ESA Appeal

DebraJane

Good afternoon all any information please I went for my ESA assessment in September received letter saying I had failed and my ESA money stopped did mandatory reconsideration still No so now I’m appealing I Have a heart condition leakes on valves of heart CKD high BP and suffer with my nerves and anxiety don’t like going out if I have to go out it effects my BP because I get very Nervous   Please any advice.   Thank you

steve51

Hi @DebraJane

Good Afternoon it’s great to meet you today.

I am one of a number of Community Champion’s here at Scope.

I am very very sorry to hear about your current situation with your ESA.

We have got some great info & advice here on our site/community.

I would be very happy in helping you with things as I have had personal experience’s with ESA (Benefit’s)

Please please let me know how you feel???

@steve51

DebraJane

Hi Steve51 thank you for your reply I’m devastated just thought I would be awarded my ESA has nothing changed in my health and I’m dreading getting the next letter.    

DebraJane

Hoping someone could give me some advice. 

poppy123456

Hi,

May i ask which group you were in before you were found fit for work? and do you know the reasons why you were placed into that group the last time you were assessed?  and have you claimed Universal Credit since your ESA stopped?

The work capability assessment is about your ability to do any type of work and this is what you would have been assessed on.The Tribunal will also consider any type of work that you maybe able to do and you need to prove that you're not fit for any type of work.

You need to look at the descriptors for both groups and decided which apply to you and this is what you need to concentrate on for the Tribunal hearing. I'm assuming you're planning on appearing in person because this will give you the best chance of a decision in your favour.

See link for both descriptors. https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1354-work-related-activity-group-descriptors

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1353-support-group-descriptors

If none of those apply then you'll need to look at regulation 29 and 35, which is substantial risk and you can read about that here in this link. https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/resources/article/making-exception

I would advise you to speak to an advice agency near you for help and support with the Tribunal. Put your postcode into this link to see what's available local to you for that advice. https://advicelocal.uk/

DebraJane

Thank you so much   Poppy123456 I’m sure I was in the work related ESA Iv been on ESA for roughly 6 first 12 months had face to face chats then never received any appointments I’m not going to the appeal my self I don’t like going out and suffer anxiety depression  CKD high blood pressure also leakes on valves of heart my daughter sent a letter in I’m not claiming any benefits at the moment I was awarded 6 points that why they stopped my ESA.    

poppy123456

You're welcome.

Sounds like you were in the WRAG. I urge you to attend your Tribunal hearing if you want any chance of winning the appeal because paper based decisions only have between 5-8% chance of success against more than 70% if you appear in person.

If you're thinking of asking your daughter to attend for you then i'm afraid this isn't possible, you will need to appear yourself for the oral hearing. Maybe you can take someone with you, your daughter or a friend?

Did you send evidence to support your claim? They very rarely contact anyone for this, the onus is on you to make sure it's sent. Evidence should be sent to HMCTS and not to DWP if you've requested the Tribunal. You need to make sure your Tribunal reference number is added to everything you send them.

I'm assuming you've requested the Tribunal and sent the SSCS1 form to HMCTS? if so have they accepted your appeal yet?

If they have then you'll be able to go back onto assessment rate of ESA BUT you'll need sick notes from your GP to be able to claim this and they will need to be backdated to the date you were found fit for work. Otherwise they won't pay you any backdated money from when it stopped. You'll need to continue to send those sick notes until a decision's been made.

The only downside to all of this is that waiting times are huge across most of the country and lots of people are waiting a year for a hearing date.

DebraJane

Thank you I just couldn’t go to the appeal especially after my assessment some of the things wrote in that I can’t remember saying them the lady took my blood pressure 186/98 commented it was very high but did not put this in my report I get that anxious when I go any were my daughter came with me but waited in the waiting room I wish I had let her come in    Thank you 

poppy123456

The assessment is not relevant to your Tribunal because they won't be interested in anything that did or didn't happen during that assessment or what may or may not have been written in the report. You need to concentrate on which group you think you should be placed into and your reasons why. If you concentrate on the report/assessment it could harm your case.

As paper based decision's are very rarely won, you'll need to have an extremely good case to win and to do this you'll need to understand case law and this is extremely difficult. The panel always prefer you to attend in person over a paper based decision and they may even ask you to attend, if a decision can't be made on paper alone.

The Tribunal is nothing like the assessment was, they are understanding and will listen to what you have to say. For the questions they ask if you don't understand then ask them to repeat it. Fear of the unknown is always the worst.

I'll repeat that i urge you to attend for any chance of successfully being placed into one of the groups. Take your daughter with you for support.

DebraJane

Thank you for your your help