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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Work capability issues and ESA  →  Thread

Unbelievable new-style ESA refusal letter - ‘you must claim UC’

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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Sent to a terminally ill claimant who sent in an ESA1(UC)

I cannot believe that anyone could write this wretched piece, but they did.

Anyone care to start the bidding on just how appalling this letter is?

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Jon (CANY)
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Welfare benefits - Craven CAB, North Yorkshire

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“If you need assistance with your application you can contact the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 1344”

Um, no you can’t, that’s the textphone number…

Daphne
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I’m just in the middle of drafting a NAWRA letter to Neil Couling about the difficulties claiming new-style ESA - if OK with you I will include that as an example.

Plan to also copy to PAC…

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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Fine by me!

It’s not just that it is so off the mark factually, no law stated, no appeal rights etc, it’s so utterly terse and cold!

Please don’t let them claim this is a rogue outcome. I think we all know that it isn’t.

nevip
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Welfare rights adviser - Sefton Council, Liverpool

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I mean, how many legal errors can one letter contain?  I’d be minded to send a letter pointing them all out, to the DWP’s solicitors’ office, with a copy of that awful decision attached.

Jon (CANY)
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Welfare benefits - Craven CAB, North Yorkshire

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Thinking about the requirement to send forms to the “appropriate office”, Andrew, have you any idea if this was as a result of a form being posted directly to Belfast? If so, did it go to Belfast ESA via Wolverhampton, or to the address on the letter? (is that a local JCP??)

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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Thinking about the requirement to send forms to the “appropriate office”, Andrew, have you any idea if this was as a result of a form being posted directly to Belfast? If so, did it go to Belfast ESA via Wolverhampton, or to the address on the letter? (is that a local JCP??)

Hi - on that point I’m not sure. But the response certainly doesn’t address the point of ‘appropriate office’. I just looked at it again. Urrrrrrg!

Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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Credit where it’s due, DWP has responded swiftly, put the claim in to payment, offered a small sum of compensation, and assured the client that she will not face JC+ interviews etc.

It is agreed that the claim should have been processed as a new style ESA claim and ‘this has been addressed with the staff member including the concern you raised about how the letter was written’.

But how many more members of staff are going to give this sort of advice; how many have done it already….................?

Ianb
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Macmillan benefits team, Citizens Advice Bristol

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New style ESA claim found to be defective on grounds claimant does not live in a full service UC area. This despite the fact claimant does and claim form was sent out to them and identity checks carried out at JobCentre. Fortunately very able client managed to get it sorted but it took numerous phone calls by them over 3 days.

Daphne
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Attached is a reply NAWRA has had from Neil Couling in response to our email about problems claiming new-style ESA

He asks for claimant details of any individual cases so if you have any please direct message them to me and I will send them on.

You will see Andrew that he makes specific reference to the letter your client got and says he has spoken to local office - don’t know if that had any influence on the response you got

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Andrew Dutton
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council

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‘As you know, we are in the middle of transforming the welfare system. There is no doubt that a new system like this requires bedding in…’

Yes, but you have had more than five years!!!!

Peter Turville
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Welfare rights worker - Oxford Community Work Agency

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“There is no doubt that a new system like this requires bedding in and we continue working hard to ensure that is it understood and accessible to everyone who is required to use it and, indeed, deliver it.”

But why oh why ‘combine’ the claim process for new style ESA with UC as they are two legally seperate benefits one based on NI the other means tested - just like UB and IS were before ‘old style’ JSA was introduced?

Neil, why isn’t there an entirely seperate process for claiming new style ESA/JSA including, given the drive towards digital claim processes, an on line claim option for ESA (like JSA)? You wouldn’t think of combining the claim process for, for example, Bereavement Support Payment with UC would you?

This is a problem of DWPs own making - a fundemental design flaw!

Dan_Manville
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Mental health & welfare rights service - Wolverhampton City Council

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Further to this issue; a couple of weeks ago an acquaintance failed the WCA and during the decision assurance call they put her through to UC to lodge a telephone claim. The lobster pot might have swallowed another one.