ESA benefit stopped what to do ??

[flump1]

Ok a long story cut short, I had an appointment to attend a medical to back up my claim for ESA , I have numerous health issues and my GP and consultant treat me to give me a quality of life. I am unable to work, and have been deteriorating for the past four years. I will not recover.
Now, I missed the appointment as I was admitted to hospital as an emergency the day prior to the appointment. My partner phoned them and explained and they sent me a second appointment which I noted. Closer to the day of the medical I checked the time I was due to attend as was mortified to realise I have noted the wrong date and was a week out. I phoned them i immediately and they explained I had to put it into writing to them, which I duly did.
Now today I get a letter saying I was no longer in receipt of benefit as I had missed two appointments.
On phoning them and trying to explain exactly why I had missed them I was told " The decision maker " whoever that may be, had decided the reasons I had given were not enough to keep my claim alive therefore instead of giving me a third appointment, they have simply stopped my money.
Now, I was released from hospital this morning, ( another emergency admittance ) and I am pretty crossed that I am not being believed by this agency.
I explained I was totally reliant on my benefit therefore I am penniless until they decide whether to pay me or not.
Where the devil can I go to complain about how this whole thing has been handled? Where the heck do I go for any financial support until such times as I am given benefit.? Any suggestions greatly appreciated, I am pulling my hair out !!

[albaqwerty]

a similar thing happened to Mr Alba last year. Not quite as serious as yourself.
He phoned for a crisis loan and the nice person as the other end got his ESA re-instated inside 2 hours.

The independant agency are a bunch of wazzocks.

[tinkerbell23]

So sorry flump thats awful :((

Id try a crisis loan too and hound them to get your money reinstated xx

[furrypusscat]

Go to Citizen Advice Bureau and ask them their advice. Take any paperwork with you. My advice would be not to sign on for Jobseekers Allowance otherwise you are basically saying that you are fit to look for work when presumably you are not. See if you are entitled to a crisis loan. Ask your GP/Consultant to write you a report on your present conditions and reapply for benefit.

[furrypusscat]

Depending on illness you may be able to apply for Disability Living Allowance, it depends on whether you need any help with personal care.

[firewatch]

They stopped mine too hun after an appeal hearing they classed me fit for work, so now im on £33 a week Child tax credit for bills etc

[flump1]

Thank you all for you replies....I had no idea this office is being run by complete morons. Us genuine claimants are having to go through hell because of previous spongers. I have worked all my life, never been unemployed until four years ago . So very very cross : (

[albaqwerty]

flump I hear you :-)

Mr Alba worked from the age of 17, last year his gp signed him off unfit to work, whilst waiting for his operation 'they' decided he was fit to work, recovery time from op was between 6 - 18 months. (Mr Alba is 56). We are human beings, not robots. I DO hope it gets sorted out for you, and quickly.

[ronnietoon]

you wont get a crisis loan today but you will get one monday (sorry) ring first thing 8.59am onward otherwise you will be waiting hours on the phone as thousands of people phone them for a night out.

the only problem is if you are not now in receipt of benefit they may turn you down.

have you got a community nurse etc who could phone on your behalf?

[wolf63]

If you have a partner staying with you and he has an income you may not get a crisis loan.

[flump1]

Wolf, I am completely on my own, I have my own house and support myself.
Ronnie, thanks for that I am very fragile right now and any help is appreciated.

[furrypusscat]

Flump1, you may be advised to appeal, these things take a while though so could possibly also be advised to make a fresh claim at the same time so gather as much medical evidence as possible to support your claim and consider an application for Disability Living Allowance also as mentioned in my previous posting if you think you need help with personal care, you don't need to be in receipt of that help but would make your daily life easier if you had it. It depends on how your illness/disabilty affects your everyday life.

[flump1]

furrypusscat (love the name ! ) thank you for that, I am coming to very slowly, still feel particularly poorly after last night . As with most set-backs in life, they happen when one is least able to cope .

[furrypusscat]

Glad you like the name. If you ask for a crisis loan, they will need to know what expenses you have, ie do you have a mortgage, what is your monthly council tax, water rates, electricity, gas and essentials like food etc. Do you have a mortgage, can you ask for a mortgage holiday from your provider. Do not go to a loan shark, ask the bank if necessary. Seek the right sort of help from the right people. Hope everything works out alright for you.

[THECORBYLOON]

Flump you said you did not realise the office was run by complete morons but wi respect, you are the one who made the mistake no-one else. They are not saying it was done on purpose but being mistaken about the date or forgetting about it is not a good reason for failing to attend the assessment.

[flump1]

Hi TCL...according to my conversation with them this afternoon, the reasons I gave for not attending the medicals are not good enough . The first time I was hospitalised and the second I was still unwell and made a genuine mistake in noting the date. The " decision maker " makes decisions about peoples lives, do they never make genuine mistakes ? Of course they do. I am heavily medicated and the painkillers they sent me out of hospital last time knocked me out , hours at a time. When I rand them to explain my mistake when I had discovered I had noted the wrong date, I was told to put it all in writing which I did. I am at my wits end and think their behaviour is moronic yeah .

[THECORBYLOON]

The reason for not attending the first medical was a good reason, the reason for not attending the second was not. A claimant is expected to take care dealing wi matters relating to their claim. You would have been given written notification about the second appointment but made a mistake noting the date. Everyone makes mistakes, including the Decision Maker (DM) who looked at the reasons you gave. The DM is not saying it was not a mistake but has to decide whether it was a good enough reason. If you were not well when you noted the date of the appointment, why did you not ask your partner to note it or check that the date was correct? It may seem to be unreasonable but had a new appointment been given and you forgot about that one, what then? How many times should the same person be able to say they wrote down the wrong date, lost the letter, forgot about it etc.?

[Postdog]

I have an ESA assessment (home visit) due at some point - home visit because I have travel issues. I look normal, and in fact am normal for a few minutes but the reality is I'm not fit for work at all. Hell I couldn't even travel to a job!

I've already half decided if I am rejected again by the ATOS flunky I will hunt him down and do something so the government has to look after me in another way they can't avoid. My condition is likely to be terminal at some point (though that could be years away I guess, I'll just get worse in the meantime) so I would have nothing to lose.

OK I'm not totally serious but this it how it gets to you! You can't work for a genuine medical reasons beyond your control but druggies, drunks, EU foreigners and lazy sods get away with murder. It is so wrong that people who need it most get treated this way.

[flump1]

Post dog, I agree, I hope you are pain free at the moment. I would like to change my body for one day.....just one whole day with the Decision Maker and see how they cope. See if they then appreciate what we go through.
TCL while I agree with you to a degree, I rang the office the minute I realised I had made the mistake. I followed the advice given, fill in a form and post off, this I did all in the same day . Even criminals get three chances.

[EDDIE51]

You need to appeal and the people to help with that are the CAB advisors.
In the mean time get on to the DWP and apply for a crisis loan as I am sorry but it will take a few weeks for the ESA to be ininstated.
Get hold of the CAB first thing Monday and tell them it is an emergency (which it is) they may be able to let you jump the queue , possibly they will do the crisis loan application as well. Remember that now to get a crisis loan it has to be a real emergency and you need to be at risk of serious illness or harm to get one. Tell them you have no food and have not eaten for 2 or 3 days! and there is no one to help you or loan you cash.

[EDDIE51]

Another thought, get your GP to phone the DWP / crisis loan people and tell them it is an emergency .