Won ESA Appeal but!

Hi Everyone,

My son won his ESA appeal just two weeks ago and was put into the support group. I came home tonight to find a letter from ATOS enclosing an ESA50 which they want filling in. Is this a mistake? Obviously I am going to phone them first thing tomorrow but can they do this? Any advice would be really welcome. Also, does anyone know if the ESA payment increase will be back-dated?

Thanks.

marionf wrote:

Hi Everyone,

My son won his ESA appeal just two weeks ago and was put into the support group. I came home tonight to find a letter from ATOS enclosing an ESA50 which they want filling in. Is this a mistake? Obviously I am going to phone them first thing tomorrow but can they do this? Any advice would be really welcome. Also, does anyone know if the ESA payment increase will be back-dated?

Thanks.

Unfortunately, Atos can issue an ESA50 at any time including such a short time after a successful appeal.

It appears to me to be some kind of vindictive action to say how dare you challenge our medical assessor, and have the audacity to appeal and be successful?

Atos would probably inform you that they are entitled to conduct a further WCA at any time, but in my view, if your son has been put in the support group and it is less than six months from the date of the decision under appeal, then he is certainly getting a raw deal. However, as it is a personal opinion it counts for nothing as far as Atos are concerned, and your son will have to complete and return the ESA50 within the specified time limits.

Thank you for your reply. I am a bit stumped for words - incredulous that this could happen - what a waste of money for us to have to go through this again not to mention the angst this is all going to cause. My son is unable to fill out this form and so it is down to me to do it again. The panel awarded an additional 21 points which gave my son a total of 30 and the reason he was put into the support group was because he is "unable to initiate and sustain personal action without prompting." This just seems to be such a nonsense!! I will phone them tomorrow and if they won't reconsider, well I have six weeks to get that form done.

marionf wrote:

Hi Everyone,

My son won his ESA appeal just two weeks ago and was put into the support group. I came home tonight to find a letter from ATOS enclosing an ESA50 which they want filling in.

Personally if I got treated like that it would be a letter to my MP CCd to the CEO of ATOS plus contacting the editor of a local newspaper.
(I have in the past got the editor of a local newpaper to come to witness one of my tribunals.)

Hi, I agree get your MP involved so that they know the way ATOS are acting, In this time of cuts in public spending etc get them to justify all the costs involved. Best Wishes

papasmurf wrote:

marionf wrote:

Hi Everyone,

My son won his ESA appeal just two weeks ago and was put into the support group. I came home tonight to find a letter from ATOS enclosing an ESA50 which they want filling in.

Personally if I got treated like that it would be a letter to my MP CCd to the CEO of ATOS plus contacting the editor of a local newspaper.
(I have in the past got the editor of a local newpaper to come to witness one of my tribunals.)

I agree entirely with writing to the constituency MP, with a copy of the letter sent to the hierachy at Atos.

This is the fifth or sixth instance in this forum where claimants have been sent an ESA50 so soon after a successful appeal hearing. It is largely a consequence of appeal tribunals not giving a date when the case should come up for review again?

This is not only pertinent to the WCA but also the PCA. Why this is the case, I do not know, but if tribunals were able to give a review date, this would obviously prevent Atos from initiating a repeat of the procedure so soon after a successful appeal, as is apparently happening with the WCA.