Hi all and happy halloween!!!
Had my esa tribunal yesterday and went from 0 points to 15 points and placed in the support group which we are sooooo pleased about after over a year of waiting!!!
Our only concern is that there was no time recomendation and so now we are still on tender hooks expecting a new ESA50 form to drop through the letter box and have to start it alllllllll over again!!!
Feels like theres no light and the end of the tunnel some days.
Lee and Sally x
Hi Lee & Sally A year before you got put in the support group? Oh my word 
I’ve been placed in the WRAG and my husband wrote a three page war & peace letter back to them appealing there decisicion! In the meantime I’ve had a letter from Job Centre Plus inviting me to an interview which they have deffered for now as my husband isn’t here to attend with me (need assistance in getting there and my parents are too old to help) my husband is in the millitary and spends protracted periods of time away from home!! Could I ask did you have to attend such an interview? And if so how did that go. Worrying times that people like us just don’t need. I’d love to be able to go out and work but have all on managing day to day with this ilness Sue xx
Hi,
I was placed in the WRAG in May I wrote to DWP requesting 1, they look at the descision again 2, asking to appeal and 3,requesting a copy of the Atos medical report. When I read the report I found that Atos had completely disregarded everything I had written on the ESA50 and recommended I would be fit to return to work within 12 months, I am spms so how they came to the conclusion I was going to get better is beyond me.
After ringing DWP countless times and geting no response I decided to write to my MP expressing my discust with Atos and the DWP, he in return wrote to DWP and within a month I recieved a letter placing me in the support group with out having to go through an appeal. It may be worth an email to your MP it worked for me.
Cheers Chris.
Hi, what a nightmare for you Chriscmt too.
Too many of us are being made to jump thru hoops (now that would be interesting to watch), to dance to ATOS tune and it`s all so very wrong.
I am 60 now and have been on Incapacity benefit since 2000. i just hope i am not put through the wringer at my age…
luv Pollx
Cheers Chris, That is my next step or rather my husbands. In our letter asking them to look at the decision again we also asked for them to supply us with a copy of the Atos report. Poll i’d have all on to even do the hula hoop round the waist without falling over!! Lol xx
Thanks for your replys, Sue, no we never had to go for any interviews at job centre think thats because we was left on the assesment rate of esa whilst we waited for the appeal.
I was placed on WRAG October last year. Went along to my first interview and the girl said I was not fit to be there. I sent in an appeal with the help of the welfare rights and got rejected and was told my case would be put to a tribunial. My ESA stopped on the 30th April. I never heard anything until mid July when to my suprise £1365 was paid into my account and later that day I recieved a letter stating I was now in the support group and my esa would be back dated to April and my support alowance back dated to Oct 2011. I have had no furter comunication from DWP. Everyday watch the letter box for the next dreaded instalment of the saga.
Cheers and thanks for reading
Murray
hope someone get something out of my story
Next year I will have to change from Incapacity to ESA, when you complete the form they send out, do they decide them which group your,put in, im getting stressed now as reading other stories and the time,you have to wait, could someone let me know does your money stop, say your put I WRAG and appeal that decision do,you still,continue to get paid whilst waiting on your appeal?
The decision regarding the ESA group (Support or WRAG) may be made on just the info you send on the ESA50 but is more likely to be after a medical. A few lucky people are placed in the support group without a medical but the majority will have to attend.
If you are placed in the WRAG and wish to appeal because you think you should be in the support group you will continue to get your money at the WRAG rate. If your appeal is successful they will backdate the £6.00 p/w extra that you should’ve been getting. You will get contribution based ESA for 12 months. At the end of 12 months you will transfer to income based ESA or your money will stop. Hopefully appeals will not take longer than a year.
If you are declared fit for work (don’t get 15 points) and wish to appeal, the money situation is a bit less clear. I have read conflicting reports about this so I am not really sure. Previously you continued to get the assessment rate of ESA until the appeal was heard – now I’m not so sure. Do you expect to get less than 15 points? IF so feel free to PM me and I’ll try to do a bit more digging.
Jane
Do you get points for being depressed…not suggesting that this may be a way of adding to their points…
I feel very lucky that my transition from inacapicity to ESA appears to have happened smoothly, from date of posting the forms, accompanied with a brill supporting letter from my ms nurse to receiving a phone call informing me that i had been placed in the support group with no assessment for three years. I did request confirmation in writing which I received within a few days. I say I feel lucky because my daughter who has chronic fatigue/ME has had a nightmare with her claim, even after a 12 month wait for appeal, she still didnt earn enough points to qualify for anything, she as of yet hasnt even received a follow up letter & has been left feeling unbelieved and deserted by the system. So part of my award will go towards supporting her, so unjust this system.
What i intended to say was that it only took 3 weeks from posting of forms to receive a decision, no medical or interview.