Hi, my name is maddanj! I have a rather protracted ESA claim from November 2019

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Update on this. I recieved LCWRA and ESA Support group. ESA awarded me the 3 years backpay but UC said I didn't declare fit notes for 9 months during Covid lockdowns and restrictions period in 2020-21 which it's evident that I have in my Journal.Initially they said I went over the benefit cap in one assessment period in April 2021 then changed thier mind on this I said I couldn't have done so they must owe me the £7.16 for the that period. The Decision Maker then dropped this tact and came up with a missing Fit Notes issue to stop awarding me the full arrears.So I have an issue where both UC and ESA have given me backpay as a dual claim but only one should do this - ESA usually takes precedence but UC want to take back 2 years of ESA backpayment and leave me with the 1 year they decided on. It's a complete mess after a 3 year wait.
CAB are going to do an MR but not on the Fit Notes which I can prove and my daughter has written up and referenced the journals but on the grounds of ESA taking precedence at the outset of the claim.It took 3 weeks to get the specialist team advise back on this the 3 issues I'd reported and by then I was over the 4 weeks for MR but this can go to 13 months if you have a good reason. Unfortunately the CAB adviser had misinterpreted 2 of these and hadn't responded to my feedback on thier email asking this to be sent to the specialist team so it's going to take some time with them to resolve this but at least I've now been given a CAB adviser who works full time as I struggled to get response from the young woman who was really nice but seemed more interested that my case was interesting rather than the grief and anxiety it continued to cause me..In the meantime, I've written a journal for my Case Manager refencing where the Fit Notes are reported in my journal, the issue with the Fit Note Task not being sent and the responses from JC staff having recieved at lease one of these. I also asked them to define the meaning of "declaring a fit note" as opposed to reporting it in my journal and posting it to the JC. I said I've done as much as I can to provide these. The DWP implemented a Covid19 operating model which meant JC's were closed and staff didn't know what to do with the Fit Notes so not to send them to the JC at one stage. It's been chaotic and frustrating.I also pointed out that the Workcoach or UC system should have flagged up that my Fit Notes had not been validated by work coach or an agent at the time and a sanction applied, not wait to penalise me retrospectively for something outside of my control.
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If you were put in the ESA Support Group, regardless of what the UC DM says about the Fit Notes, you should be paid LCWRA for any month in which you were in ESA Support Group. That appears to be the case that CAB have decided to run.0
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Hi Calcotti,thank you for your response. I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean by the last sentence about the case CAB have decided to run. Could you please provide the source of your advice?I added the question here https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/561782#Comment_561782 as it was soley about the issue with Fit Notes so as not to confuse others seeking information about this.
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https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/376/regulation/40
40.—(1) A claimant has limited capability for work and work-related activity if—
(a) it has been determined that—
(i) the claimant has limited capability for work and work-related activity on the basis of an assessment under this Part, or
(ii) the claimant has limited capability for work related activity on the basis of an assessment under Part 5 of ESA Regulations
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In the end, I had to get my MP to raise a complaint to DWP. I hope this helps others.The DWP complaints representative's decision was that I should have been awarded the full UC backpayment as ESA were able to locate all of my fit notes on thier system. They should have communicated with each other, as I'd requested. They also awarded me limited compensation.This was a case of a DM deliberately seeking a reason not to award me the full amount due to the UC system not sending the automated action for requesting a Fit Note for those periods. Despite the fact that I had provided the information in my Journal and the name of the Workcoach who the Fit Notes were posted to at the job centre and the dates of posting plus the journal entries where the Job centre representative stated these were recieved.Had I had the capacity, I would have requested my MP raise another complaint about the 3 years it took to get the WCA and ESA not processing my ESA50 which was reicieved by them and UC asking me to provide another 2 years later. Constant calls from Workcoaches to review my obvious long term conditions during these years.Plus the WCA HCA not being given the information to include calling my daughter to participate and she was not able to do this as was working from home.
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Glad it’s all been sorted.0
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So glad it's been sorted @maddanj! I also had to get my MP involved after my 18 month PIP fight. It got seen to amazingly quickly after he wrote to the DWP.1
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Calcotti, hi40.—(1) A claimant has limited capability for work and work-related activity if—
(a) it has been determined that—
(i) the claimant has limited capability for work and work-related activity on the basis of an assessment under this Part, or
(ii) the claimant has limited capability for work related activity on the basis of an assessment under Part 5 of ESA Regulations
This is interesting because it mentions LCWRA in Part 5 of the regs - where did you source this?
The link above this passage is for something else.
Thank you
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WhatThe said:
Calcotti, hi40.—(1) A claimant has limited capability for work and work-related activity if—
(a) it has been determined that—
(i) the claimant has limited capability for work and work-related activity on the basis of an assessment under this Part, or
(ii) the claimant has limited capability for work related activity on the basis of an assessment under Part 5 of ESA Regulations
This is interesting because it mentions LCWRA in Part 5 of the regs - where did you source this?
The link above this passage is for something else.
Thank you
Sadly, calcotti hasn't been active for quite sometime due to health reasons. I had been in contact with them but haven't had a reply to my last PM which was about 2 weeks ago.
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This is interesting because it mentions LCWRA in Part 5 of the ESA regs - where did you source this?
The link above this passage is for something else.
This is what I meant to say.
I don't check in when I'm unwell so I'm happy to wait for Calcotti's reply, thank you!
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