Advice needed for ESA tribunal where false information was given to me

[Dawn Woods]

I am writing a submission to a tribunal. I received a letter from the ESA dept stating that my claim has been reassessed and I have now been awarded payments from 13th January 2011 to 7th May 2011.

 

The letter also states that because I did not attend an interview on 12th October 2011 my payments were stopped as of the 8th May 2011.

 

I telephoned the Benefit centre, to double check whether this letter was correct. The operative I spoke to confirmed that the payment is due to be made, as the claim that I had made on the 13th January 2011 had been incorrectly issued with the wrong tax year, which explains why I had received the letters saying that I was not entitled to any benefits, just NI credits. I did query this several times during 2011.

 

In 2011, I was told that I did not have to attend the interview because I was not receiving ESA benefits (monies) just credits towards my pension. So I took the advice of the operative in 2011, and did not attend.

 

Due to this claim being incorrect in the beginning, I received incorrect information about not having to attend the appointment, and as such I have not been awarded the benefits from 8th May 2011 to present date which I believe I am entitled to as the current claim is dormant.

 

Just wondering if you had any advice whilst I appeal against this decision.

 

I can provide medical evidence from my GP to say that I still suffer with severe depression/anxiety; also my community psychiatric nurse (CPN) and my psychiatrist can both verify this.

 

I look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter.

[Dawn Woods]

i was hoping that there maybe something in English Law that i could use regarding the incorrect information and use that for good cause

[ErikaPNP]

Hi Dawn.

 

I'm not happy with those dates. I'm going to ask another member of the Site Team who is more knowlegable on ESA processing than I am to have a look at your thread.

 

If you have been misadvised by the DWP and that has caused you financial detriment, this is known as 'maladministration' and you can seek financial redress. The guidance that is used by DWP on financial redress applications is here (click the link), but as I say, I'm going to ask someone else who knows more about processing of ESA to take a look.

[Dawn Woods]

Thank you so much for replying so quickly.

 

I am so nervous about getting the correct information to submit to the court, as I will be representing myself...

[antone]

Erika asked me to take a look at this, and I'm a little confused. So just to be clear, let's look at the timeline.

 

• 10th Jan 2011 you make a claim for ESA
  
• First possible day of entitlement would be 13th Jan 2011 due to waiting days
  
• They told you that you aren't entitled to ESA© as you don't meet the contribution conditions
  
• But they have made a mistake and used the wrong tax years to work this out, a mistake not discovered until much later
  
• So when they used the correct tax year, they found that you were, in fact, entitled
  
• But in the meantime, you are told you are only entitled to NI credits
  
• And you are also told that you don't need to attend appointments as you're not receiving any money
  
• As a result of this advice, you don't attend a meeting on 12th October 2011
  
• After which they tell you that you are not entitled to ESA from 8th May 2011
  

 

Is this a correct summary?

 

A few things in here are strange. The tax year error is not good, but at least they seem to have resolved it, finally. But what's really bothering me, as Erika mentioned, are the dates. Whatever advice you were given, your benefit should not be disallowed from May because you failed to attend an appointment the following October. What type of appointment was it, and what, specifically, did they say when informing you that you were not allowed ESA for that period?

 

Also, the advice that you don't need to attend appointments on a credits only claim is not correct - you should not have been told this. A credits only claim is treated the same a "normal" claim, the only difference is you don't get paid. So notwithstanding the other mistake, this seems off.

[Dawn Woods]

Hi, All of the summery you made is correct, the reason that they stopped it from may is apparently i did not send in a drs note or medical evidence, I was not aware that i had to , i was never asked for this. I am going to ask the DWP for my information they hold on me over the past two 4 years, to see what i have been sent etc.