Surprised - New ESA claim, put in support group without medical

[Lighttouch]

Hi Izzy hope you're AOK.

Here's some info about ESA CB and ESA 1B

There are two types of Employment and Support Allowance:

contribution-based
income-related

Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance
You may be entitled to claim contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance if you have paid enough National Insurance contributions. The length of time you can get contribution-based Employment Support Allowance depends on your circumstances. If you are not in the support group, contribution-based Employment Support Allowance is time limited to 365 days.

Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
You may be entitled to claim income-based Employment and Support Allowance if you do not have enough money coming in, or you have not paid enough National Insurance contributions, and you satisfy the entitlement conditions.
This means that you have savings of less than £16,000 and, if you have a partner or civil partner, they work for less than 24 hours a week on average. There is no limit on the amount of time you can claim income-based Employment and Support Allowance as long as you satisfy the entitlement conditions.

[health99]

Hi everyone

Am new to this site and have been reading lots of posts to see if anyone in same position as me. Have made a new claim (meaning I've not transferred from any other benefit) for ESA and after reading so many horror stories about how difficult ATOS make it for claimants I was expecting a horrible intrusive medical and then to be refused ESA. But, to my amazement I've rec'd a letter from JobCentre saying a recent change to my claim is being made because 'a decision on your capability for work. You have been placed in the Support Group. You meet the eligibility criteria for Support Group. This means you are not required to part in any any work related activity .....' I was so disbelieving of this letter that I immediately called the JC for confirmation and was told that although most people do have to go for medicals
some people don't if the information on the form is enough and that they also took into account a letter from my pyschiatric doctor when making the decision (based on my severe mental health issues). But ....... I still can't believe I've been so lucky and not had to go through the distress of a medical and having someone judge me and am expecting them to retract their decision and say they've made a mistake. I was told that a note has been placed on my claim to have a look at it again in 12 months. I'm on CB ESA. Has anyone else been in the same situation and does that mean I DEFINITELY won't need to go for a medical for at least 12 months or can I be called at any time in the future to be re-assessed at their whim? Do they every make mistakes and retract their decisions? If I stay on CB ESA support group, will they contact me regularly to see what I'm doing or will they just leave me alone? Their letter didn't even inform me that I no longer need to send any more sick-notes to them, I discovered this by reading online information.

I'm sure you understand how very very relieved I am, but still scared I'll get dragged into the ATOS offices for a medical.

Sorry, I know I'm rambling. Please don't suggest I call them for further information. I'm too scared to ring the JC and ask too many questions in case they see they've made a mistake - which my endless questions may bring to their attention. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, Glad you made it to the support group, that.s great news for you. I am a carer for my partner who has a diagnosis of Schizophrenia, she has been out of hospital for a number of years due to me looking after her. We have sent the esa50 form off, and are waiting for a good reply hopefully. Her GP did a really good support letter that we sent with the questionairre, and also the jobcenter plus have copies of medical letters past and present. After reading your story I have abit more hope for my partner being put in the support group. She also suffers with really bad feet issues and scoliosis of the spine. Wish us luck. I hope she finds it a good letter when they write back, as she cannot work at all in my opinion.

[maggieomx]

hiya lighttouch i feel stupid for asking this but i got a reply back today after sending in my esa form to migrate from ICB and IS iv been told im entitled to both CONTRIBUTION BASED AND INCOME RELATED ESA ??!! please can you explain this in laymans terms please ? and put in support group i only posted the form on20th july so it s 2 weeks to the day !! i got my result back , i didnt send any letters or anything just a few old appointment letters !
also there are no dates for when i will be assessed again ? is this un usual ? thanks

[davewhit]

hiya lighttouch i feel stupid for asking this but i got a reply back today after sending in my esa form to migrate from ICB and IS iv been told im entitled to both CONTRIBUTION BASED AND INCOME RELATED ESA ??!! please can you explain this in laymans terms please ? and put in support group i only posted the form on20th july so it s 2 weeks to the day !! i got my result back , i didnt send any letters or anything just a few old appointment letters !
also there are no dates for when i will be assessed again ? is this un usual ? thanks

depending on NI payments made in the last 2 years before getting sick you can get CB ESA topped up with IR ESA

[granny23]

I went for medical last Feb 2012 got copy of report in which doctor told nothing but lies. I appealed against it and won to get put into support group, They advised not to be given another medical for 24months, then another form comes in to fill out be snet back before the 29th January. Ihave been in touch with my MP who is taking my case up,it is a disgrace the way ATOS are treating people. I am 60 in Sept my husband is my carer, yet Atos cant leave me alone. I know until I am 63 pension age for me, they will keep gnawing away at me

