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Esa Appeal - Pack info incorrect/missing

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9 years 10 months ago #136262 by Donnadoos
Esa Appeal - Pack info incorrect/missing was created by Donnadoos
Hi, I wonder if anyone can offer any help/advice.

Brief timeline of my case.
MAY 2014 - Moved from support to wrag
JUNE 2014 - MR written request sent
AUG 2014 - phone call from dwp saying they can't change decision because I was not on antidepressants or attending mental health services.
--- followed by a letter, but not a MR decision letter which I could take to appeal. They had not taken my request as an MR request?
SEPT 2014 - MR request filed again, with same very detailed letter I'd sent previously plus help from CAB
JAN/FEB/MAR 2015 - Chased up my MR request as had heard nothing. Dwp in a pickle over what was going on, why I had not been contacted, my papers were sent elsewhere etc. was finally promised phonecall to sort it out.
APRIL 2015 - no phone call, 2 copies letter sent MR request not successful.
MAY 2015 - Appeal lodged with tribunal.

Now I have received my appeal papers and there are documents missing and things that are completely wrong/untrue.

It appears my last MR decision was based on nothing. They had not read my very detailed MR request letter which had in great detail why I feel I should still be in the support group and in detail on descriptors.
This letter in question, which I submitted twice, is missing from my appeal papers pack which was sent me me. And the date on their MR decision is totally way out. They are saying I asked for the MR in April 2015 which is not true at all. I asked for it back last Sept after my first one was apparently not recognised for some strange reason. So they have based their MR decision on an imaginary MR request with no information if that makes sense?

I do not know what to do. I know the tribunal service will be sent a copy of my appeal papers, but not every item is in there that should be. And obviously I would like the tribunal people to have all information.

My representative who will be attending my appeal with me has not been allocated yet, this will not happen till next week which leaves me little time and only 1 week before tribunal.

In order to prepare, what I want to ask is, Do I go through my whole appeal papers and pick out all the discrepancies. Besides the missing letters and imaginary MR dates, there is also things in their wca medical reports which are untrue and I did not say at my medical.

I can't believe this is happening, I thought the past year was distressing enough with the MR request, but that is not a patch on what this is doing to me mentally and I've only just entered the appeals process.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help advise me.
Kind regards

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9 years 10 months ago #136276 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Esa Appeal - Pack info incorrect/missing
MumOfOne

A tribunal will be primarily concerned with whether you meet the criteria for the Support Group or not, they will have little interest in how the DWP have (or not) managed the MRs and what evidence they did, or did not consider, so you should brief in documenting the issues you had during this part of the process.

Your primary task is to show that you meet one or more of the ESA Descriptors for the Support Group, to explain why you meet those descriptors and to list the problems you have with your daily living because of these limitations with reference to any medical evidence that you have.

If there is information that you believe is missing then you can either supply it as it was originally written or include it into the information you are supplying as part of your submission to the TS.

Once you have explained why you meet the criteria, you should then address the discrepancies in the assessment report, these may be factual;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

or the assessors opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

The former will be considerably easier to deal with than the latter, so always try and undermine their opinion by showing that the facts they used to make that opinion were incorrect.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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9 years 10 months ago #136692 by Donnadoos
Replied by Donnadoos on topic Esa Appeal - Pack info incorrect/missing
Thank you Gordon.

I meet my representative the week of my appeal so I will be following your advice to help me prepare.

I do meet a few Esa descriptors for SG, and have already typed up why etc so I guess i'll just be touching these up with additional information where needed.
The only thing I am having trouble with is medical evidence, my Dr insists they ask for my medical details, not me asking her. My condition has kept me confined to my home for many years so theres no-one else to ask for additional medical evidence support. I stopped seeing my cpn in 2013 and was only assessed by another last year so I cant get nothing from there either.

So anxious about the whole thing, just wishing it over with now. Roll on next week!!

Thanks again

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9 years 10 months ago #136705 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Esa Appeal - Pack info incorrect/missing
Mum

The Tribunal have no responsibility for gathering evidence, they will not contact your GP for any letter or report, whilst I don't like to make the analogy this is like a court, the defence and prosecution collect their evidence, the Judge merely weighs it and makes a decision.

You might want to try your GP again and explain the situation, but I think it unlikely that they will help you, the "they will contact me" is just a convenient excuse.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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