esa 2nd time around

hello everyone on this board

i started my first journey along the esa route in Jan 2009. i had my 'medical' before i'd seen a pain consultant.
needless to say the 'medical' report was completly different to what had actually been said during the 'medical' and i was awarded nowhere near enough points for me to carry on on the esa benefit. i appealed the descision. my appeal date was jan this year. during the appeal all the medical correspondence i received after the esa 'mediacl' ( including a failed epidural and nerve route block) wasn't going to be taken into consideration! my appeal was dismissed and i was put onto jsa.
i recently had an appointment with a neurosurgeon who is scheduling me for an operation on my lower back. i returned to my doctor who has signed me off sick. i then went to my local jobcenter to inform them. there i was told i would have to make a new esa claim and they gave me the phone number. when i phoned the new claims line i was told that my previous claim hadn't been closed properly and they would send me the esa1 04/10 claim form out to me by post as because my previous claim hadn't been closed i couldn't make my claim over the phone.

i am now wondering if anyone else has had the same problems? and if so has anyone made a successful complaint over the none closure of a previous claim?

i hope someone can help because i'm already feeling the despondancy i felt during my previous claim

looking forward to any advice anyone can offer

Raoul

Hi Raoul,

I'm afraid I haven't heard of this happening before. It certainly does sound worth making a complaint about though.

Good luck,

Steve

thanks for the reply Steve,

i shall look into making a complaint today, wonder how many times i'll have to tell my story before i'm put through to the correct person to handle it??

Raoul

Hiya Raoul ,
It looks like this as happened ...
Because your previous claim has not been closed down properly , they probably could not re enter your information onto their system as you recited the details to them ,as they probably could not get access to your file .

The ESA 1 04/10 form is just the updated ESA1 form that was used before most claims were done electronically and posted out. (The 04/10 is just the revision date of the form)

They are sending you out a form so they can do the claim clerically ,ie from the information on the form rather than the phone call .
This will allow them to look into why the previous claim has not been closed and rectify it (the people who handle the phone lines just fill in an online form and do not know how to rectify the situation if they cannot access their information)

Fill the form in fully and get it back to them as soon as is practicable , and make sure you use the date you wish to claim from .

This claim should then go ahead as normal.

With regard to complaints , in the first instance you should complain to your local Job centre Plus .. they have a leaflet entitled " How do I complain or Comment?"
...in this leaflet at the back is a complaints form , although you can still complain by telephone and email etc
The JCP should reply within seven days .

Hope this is of use
Rich