[TMD]

depending on NI payments made in the last 2 years before getting sick you can get CB ESA topped up with IR ESA

depending on NI payments made in the last 2 years before getting sick you can get CB ESA topped up with IR ESA

Hi davewhit, please could you tell me where you got the information regarding this? I am having an awful job of trying to establish whether any of the components of my ESA claim are Income Related. My ESA award letter states a total amount of ESA of £119.85, but it does not break it down or state whether each component of it is contributions based or income based. I've worked out that it must be broken down thus: £71.00 basic, £34.05 Support Group and £14.80 Enhanced Disability. At the end of the first page of the letter, it states 'This assessment is based on your National Insurance Contribution Record' then there is another page where it states 'The payment of Employment and Support Allowance is based on your National Insurance Contribution records and any additional amount the law says you need to live on', but, again, there is no breakdown of the £119.85 it only details on that page the basic £71.00 component stating that component as being contributions based, but no mention of the other components at all. On contacting ESA on several occasions, I was told by the front line advisers that my ESA was Income based, they even confirmed this with the hospital when I went for a wig fitting and I got my wig fress based on the ESA front line adviser confirming to the hospital that I was on income based ESA. But then on one occasion, when finally getting to talk to one of the back office claims assessors, I was told quite abruptly by them that my ESA award is contributions based. Because of this, when wanting to claim back my hospital treatment expenses, I was told by a Macmillan adviser that I would have to fill in form HC1 in order to get an HC2 certificate so I could claim back my hospital expenses from the hospital's cashier's office. I did this, but then NHSBSA, who deal with the HC2 certificates, contacted me and told me that I did not need to do this as my ESA has an income related component to it and that I need to get ESA to send me a letter stating I was on both contributions and income based ESA so that I can show this to the hospital's cashier's office and get my hospital expenses back. The result now is stalemate as I cannot claim my hospital expenses because I don't a letter stating 'income related' on it and NHSBSA are adamant my ESA has got an income related element to it and so they will not issue me with a HC2 certificate. This is all very stressful as you can imagine. Sorry this post is so long.

[davewhit]

Hi davewhit, please could you tell me where you got the information regarding this? I am having an awful job of trying to establish the components of my ESA claim, which is having a knock-on effect in other areas. I am on Contributions Based ESA in the Support Group and also getting the Enhanced Disability component. Can the Enanced Disability component be either Contributions based and Income related? One of the problems I have is that my ESA award letter only states a total amount of ESA of £119.85, which I've calculated as £71.00 basic, £34.05 Support Group and £14.80 Enhanced Disability, though the letter does not detail this, it only gives the total amount of £119.85. which is why I cannot establishe whether any of the components are Income Related. However, at the end of the first page of the letter, it states 'this assessment is based on your National Insurance Contribution Record' there is another page where it states 'The payment of Employment and Support Allowance is based on your National Insurance Contribution records and any additional amount the law says you need to live on', but, again, there is no breakdown of the £119.85 or whether any of it is contributions based ESA, it only details the basic £71.00 and states that as being contributions based. On contacting ESA I was told quite abruptly that my ESA award is contributions based. Because of this, when wanting to claim back my hospital treatment expenses, I was told by a Macmillan adviser that I would have to fill in form HC1. I did this, but then NHSBSA contacted me and told me that I did not need to do this as my ESA has an income related component to it and so I need a letter from ESA clearly stating that is has an income related aspect to it, but ESA state it is contributions based, the result is I cannot claim my hospital expenses because I've neither a letter stating 'income related' on it and NHSBSA are adamant my ESA has got an income related element to it and so they will not issue me with a HC2 certificate. Sorry this is so long.

you need to get expert advice, which years are used will be set out in the DMG http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/s...s-guide/#vol10

I never found out how they pick years

[TMD]

you need to get expert advice, which years are used will be set out in the DMG http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/s...s-guide/#vol10

I never found out how they pick years

I've edited my original post to make it clearer. I wish I knew where to get expert advice! I've drawn a blank so far and do not know where I can turn to in order to resolve this.

[davewhit]

I've edited my original post to make it clearer. I wish I knew where to get expert advice! I've drawn a blank so far and do not know where I can turn to in order to resolve this.

CAB help people local council sometimes have a welfare worker differnt charities have them too if you or a partner are ex forces rafa british legion and other forces charities have welfare workers for most people CAB is first port of call

that said in theory it should be on DWP computer which years they are using

[deebee]

I do wish people would stop using abbreviated words if you consider it"s worth writing in then for goodness sake write in full.

Lots of people with either disability,s or chronic illnesses find writing/typing to be painful or exhausting,my hand/arm goes into spasm after five mins.The abreviations were very common ones and you can actually find a list of the most frequently used when you first join.