Really tired

Annabelle26

I am just waiting to go to the local JobCentre for my first signing for JSA after being taken off ESA for being a Malingerer or Evasion as the Jobsworth Decision Maker put it as I had missed some Assessments due to ill health & cancelled a couple of others because the timings were unsuitable.  I feel really awful.  I have a cold & had heat exhaustion over the holiday because of the high temperatures. I have not received any benefit for a month. I have to go otherwise I will not get a payment.  I received a small loan from the DWP at the beginning of last week but that went within a few minutes.  My overdraft has an overdraft, a Direct Debit has bounced.  I had an appointment with a CAB Advisor but I had to cancel it as I felt so rough.  She has already told me I should be on ESA in the Support Group which I was until the DWP decided to harrass me by firstly getting me to apply for PIP when I had been on DLA for years & then refusing to give it to me purely based on a Assessment Report full of inaccuracies & I am waiting for a Personal Hearing at a Tribunal.  They then decided to review my ESA and because of failure to attend for the silly reason of being ill they have stopped that.  I have again had to apply to the Tribunal.  I have been told the only benefit I can get is JSA.  I feel really bad.  I could not sleep last night because of a nightmare & Anxiety Attack.  I had a job to eat breakfast & have been feeling anxious all morning about going.  I just want to go back to bed with a couple of painkillers as I feel really rough.

Ripples

They generally give you two chances to attend a WCA  assessment although I have heard of some being offered more.  if you don't attend an assessment then it is likely your file will be returned to the DWP  to review and very often they will stop your ESA. You can appeal against this  in the specified time but if you don't ask for a mandatory reconsideration citing your reasons why you could not attend then you will have to claim JSA or UC in a live area. The problem with ESA is once your claim has been closed you can only reclaim it with a new condition or one that has grown worse. Then you will be subject to fit certificates and a new assessment. DLA has gradually been replaced by PIP for the last five years or so and a vast number on DLA have had to go through the same thing unfortunately

Pippa_Alumni

I'm so sorry to hear that things are tough at the moment, @anabelle26. How are you feeling today? Has there been any progress with your benefits?

Annabelle26

I am feeling even worse than before.  I have received no benefits since 29th March. I have been living on a small pension, 2 small hardship loans & some money I have borrowed from my family.  I am not eating properly because I cannot afford to.  I know about food banks but I am not sure they can fullfill my dietary requirements properly.    I have registered an appeal with the Tribunal so that is 2 benefits at that stage as I am also waiting for a hearing about refusal of my PIP benefit after being asked to swap from DLA.  I was told I would have to apply for JSA.  I applied online & went for my initial interview on 1st May.  I was really anxious about it & had brain fog so the Advisor had to give me various printouts to take away & read what I need to do before my first session.  It felt I she was talking underwater in a foreign language.  I think the session lasted longer than normal.  My first signing on session was last Thursday 10th May.  It was awful.  I suffer when the weather gets really hot like the weekend before.  I still felt a bit weak, I had a cold & was really anxious.  By the time I got there I was like a lump of jelly & kept having panic attacks & bursting into tears & the Advisor had to stop & let me sort myself out.  I asked for a same day payment as I had been advised by the previous Advisor.  She put me on a phone to the Benefit Processing Centre even though I could not speak properly.  I was refused as they were waiting some information about my savings & capital which I had given the Advisor earlier & she had copied them.  They told me my claim was not in payment yet it takes 10 working days.  I told them I had no money & some direct debits had bounced.  The person I spoke to said they would look into the situation & ring me back later.  I went home & later a really nice man called John rang me & told me I could not have a payment yet.  I burst into tears & he was very calm & gave me time to compose myself.  He told me he would speak to his Manager & ring me back in 15 mins when I had time to compose myself.  I went & made myself a cup of tea & did some exercises to calm myself down.  He rang back but he could not offer me anything but a small loan of £12.48 to cover essentials.  He was really apologetic & sympathetic about the situation but he could not give me more as they do not like claimants getting into debt with the DWP. He did however tell me I should start receiving my benefit on 15th May.  If I had nothing by Wednesday I have to ring them up again to see why I had to received anything.  The payments along with the payments for a small loan I had when I applied for JSA will come out of my benefit payments in instalments.  After all that I could not eat & went to bed early.  The next day I felt really awful & after forcing some breakfast down me I went back to bed.  It took me the whole weekend to recover & even today I do not feel 100%.  I have to go back to the Jobcentre on Wednesday to prepare my CV & be shown how to apply for jobs.  I have to show I am willing to look for jobs otherwise I will get sanctioned.  At my initial jobcentre interview I had to tell the Advisor what type of work I could do which is Admin.  I have restrictions on exactly what I can do & also any desk & computer would need various adjustments before I could use it for too long. Also there is travel restrictions. It was agreed I could only do part time of 16 hours a week which is the minimum to get JSA.  I have to go on a site called Jobsearch regularly to find suitable jobs.  Apparently my Job Coach can long into my account on the site to check whether I am using it or not. There is nothing in the area & it keeps giving me details of jobs miles away in different areas even though I have put a restriction of how far I can travel.  I am really depressed about my life at present.  I have been in touch with the Samaritans & they are helping me cope.  The really annoying thing is the way this has all come about by the fact I was asked to apply for PIP after being on DLA for years & shortly after that request/command/order they have decided to look at my ESA even though I was in the Support Group since 2011 when I became unemployed.  I have also been keeping my local MP informed & I have a meeting with someone from the local CAB on Thursday & I am determined to get there as I had to put off the last appointment as it was the day after my initial interview & I felt too ill to attend.