willegofar
1 post
Jun 22, 2009
10:56 AM
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Hi All,
having retired at the end of March on the grounds of ill-health,i have been receiving ESA for two and a half months and have now been told i will not receive any more monies due to scoring only six points,the minimum points required is fifteen.Having taken advise from C.A.B i'm in the process of appealing firstly via form GL24.
Has any members been through this process and got their appeal overturned or any advise that they can give me that might help my appeal.Kind Regards
Willegofar
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kelpie
60 posts
Jun 23, 2009
7:32 AM
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Benefits and Work, with a subscription of under £20 per year has the best advice I have ever come across. They list questions, how to answer, how to appeal etc. Do remember an appeal can only take account of information you supplied on any form you had to complete. Sometimes starting again is the best way forward. The link is
http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/join-us
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TinaM
121 posts
Jun 23, 2009
12:57 PM
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There is a leaflet about employment support allowance on this website. If you go to the homepage, then click on notices you will find a leaflet there. I've never been in receipt of ESA, but I also subscribed to Benefits and Work when applying for DLA last year, the subscription was well worth it. The subscription gives you access to all the advice & covers the costs of the experts who wrote the literature available. The advice given stops you stumbling over the questions and tells you how your answers will be used to assess the claim. You shouldn't have to answer questions in a certain way when you are genuine, but unfortunately that seems to be the way our benefits system works because of the people who have never worked & live off the system. The literature certainly made me think about how to answer questions and what was actually relevant. Some benefits are means tested, it may be that you got a lower score because you already have other income. I don't know the answers, but the citizens advice bureau are also usually very good. ----------
Tina
Gloucestershire UK
Last Edited on 23-Jun-2009 1:01 PM
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Rita
142 posts
Jun 24, 2009
6:29 AM
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You are abslutely right about having to score 15 points - if you do not, or if you have days when you feel reasonably well then you are well enough to work!
Other income should not be taken into account here, it's just making sure you answer those questions correctly when completing your paperwork. email me if you would like a copy of the 'scores'.
rita.goldthorp@mga-charity.org
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Rita
143 posts
Jun 24, 2009
6:43 AM
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For the benefit of all members, here are a few of the scores you need:
Walking - cannot walk at all 15 points
Cannot walk more than 50 metres on level ground without stopping repeatedly or severe discomfort - 15 points
Cannot walk up or down 2 steps even with the support of a handrail - 15 points
Cannot walk more than 100 metres on level ground without stopping or severe discomfort - 9 points
Cannot walk more than 200 metres etc. = 6 points
many of you would qualify for one of the last two statements.
Standing and sitting:
Cannot stand for more than 10 minutes, unassisted by another person even if free to move around before needing to sit down. - 15 points
Cannot stand for more than 30 minutes, even if free to move around, before needing to sit down - 6 points
And so the list goes on, but if you look at walking - if you cannot do more than 100 metres, and you cannot stand for 30 minutes you have scored your 15 points.
On speech - if it cannot be understood by stangers - 15 points
If stranger have some difficulty understanding - 6 points
Vision - 50% or greater reduction of visual field - 15 points
Has 25% or more but less than 50% - 6points.Having this knowledge would help you to complete the forms correctly as you know the sort of answers the panel are looking for.
Bear in mind that similar situations are considered for DLA and AA.
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willegofar
2 posts
Jun 25, 2009
3:42 AM
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Hi,
Kelpie,TinaM and Rita,many thanks for the advise and taking the time to reply.I'm just in the process of completing the GL24 before sending it off to start the "Ball" rolling,so to speak.I'll keep you updated if i make further progress.Kind Regards
Willegofar
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willegofar
6 posts
Oct 23, 2009
3:57 PM
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Hi all,first the good news.I won my appeal,but what i had to go through i wouldn't wish on anyone.It was if i was lying about my condition and that they were trying all ways to catch me out.But with written letters from my GP and my Consultant plus a written statement from myself from day 1 to the present day spelling it out in detail how my condition varies not only from day to day but also how different levels of medication has a major effect on my physical and mental abilities.Now i thought that i would get my result either way on the day,but i was mistaken.Due to the questioning taking 45mins ,no more time was allowed and i was told my result would be either sent in the post that evening or the following day.Three whole days of waiting before it arrived,and i'm still waiting for written confirmation on restarting my payments and the backpay that they owe me.So we'll wait and see what happens.Watch this space as they say for the next instalment.Kind Regards
Willegofar (John)
West Midlands
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Jen2533
18 posts
Oct 23, 2009
4:21 PM
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I'm happy for you John. It is terrible to have to wait. I think all countries should adopt a system for the disabled that will pay during the appeal process and if determined you were eligible to work then they can take it out of your pay check in small segments. What better place for the physically disabled than the street? Here in the states only 30% of applicants are approved and the appeal process averages 2 years. Without a national healthcare system, insurance coverage is tied into the disability application so if you are denied that you wait for medical coverage as well. In addition to that, most people with disabilities either cannot get insurance coverage or can only get disaster coverage at 10-20x the rate of healthy individuals. I'm so happy you won your appeal and in my opinion the process still took too long.
Jen
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32 y.o. married mother of 2
DX - Myasthenia Gravis - 10/5/09
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis since 2001
Migraines since 1993 (infrequent now)
Surgical Menopause from full hysterectomy due to large fibroid tumor and strong family history of pre-menopausal aggressive Breast and Ovarian cancers.
Medications - Mestinon 90mg-120mg/daily, Synthroid - 112mcg/daily, Imitrex - 100mg/once or twice a month, supplemental oxygen, women's daily vitamin, iron, vitamin D - 5000 IU/daily, Calcium - 1500mg daily
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