Do they realise what this does to people?

axwy62

So after all the arguing and paying for GP letters, Maximus have backed down over my ESA assessment and decided I don't need a face-to-face after all. Since all the information they're relying on now was sent in with the ESA50 4 months ago, I'm not impressed.
There happens to be a very powerful clause in the Equality Act, the 'provision, criterion or practice' clause (s19 (1) if you want to read it yourself) which basically says that any blanket policy, such as requiring a GP letter to agree a home visit, which puts someone with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage, in this case being disabled means you're more likely to have difficulty going to a centre and therefore more likely to have to pay for a letter, amounts to indirect discrimination and the Courts can make a declaration that the policy is discriminatory. There's a small bonus in that it would be up to Maximus to prove that either it's not discriminatory or it's a 'proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim', but since the Work and Pensions Committee report on ESA and PIP assessments basically says asking for a GP letter should be the last resort only if there's no other evidence that a home visit would be appropriate, they're screwed.
For me, any damages awarded would simply be the icing on the cake if I could get that declaration and stop them doing this.

axwy62

And now they’ve admitted ‘a mistake was made at the outset’.
I am considering how to proceed, but will take into account that this is the third time in a row ‘a mistake was made at the outset’ in connection with my assessments.

axwy62

Having spent half the night considering, I'm going ahead with my discrimination claim.

I can draft the Particulars etc myself, but if anyone or any organisation is able to provide some support, it would be appreciated. The paperwork side shouldn't present any problems, but I'm likely to have difficulty coping in a courtroom as I'm not always at my best in social situations.

axwy62

I've finally received some of the paperwork via DWP.

It seems DWP made a decision over a month ago on my entitlement based solely on an ESA85A from Maximus which only mentions one descriptor and gives conflicting information on prognosis (2 years and in the longer term - I asked for 'severe conditions'). DWP say they didn't have access to my ESA 50 or any of the medical evidence I sent in, including the letters I paid for. Is it me, or does it sound pretty unreasonable to make a decision without all the paperwork? As they've not bothered to tell me the decision yet, do I have to wait before I can ask for mandatory reconsideration?

Also, the ESA85A only has space for 3 very short sections - advice, prognosis and justification - no mention of what conditions I might suffer from, medication etc. Is there missing information or is this the norm now? The form last time was about 20 pages long.

Finally, one piece of evidence which Maximus allegedly used is a 'Med3' which I believe is a fit note. The last time I had to send a sick note would have been in 2004 or possibly 2005, and I don't think they were called fit notes then. In any case, anything that old is not likely to be very relevant to my condition now.

Macsdragon13

Hi all... my post is going to be short and not so sweet! My form is due this Friday but I have been fighting a migraine since last Friday! Not surprising, I've been waiting to get through on their phone line all morning!!! I can't even watch TV so how can I fill in their form?!? Even this much is killing me right now... Right now, it would help me tremendously to just be able to stop crying over this!!!