Help letter after not attending second medical assessment for atos

fiesta56

hi wonder if any one can help 1 st appointment I canceld due partner not leavening house was informed get a doctors letter I later got new appointment it was second appointment but didn’t manage to get doctor letter in time I was a day late phoned them and said it would get sent bk to dwp today I received letter asking reason why partner didn’t attend but I not have doctors letter which don’t think it will help do I send this in with reason letter why my partner didn’t attend and do use think if I wrote a letter exsplain about my partners problems that would help as I’m he’s career he won’t sign on if he’s found fit for work and it’s a joint claim

poppy123456

Hi,

They need reasons why he didn't attend, so yes that letter will need to written and if you're not his appointee then your partner will need to sign it.

If those reasons are not accepted then he'll be found fit for work for failing to attend and his money will stop.  If this happens he'll need to request a Mandatory Reconsideration within 1 month of the date of the decision to find him fit for work. For this he'll need to give reasons and evidence again why he didn't attend. At this point i'd urge you to get some face to face advice.

If the MR decision doesn't change then it will be Tribunal after that. He won't be able to go back onto assessment rate while waiting for the Tribunal. Good luck.

fiesta56

Thank your I’m guna fill out form and say he cudnt attenden medical because of him not leavening house due mental health could I right a letter as well as I am he’s career ? Exsplain that I’ve tried get him there ect

fiesta56

Problem is due him not leavening house I don’t have much medical evidence the doctors ain’t reviewed he’s depression tablets since 2011 the letter basically says that no contact with patient since 2015 and that he does not engage with practice and communication is generally thru he’s partner (me) and that I informed them that he does not leave house and wouldn’t be able attend assesment and that I stated he wud get agitated regarding a home assessment and if home assesment was made he won’t open door I’m worried because they have records that don’t go out but from 2012 and it’s a new doctor my partner never met I’m hopen take letter as evidence

fiesta56

Last time he had home vistit it was 2011 2012 but he’s old doctor new he doesn’t leave house and my partner would kick of if I phoned doctors out it’s so stressfull

poppy123456

Yes put the reasons why he won't attend any face to face assessment.

melissahicking2019

hi, my friend had a "similar PIP related" experience with capita.

 allthough you would expect a PIP assessment to be more lenient in regards to attending the assessment.

Even a sick note was not acceptable as we arranged for the 1st assessment to be re-dated and we provided a sick note from the doctor for the second appointment.

However on the day of the assessment we rand C@PITA asking them if they had the sick note and they replied, yes they do but my friend must still attend or risk loosing benefits.

We panicked and didnt know what else to do so my friend (more worried about loosing benefits caught a bus to goto assessment. He got lost and was over 10 mins late after being walked to the assessment center by a person from the local job center where my friend ended up. 

The best part is my friend was on a crutch because of a sprained ankle and a sick note was not good enough for capita to re-schedule , more than likely one of their tactics to prove that you can travel independently. Well my friend panicked and under the pressure and panik of loosing his benefits failed to find the center on his own struggled and got lost.

Eventually we appealed the refusal for a PIP renewal and went to tribunal and my friend won on outstanding medical evidence and a copy of the sick note and written letter to CAPITA and DWP explaining his planned none attendance.

P.S after reviewing the latest upper tier tribunal cases i have found some very interesting information about a relevant matter

i advise you take a look and see where you stand in legal terms if you decide to appeal any action taken by DWP or CAPITA

goto this link and view this case . allthough they are relevant of PIP im sure that they are still just as relevant in relation to turning upto an ESA assessment.


hope it helps..

Mel

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/selected-upper-tribunal-decisions-april-2018-march-2019#Employment
 

CPIP/2456/2017: Need to produce appointment letter in appeal relating to failure to attend medical assessment.

CPIP/1567/2017: Good reason for failure to attend PIP assessment

poppy123456

@melissahicking2019 your friends Tribunal and link above is for PIP, this thread is for ESA. Without good reason a claimant will be found fit for work if they fail to attend a work capability assessment. The rules for ESA are completely different to PIP.

melissahicking2019

i cannot remove it very sorry. im sure the link will still be of use as you can also view the ESA cases.

thanks again poppy.

poppy123456

@fiesta56 are you getting some face to face help/advice with this? If you're not and his money stops then i urge you to speak to an advice agency near you for help with the Mandatory Reconsideration process. This link will help you find what's in your area.

https://advicelocal.uk/

BenefitsTrainingCo

fiesta56,

You've said in the title of your thread it's an ATOS assessment but if it's for ESA it would be Maximus - they also call themselves Centre for Health & Disability Assessments (CHDA). 

I think it must be ESA as you've mentioned the worry about your partner being found fit for work, but just wanted to check. ATOS do PIP assessments in some areas, Capita do them in others, but ESA is always Maximus (CHDA). The advice about MR & giving reasons would be the same though.

If you can get any more recent medical evidence that will help a lot, but I can see how difficult that might be.

Will

poppy123456

@BenefitsTrainingCo thanks for your help here. As i've been trying to help fiesta, yes it's for ESA and failing to attend a work capability assessment.

LaddLadd

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/238434#Comment_238434

HI, I hoped every worked out for you. In 2020 I actually used the clause you quoted for PIP in my UC Appeal. Some tribunal decisions relating to PIP can actually be used for ESA cases.

just posting this in case any finds this information useful for the future.