ESA delays

hi sorry to trouble you at present in the ESA support group but due a ESA 50 form as my award runs out on the 20th of August think l have seen on here in the past that people are being deferd due to the delays so do you think that l should phone the dwp and ask if lam being deferd ? many thanks

robm wrote: hi sorry to trouble you at present in the ESA support group but due a ESA 50 form as my award runs out on the 20th of August think l have seen on here in the past that people are being deferd due to the delays so do you think that l should phone the dwp and ask if lam being deferd ? many thanks

Hi rm,

ESA Awards do not "run out" !

Each ESA award comes with a recommended period before reassessment. (aka The Prognosis)

Yes, deferrals have been applied since January 2014, and we now have members who have gone past the Prognosis date and have had awards for 4-5 years.

Payment of your ESA will not alter or end until you have been reassessed and had a decision on the reassessment.

You do not have to instigate your reassessment, you will receive a new ESA50 through the post when your time comes.

It is therefore a matter of choice whether or not you wish to ring ESA to find out the expected date of your reassessment, or not :

THE ESA PHONE NUMBER DWP : 0345 608 8545 Press Option 3 for ESA. (Open 8AM-6PM. Mon-Fri.)

Some members have done so that they can start preparing their ESA50 in advance to relieve the 4 week deadline to return it once received through the post.

Or, if you don't wish to phone up, you could start preparing your ESA50 anyway by:

Using The PDF Version Of The ESA50 Questionnaire

Whilst referring to the guides on this page, 3rd & 4th links down :

ESA Claims Guides

See also :

How long do I have to complete the ESA50?

ESA50 too big for the envelope

&

Sending Documents to the DWP or Maximus

Phoning up, should not instigate an earlier reassessment than indicated on your file.

Even if the ESA Call Responder accesses your file on screen, and the Prognosis date is August 2015, this does not necessarily mean that it will not be deferred once August arrives as the electronic scans that automatically defer reassessment dates are carried out monthly.

To be on the safe side, if you are told that you will be reassessed in August, I would start filling in the Pdf ESA50, etc.

If you are not reassessed in August you can always save the Pdf ESA50, and update accordingly when you receive the paper version through the post when ever that may be.

bro58

thanks for the advice have downloaded the pdf version of the esa 50 will take my time in filling it in you know the dwp being the dwp l might not get a esa to fill in this year going by the past

Hi,

Thanks for your help in advance. In Bro 58's reply to the above question on ESA reassessment delays he states that the electronic scans that automatically defer reassessment dates are carried out monthly. Does anyone know vaguely when in each month this takes place? I want to know as early as possible so I can organise myself.

I have rung DWP a couple of months or so back and was told that my reassessment date is 23rd July 2015. I have since requested and got my file of papers (SAR). It says on one form:
"date of next maturity 23/07/15" and elsewhere "System Set Case Control Type: Automatic WCA Referral"

The date seems a bit odd because my award was for 2 years and I didn't have to send in the form until mid September 2013 then. Does the "automatic referral" mean that I won't have a deferment?

I will download and fill in a new ESA50 form to be well prepared but I don't really want to ask for fresh doctor's reports etc if I might not need them due to being deferred.. I can't really ask them twice if I only need them next year for example. Summer holidays are a bad time for requesting evidence as the doctors' might easily be on holiday as well. Also, I am going abroad for 10 days in early August and again for a week in late September. If I was sent a F2F appointment with a close date without being sent a ESA 50 ( which I read on the site is happening) then I might not even be in the country.

I am getting very anxious about all this. What do you suggest? How early in July might I find out about a deferment? If ther was no derferment would I be sent the ESA50 form on the 23rd July or not til mid-August which happened last time? Should I ask for medical reports in the next few weeks or wait? How would I cope if I wasn't sent a form but just a F2F appointment instead when I'm away?Last time I was put into the CB SG with no medical.

Thank you

Dart