Quote:
Originally Posted by peanut
I'm really sorry to hear that Taf, it is a horrible situation to be in and to get out of when it comes to these crazy decisions. My brother has just been through it and only got 2 points from the assessment interview, but then went through the appeal process and won it, so don't give up hope.
For others going through it or about to I know from experience that it doesn't matter what you put on the forms, if you can't back it up with evidence then you will get called up for an assessment and most probably fail it just because you turn up. And likewise if you can supply as much evidence as possible there's a chance you won't need an assessment.
I don't know if it is a standard procedure but I get a copy of the report every time I see one of my specialists / consultants. These are vital when supplying evidence. So if you don't get reports, then just ask for them. If you see your GP a lot then you can pay to get a copy of your medical records / reports and you can pick out and send them the relevant info as well to help your case.
As already been said, make sure you get everything dated so if and when you do get it sorted, you should get everything backdated without losing out too much.
The hardest part is that there is only one telephone number for ESA etc now, so you never get to speak to the same person twice, and to actually get through to someone ends up costing a small fortune and they don't seem to be very helpful either.
Good luck with it, do not give up.
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A lot of the numbers for benefits are now 0345, which if you have a package on landline which covers you calling 01 and 02 numbers during the day 03 numbers are covered too. Likewise, on a mobile contract the call gets taken out of your inclusive minutes.