ESA to UC, placed in LCW group, asked for mandatory reconsideration

turtle150

Hi guys i need some advice i am really stessed and worried about the whole process and it is really taking a toll on me. I was in the support group for ESA, i was not required to have any meetings or prepare for work, because of the pandemic and work from home jobs being more common i wanted to try and get into work and see if i could handle it with my condition. I found a job that was fully remote and ended my ESA, i lasted about 6 weeks in the job and i realized i was not able to cope, my health was deteriorating a lot and i was having panic attacks daily.

I ended up leaving it and wanting to go back to my ESA, but i was told i would have to start the process all over again and apply for universal credit. I felt this was very unfair but i went ahead and applied for it. I had my work capability assessment and they placed me in the LCW group, which meant i would get a total of around 334 a month, when i was previously getting around 550 a month on ESA, this is more than 200 less than what i was getting previously. It has all been very difficult and i have had to borrow money from people to survive on this amount, it was hard before when i was on ESA but now it seems like an impossible task. I have asked for a mandatory reconsideration about 2 weeks ago, i don't know how long it will take and i am worried sick. I am really scared they will keep me in the LCW group and i will have to go tribunal, i am unable to leave my house and have no one to help me with the process, i can't even bring myself to call citizens advice because of how overwhelming it will all be. I have checked the criteria for the LCWRA group and i am 100 percent sure i meet it, so i am confused why they didn't place me in it. Can you guys offer me some advice, how long does a MR usually take? Is it unlikely they will change the decision? I recieved the initial decision about 13 days after my assessment, so am i looking at a similar timescale for the MR? Thankyou

calcotti

You should allow about 12 weeks for the MR.

turtle150

calcotti said:

You should allow about 12 weeks for the MR.

Does MR normally take longer than the original decisions? I had a decision for my work capability assessment after 13 days however it has been 2 weeks since my MR was requested and i am still waiting for the outcome

poppy123456

Original decisions after a WCA can be quite quick and some have a decision within a couple of days. For the MR they very often take a lot longer. Calcotti is correct and it’s up to around 12 weeks.
The most likely outcome will be the decision remains the same. If this happens you can proceed to Tribunal. 

turtle150

poppy123456 said:

Original decisions after a WCA can be quite quick and some have a decision within a couple of days. For the MR they very often take a lot longer. Calcotti is correct and it’s up to around 12 weeks.
The most likely outcome will be the decision remains the same. If this happens you can proceed to Tribunal. 

Will i have to attend the tribunal in person? I can't even leave my house and i feel like i will be at a great disadvantage due to this 

bg844

You can request a telephone hearing. You can also request a paper-based hearing but the success rate for those are extremely low so I advise you to opt for either a face-to-face or telephone hearing.

turtle150

Should i be expecting a phone call from a decision maker at any time? I am worried they might call me but i will miss it and they'll decide against me. I wish they would let us know in advance. Do they even call during a MR or do they just decide based on the paperwork

calcotti

turtle150 said:

Should i be expecting a phone call from a decision maker at any time? 

They sometimes ring but more often will not.

turtle150

It has been 10 weeks and i have not had any kind of reply from them. Is this normal? How much longer would it take

poppy123456

turtle150 said:

It has been 10 weeks and i have not had any kind of reply from them. Is this normal? How much longer would it take

Yes, prefectly normal. As has been advised, up to 12 weeks, sometimes longer for the MR decision.

lydsbids

@turtle150 did you ever get a decision and how long did it take