Questions about ESA Telephone WCA

[Deleted User]

Deleted the question, I'll wait until after the assessment

[Deleted User]

I'm sat here still waiting for a call.. the appointment was for between 13:00 - 14:00... it's now 14:50... 

poppy123456

I'm sorry to hear this. They do sometimes go over on appointments which then makes other appointments late. This happened to me with my daughters work capability assessment. I'm her appointee so the assessment was down to me to answer the questions. I waited for about 90 minutes and then someone rang me to say that the HCP is late and i could either continue to wait or they would cancel the appiontment for another time. I canceled it.

I hope you're not waiting too much longer.

[Deleted User]

Son called the centre who then gave him a number to call, the person insisted on talking to me.. which urked me even more and then came across as she didn't even know what she was talking about, she didn't even know what the person was doing and I swear she said "he", we specifically asked for a woman twice now... I hope it's not a male... My son was told I was within my right to tell them that I'd asked for a female the first time we asked, it was why the original appointment was postponed.

Sorry for the rant.. I've been awake on and off since 3am due to this.. I've felt very anxious and ill all day and I've lost count of how many times I've been to the bathroom.. I'm also pretty annoyed. I understand that they can get held up but the last time it happened they called me to let me know.

poppy123456

Unless your son is your appointee then you would have needed to go through security first and then tell them you're passing the phone onto your son.

I understand how frustrating it is when the appointments run late but at least you weren't on your way to the assessment centre itself. I hope by the time you read this that you've had your appointment and can at least try to relax a little more tonight.

[Deleted User]

I think we are going to be looking into the appointee stuff now, I really can't handle most things because of how my mental health affects me, as you can see, even someone being late has aggravated me. My son does most things anyway. The thing is, they usually let my son speak to them, it's only been today they've asked for me.

Nope, still nothing.

poppy123456

If your son becomes your appointee then he will be responsible for all letters regarding your claim and they will be addressed to him not yourself. He will also be responsible for reporting all changes, filling out the forms and receiving your money into his bank on behalf of you. Full details here. https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

[Deleted User]

Thanks Poppy.

Still nothing, would you happen to know what time they'd be working till? My son has things to do but doesn't want to leave me just in case they call because I won't answer the phone while he's not here. I only ever answer it to my Mum.

Thanks for trying to help, I appreciate it.

poppy123456

It's probably 5pm that they finish, at least that's when the phone lines close. I can't imagine that they would ring now because of the time it may take to complete the assessment. When you rang did you ring the Health Assessment Advisory Service? These are the ones that do the WCA. See link. https://www.chdauk.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance-esa

I'd advise you to ring them first thing in the morning when they open at 9.

I'm sorry this has caused so much anxiety for you.

[Deleted User]

Yeah my son rang there who then gave him another number for our area, I spoke to the woman who didn't seem to know much, she just said the practitioner was doing other things and that she would get them to call, she was really clueless honestly... and I'm not saying that to be horrible. 

poppy123456

I'm not making excuses for the person you spoke to but i wouldn't have expected her to know what the HCP was doing at that time. If the assessments before you had lasted longer than expected then the receptionist wouldn't know this unless they were told. I know when i rang the person i spoke to was passsing on a message.

I hope you're not waiting too long for another date.

[Deleted User]

My son just called the appointment line and he spoke to a nice chap, who said he has sent a message through to the manager at the assessment centre, he said he didn't understand why no one called, they finished working at 5 and they should have phoned me before they went home to state what had happened, he also said the manager or a practitioner will need to call us and tell us why they didn't contact us, and that the next appointment will be at my convenience.