Reassessment pending ESA appeal

[Osiris01]

Hello all,

 

Hopefully there's someone out there that can help me make sense of my situation. I suffer from severe anxiety and depression which prevents me, almost completely, from going out or having any social interaction (the last time I left the house was 3 months ago to attend my WCA). I had to move back in with my parents last August because I couldn't manage on my own. I applied for ESA in August 2015 and subsequently scored 6 points at the WCA in October. I applied for mandatory reconsideration which resulted in an additional 6 points (total 12) being awarded. I applied for appeal in Dec 2015 and my ESA payments were reinstated 3 days ago.

 

However, today I received another ESA50. The timing of this seems more than a coincidence and I am unsure of the process that follows. Since I am pending an appeal hearing (I don't have a date yet), what happens if/when I fail the medical again? I can understand the DWP reassessing people who have been accepted for ESA (after a reasonable period of time), but I can't find any instance of a reassessment being carried out prior to an appeal, particularly since it has only been 3 months since my last one. I, like most, have had a pretty rotten experience of the DWP and I can't help but suspect that this reassessment is some backhand tactic. I also find them extremely distressing since being interrogated by someone I don't know in a place outside of my home is an almost guaranteed panic attack.

 

Can anyone tell me if i am just being paranoid, or is there something more sinister at foot. Are they trying to trip me up? If I fail the reassessment, will I still receive ESA payments until my appeal?

 

Many thanks for your time.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Osiris01
typo

[reallymadwoman]

I'm going to guess that this is a complete error by someone, and they've treated your ESA being reinstated as a new claim for some reason.

Phone them, or get someone to do it for you.

[Osiris01]

Thanks RMW.

 

Despite the fact that they have made numerous errors at every stage of the process, it never even occurred to me that they had sent it in error. I shall ring later (just received 4 brown envelopes this morning - it's like Xmas all over again!).

 

Cheers

 

O

[Nystagmite]

Typically, they're not open on a Saturday.

[Osiris01]

. Yes, it did slip my mind. However, the letters I received today have kept me occupied. One telling me I am getting paid from the 12th Nov, one telling me I'm not, and the other one telling me I'm not getting paid for the first 7 days of a new claim (which implies RMW's reply is right - thanks again). The last one was a p45. . Hey-ho.

[reallymadwoman]

The proverbial drinking session in a brewery springs to mind.

 

Can you imagine any sort of private company surviving with incompetence on this level?

[Osiris01]

It really is breathtaking. My expectations are now so low, very little they do actually surprises me any more. A couple of weeks ago they told me my allowance was to be reinstated by a 'same day' payment. When that didn't materialise I called them again and was told it would take up to 28 working days to reinstate my payments (naturally, I offered them my assistance if they needed help to press the button). September 2015 I received a letter telling me that if I did not send in a sick note by May 2015, my money would stop?? It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

 

Anyway, thanks for your help folks.

[jason2723637]

one thing going by the OP another person can clear this up I thought if your ESA claim was made after march 2015 - new rules you don't get ESA pending appeal is this right or wrong either way seems they made a mess up cant see how you get another WCA if your appealing