Milton Keynes DRT and appointees

I am finding that MK DRT persistently send MRNs to the claimant when they have an appointee (in our case mostly a corporate appointee). Inevitably this causes either anxiety if not panic in the claimant or it is ignored and there is then a delay before the appointee finds out the MR has been done.

I’ve raised it with our extremely helpful contact in ESA at Stockton and she passed on the concern and got a response from MK DRT that it was a training issue and staff would be reminded to input appointee details.

However I’ve just had a conversation with a DM from there advising she is changing a decision in the claimant’s favour and adding that she would be writing to the claimant. When I reminded her there is an appointee she said she would write to both. Which is unnecessary and inappropriate. Which implies this is more than a problem about failing to input appointee details and more a problem of not understanding the role of an appointee.

Is anyone else finding this is a problem and if so is it just Milton Keynes or is it more widespread?