Son and New ESA Claim

[Guest]

Hi, i due to health reasons and at the advice of the mental health recovery team my son has just applied for esa whilst they get him stabilised and he has therapy etc.

 

He was told by jobcentre that they don't provide forms to apply now and you can only apply on phone. He managed to do this and during the phone call was told they would sent a 'statement' to him to sign and return with i.d. bank statements and sick note.

 

Am wondering how long this takes? or how long should it take? from this phone call to claim until the statement arrives. If its been a week should we be ringing them or does it take longer.

[Jan123]

Hi The statement should arrive in two to three weeks. You have to complete a form showing how your disabilities affect you. After you return this you will get a letter inviting you for an assessment. Once assessment is completed you will discover if you are found not fit for work. You will be placed in Wrag or Support Group or you may be found fit for work. Occasionally you can be assessed on paperwork. Good luck

[Guest]

oh I see. so what happens with the sick note that he now has. Does he send this off or keep it until this statement arrives.

[Jan123]

I would photocopy it and send it off. When you get the Statement or ESA50 form you will be able to say you have sent it to them already (this means they can start the claim while waiting for the rest of the paperwork) if by chance sick note goes missing you have a copy.

[obiter dictum]

You send the sick Note when they send you the documentation back after the initial telephone application. It goes to a totally different department within the DWP and will only get lost if you send it in now.

 

You should get this information from the DWP within a week. You will sign some forms and enclose the sick note within that form. They normally enclose the ESA50 Form.

 

The first payment will be paid into your bank account normally within the next 14 days from receipt of those signed forms

Edited September 16, 2016 by obiter dictum

[Guest]

Thank you obiter dictum. He came off the phone with a migraine and hasn't been able to remember what was said. They probably told him this to be fair. Thanks again.

[obiter dictum]

No worries, been all through this including the ATOS inquisitions

 

One bit of advice i will give is send the form and sick note back by recorded delivery. The DWP are not to be trusted and take a photocopy of the sick note

Edited September 16, 2016 by obiter dictum

[Guest]

Yes I will make sure he does that. I don't trust them either from my own experiences. With all the changes to things I wasn't at all sure of the new set up regarding esa etc. Not being well myself and trying to help him. Luckily his mental health team have given details of an advisor should he need them but getting to see them isn't that easy. But at least we now know what to expect and do with this.

[antone]

Hi The statement should arrive in two to three weeks. You have to complete a form showing how your disabilities affect you. After you return this you will get a letter inviting you for an assessment. Once assessment is completed you will discover if you are found not fit for work. You will be placed in Wrag or Support Group or you may be found fit for work. Occasionally you can be assessed on paperwork. Good luck

 

This is basically correct but it's worth noting that there can be a delay of weeks or months between the initial claim and the start of the assessment process (that is, the ESA50 form). As long as sick notes are supplied and kept up to date, a new claimant can be paid at the assessment rate until the assessment is complete.

 

Regarding sick notes, all advice given here is good. I would add only one thing: Ruby's son should not rely on receiving notice from the DWP that the sick note is about to expire. Although they do sometimes send reminder letters about it, if they don't for any reason they will not accept that as a valid reason to pay on a claim in the absence of a sick note. In other words, they regard these letters as a courtesy, but the responsiblity to keep the notes up to date remains with the claimant. So he should mark the expiry dates in a calendar or diary, and make sure that he gets a new one and sends it off at least two weeks in advance of that expiry date.

[obiter dictum]

I can remember my first Atos assessment after sending back the ESA50.

 

It was six months after i made the original claim. I was found fit for work as usual with ATOS, appealed and won at tribunal and received all back payments. The swines sanctioned me

[Guest]

Yes it was the first part of it I was asking about...the receipt of this 'statement' in order to send in the sick note and other info they need to start the claim. I know this to be the assessment phase whilst waiting for the face to face etc. Ok well if the statement doesn't show up in next few days will ring and see if its gone etc...as he needs to get the claim started and has a sick note waiting to go off.

[obiter dictum]

I would give it at least 7 days minimum myself knowing how slow the DWP work before you call them to confirm the forms have been sent out

[flumps1976]

Personally I would not waste money sending recorded delivery as all mail goes to a mail opening unit so all you get is a central collection it does not guarantee receipt at the DWP. I have seen the scanned envelopes showing that someone has paid £7.50 to send a form. Personally I would advise calling the enquiry line for JCP and booking an AJCS (customer service appointment) to have the form scanned whilst you wait, you can then ask to remain at the desk while the form is scanned and emailed to the correct department so you actually see the email being sent. I was more than happy to do this for confirmation and reassurance. The original form is then sent of in the internal courier to the mail opening unit then. You can then as your JCP office for a supply of envelopes to send future statement of fitness for work (fit notes) from the GP in future again these go to a mail opening unit to be scanned to the Benefit Cenres or you can ask for the policy at that JCP for handing in fit notes some offices accept them at any time of the day others will have set time they can accept them due to staffing levels and prebooked appointments and others will book an appointment for you to have in handed in again.

[Guest]

Thanks flumps that is useful to know.

[tommy456]

I can remember my first Atos assessment after sending back the ESA50.

 

It was six months after i made the original claim. I was found fit for work as usual with ATOS, appealed and won at tribunal and received all back payments. The swines sanctioned me

It ain't like that now that Maximus have taken over they are super efficient at sending out the dreaded ESA50, I received mine within 2 weeks of making a new claim, But the faster that they process these ESA claims the more money they think they are going to save, (due to them finding people fit for work quicker)

Because the WCA condemned by the BMA some 3-4 yrs ago is still no where near being fit for purpose , but they(government) like it this way,