Incapacity claim stopped......now messed about by everyone else....please help

[sweetlayte1979]

Hi,

 

Really hope someone can help me, i have been claiming I.B. since August 2008 due to mental health, I suffer from severe depression, panic attacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts and actions.

All this stems from years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse by a now ex partner. I am on several medications to combat all of this, but unfortunately nothing makes it better or makes it go away even for a minute!

 

I recently went for a pca which shortly after found i had been failed on, reading the reasons on the form shocked me, and the person who came with me (as i cannot go out alone)! I had not been asked 99% of the questions on the form. And also in the process of this medical the doctor (and i use this word lightly) told me "you should have been able to stop all this abuse if your partner was smaller than you" and "you should be fine if your no longer with that person"!!

This caused me severe distress and upset as you can imagine!!

 

So now my I.B. has been stopped i have an appeal going in.......while this is going ahead i was advised to claim E.S.A (i thought these were the same thing), however i have now been told i will need to go for another assesment and in the meantime i am not entitled to any form of payment due failing my pca??

So i then called income support to see if they can help......and was swiftly told that i could not claim that because it was already included in my esa claim....confused??? so am i!!!!

 

I am not able to get a crisis loan due to them saying im at my limit which i dont agree with so am now also having to fight that also.

 

I have had absolutely no money for 5 weeks now, my landlord is sending me final warning letters as my rent is not being paid, i just want someone to tell me what i can claim, where from and who to call and what to say to them....as i have explained my situation so many times and just got nowhere!! Well aside from the one guy at Incapacity saying "sorry but i think your only options are the citizens advice and the samaritans"!!

 

Please please can anyone help me??

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG. Yes I'm sure we can help you, you've come to the right place. Take a deep breath and we'll take you through this logically.

 

I would like some of our gurus to comment, but my understanding is that your IB should continue in some form while you're disputing the result of your PCA. If you've been moved to ESA, then that could be the reason you have another assessment, but I'm not sure if that's right or not. What forms have you filled in recently please?

 

Our gurus usually turn up in the evenings once they've finished work, but there could be other caggers around who'll be able to comment.

 

My best, HB

[sweetlayte1979]

I am not recieving any form of I.B and when i have spoke to them they have told me my I.B claim has been stopped pending my appeal! Which can take up to 6 months. I was not automatically put on E.S.A, i was told to claim this so did that over the phone and they sent me something to sign, not sure what the form was called, it just reitterated what i had said on the phone to the E.S.A department.

 

The appeal form for the I.B was not labelled with a number, it actually just seemed like a general appeal form, came in a grey booklet and i filled in 2 tear out pages and put another few pages with it with more explanation on it. All with my name and N.I number on them, which conveniently have now gone missing so am having to send them again.

 

I just dont understand how they expect me to live on absolutely nothing at all.

[doktorjohn]

You should not have to try and get ESA. You should get IB (Income Support) at a reduced rate when your appeal has been accepted up until the tribunal.

 

I did.

 

dj

[sweetlayte1979]

I have been told that i will not recieve anything at all though by several department now even my friend has had to ring up due to me not being able to put my points across without having panick attacks.

 

They have basically said i will only start recieving payment when my claim for esa has been done in about a months time or my IB is reinstated, which is anywhere up to 6 months away.

[HadEnough]

Hi there, i think welfare rights should be able to sort this mess out for you, give them a ring first thing tomorrow.

[emmaf01]

Your local council may have a welfare rights officer who can help. Otherwise, do you have a CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse)? They can sometimes get you a welfare rights adviser from MIND who can help.

 

There are benefits you can claim- during my appeal after an Incapacity Benefit assessment went wrong (for me) I was able to claim Income Support until the appeal was heard. It wasn't much, but it kept me in beans and bread just.

 

If your landlord situation is causing you bother, perhaps get in touch with your local council housing department. My old one used to have a worker who tried to find ways to stop people in crisis situations like yours from losing their tenancy. Worth asking about.