Did the switch last year, no problems and now nothing to do with the evil DWP or ATOS. Now just waiting for sometime next year when my battle for DLA renewal will start

Several years ago a disabled friend of mine rang me. He was still giggling and laughing. Evidently a 'Compliance Officer' or somesuch called at his house to check some things. My friend said it was Pouring with rain when the gentleman called. My friend didnt let him in but spoke to him on the doorstep. When asked for proof of certain details he asked the chap to wait, closed the door with the poor chap still in the rain and went and made a cup of tea. Around 5 minutes later he said he went back to the front door where the now soaked CO was standing, apologised and said he couldnt find the information requested as his wife had put it away but if he came back the next day he would get his wife to find it. The CO left, my friend said, soaked to the bone, and my old matey just couldnt stop giggling and laughing.

So ATOS is backing out? Someonoe else taking over? HMM reminds me of the final lines of a Who song. "Here comes the new boss, same as the old boss"

Yes I know that I know all of the above. My question was about the legality of attempting to move me when there is a live appeal about putting me into the support group

Two weeks back I received the standard letter that my CB based ESA will be finishing in June. Now I still have my Appeal pending after is was postponed in December as they wanted more info. Whilst I realise that the letter is pretty standard, if my Appeal is still pending when June arrives can they legally take me off of CB based ESA? Another curiosity, Pension credit told me I couldnt go onto IB ESA when my CB finished and I would need to go onto full Pension credit, there was no option !

With your huge paper trail? Origami

So, I got the letter yesterday advising me that my CB ESA will finish in June. Nothing more, nothing about changing over to IB. As I'm already on Pension Credit would it simply be the easier option to dump ESA all together and just go onto full PC? Im 65 in 2015.

PIP Early Progress. National Audit Office Report Full Report Here in PDF format http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Personal-Independence-Payment-early-progress.pdf

Full NAO Report Here http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Personal-Independence-Payment-early-progress.pdf

Surely if the OP was put into the Support Group in Augst he shouldnt have to fill in any more ESA50's for two years or so??

Oh dear Pedantics at Christmas. I bet youre a ball of fun

I'm damned if I can find it now but I did see a post on some forum or other stated that the Pensions Service had confirmed that there was no problem now switching from ESA to PC. I know that earlier this year there were some problems but as far as I know now that problem has been sorted.

Even if you do stop ESA Voluntarily you can go onto full pension credit. My ESA Contribution based will end next July. I rang Pension Credit and they confirmed I can drop the ESA on renewal and go onto full Pension Credit

Well the first thing you need to do is start getting medical evidence to back up your claims.

I cant see it working to be honest. There are too many legal problems which could rise up to hit them. I just think its IDS posturing, what with 'Call me Dave's" popularity waning

I would send them a letter politely refusing their invitation untill they can explain completely what it is about. Also mention that if you do consent sometime in the future to come in for an interview you will want your expenses paid. Then send them a letter fully explaining what happened and also explain that you did inform them of a change of residence

That is total and utter rubbish. Not voting is still voicing an opinion. Please tell me how when voting at the last election we get lumbered with the clowns now sitting in the Cabinet room?. I didnt vote for the Conservatives, I didnt vote for a coalition, yet we are now lumbered with known and outed liars running the country. It is totally undemocratic. I will never ever vote again and I would strongly suggest others refrain from voting. A vote for any party is now a wasted vote. Suppose they had an election and NO ONE voted?

ATOS dont have the authority to send you for anything. They are there to do a job and that is to assess you. . They are not there to spot illnesses or diagnose anything they are there simply to assess your fitness for work. Its an ASSESSMENT Not a Medical.

Yeah I bet all those MPs' who are claiming heating allowances for their second homes donate theirs as well

Many thanks for all those comments. Our house is all electric, and we have got our total Electric bill down to around £75 a month balanced out over the whole year. Fortunatley we live in a semi where the neighbours have their heating right up and the heat warms our living room !!.

I'm on Pension credit and ESA. Last week I got a letter from the Pensions service advising me of a Winter Fuel Payment of £200. I thought it was probably a mistake but, lo and behold, on checking my account this morning I have £200 deposited!! I thought the WFP was £135 not £200??

I give up !

I can see several problems (for me) with your post. Firstly, The initial problem isnt ATOS it is the actual ESA50. It works on the basis of everyone being equal. We arent. Some like myself can waltz through it, see the traps and swerve them. Some will be stumped on the first question!.Some people can answer a question with a direct concise answer, some cannot even figure out how to describe their condition. The central fault is, it is designed to only asses the persons fitness for work or work related activity and not the persons actual physical problems. The ATOS/DWP system is based on Definites, on Positives and many disabilities have no definites, no fixed point of reference. I could go on for pages but I'll move on and hope you see my point. You were lucky to get a Doctor to assess you. Most get nothing but a basic Nurse with no detailed experience, knowledge or training in all of the many many problems people have, or of how those problems affect them. As I have put down on my Appeal, would you go to a Dentist to assess someone with Bowel Cancer?. Would you take Lamborghini Aventador to a small local Garage to diagnose and fix a problem?. The ATOS/DWP system is designed to process the maximum amount of claimants at the minimum possible price and by using cheap labour i.e Nurses, rather than fully qualified MD's, or specialists they also get a biased report in their favour. I also take issue with you statement that. "And in the final guess it is DWP who make the decision from the information they have got,." 2 problems (From my perspective) here. Firstly the DWP dont make the final decision, OK I suppose legally they do, but it is based entirely on the HCP report which in my case suggested I go onto the WRAG. Secondly (and again in my case, but I suspect many others). They dont make decisions from the "information they have got" because in my case and others, the DWP and ATOS actually had no information to base their decision on, no ESA50 or medical documentation as they lost it! and no face to face assessment. Yet the DWP and ATOS felt sufficiently informed to make a decision to put me into the WRAG, without referring it back and demanding more information. (Which is actually illegal, as they will be finding out). The System is an 'on the cheap' process deliberately designed to shift the maximum amount of people off of disability benefits, as quickly as possible. And you can bet, when the main group of long term DLA claimants come up for renewal after 2015, they will use those results to send them back to the DWP for re-assessment of their ESA claims. Watch this space. Check the Disability Forums around the web, SEE and READ the reports of biased and bigotted decisions made by ATOS and the DWP that have actually caused people to kill themselves. The DWP and ATOS know this yet they continue. They simply dont care. Yes there probably are reasonable people working for ATOS but they are few and far between. However as always, you are entitled to your opinion, which I respect.

Its given to poor MP's to heat their second homes, (Or am I being cynical here?)

As Antone says. IMMEDIATELY write to CCS stating stating the debt is in dispute and they are to refer back to their clients, furthermore any further attempts to contact you will be classed as harassment and reported to the police. You should also make it clear that if you spend any further time on their rubbish you will charge it out at £75 per hour minimum. Then get on to DWP senior management or a pleb and get it escalated to higher management.