering if I get the normal rate 

maggietate000

How much is the assessment rate !

maggietate000

Same as jsa I was getting £146.20 fortnightly thank you for your help they was supposed to phone me back today but didn't so I've to wait till Mon now 

DBrooks

Why is this allowed t happen, the costs alone for appeals and tribunals. My ESA went to tribunal the first time in April 2016, CAB at the time applied to the upper tribunal as there were errors of law found in the statement of reasons. Upper tribunals agreed and I went back for another tribunal hearing in June 2016. Rejected again and appeal rate ESA stopped.  Since then we have been round in circles again errors of law where found on the basis of assumptions and opinions and not actual facts, back to the Upper tribunals who agree for  another tribunal which I am currently waiting for  hearing date.  In all this time since June 2016 I've had nothing CAB advised i should get the appeal rate still but its not normally given so far into appeals..God only knows what I'll do if it gets rejected again in debt up to my eyeballs cant get JSA being unfit to work and my gp has been giving me sicknotes to cover me, cant get UC since my husband has a part time job.  

maggietate000

Great news received a phone call today from ESA they have excepted my claim and I will be getting the right amount up untill the court appeal date thank you for you advice x

pigeon55

Cb based esa finished in Feb had mandatory reconsideration and applied to tribunal court on 1st of September for court appeal. This was done and excepted in the allowed time and the court advised dwp. My wife works 32 hrs a week. Could someone tell me if I can get reduced rate benifit while awaiting court date as dwp say as it was cb based and not income based they will only pay my stamp is this true as I've had different replys in different forams.

pigeon55

Thanks for your comments. My medical evidence and gp all point to me being not fit for work. And I have only had 1 fit for work assessment that said I'm fit to work. When I spoke to the dwp they said I'm not entitled to it as I was on cb based esa. How would I go about making a case for point.
Regards pigeon55.

pigeon55

I haven't claimed jsa is i don't think I'm fit for work neither dose my GP who has recently given me another fit for work note for 6 months. I have gone through mandatory reconsideration and also appealed to hm courts wich was accepted and they notified dwp of this. This was dated September 17.

maggietate000

I've never been fit to work but the never listen to your doctor and they are NOT professional just assement based ...joke ...you are entitled to ESA pending appeal on basic rate until you court date with fit note don't take no for an answer. Good luck pigeon