Appeal and Work Focused Interview

Hi All

Thanks for all the useful advice.

I shall send an email and draft up a letter tomorrow and get my husband to post that for me.

Thank you again, this site is a godsend

Pusscat x

Hello Pusscat....

How are you? I hope not too bad today but I do know a little on how you feel as I have a similar situation.

I shall try to keep it brief but here goes....I have been on ESA since september last year, after medical I was placed in the wrag but I thought I should be in support group as at the time it was impossible for me to work or attend interviews etc and no real idea of how my illness would progress so I to appealed the decision (incidentally my appeal will not be heard this year, and yes my claim is from septemmber 2009)...

I was called earlier this year approx feb & march for WFI, the 1st i called them and told i could not make it, the second I was actually in surgery under the knife when the apot shoudl have took place so that too was cancelled and they told my wife they would leave me for a while to recover....

I was sent for WFI in early september which I was able to attend with great difficulty. The guy seemed very nice and said i should not have come in and he would nto want to see me until after my appeal was heard, thank god...I thought. I received a letter with 5 days notice of a WFI for last tuesday, I eventually got through to the gentleman monday and explaine dwe had spoken and he did not want to see me....wrong!!! You still have to go to the WFI if your appeal is from wrag to support group....strange I thought. I told him I had cancelled a hospital apt as I was unable to walk for the past 2 weeks (illness getting worse) so he siad i had to have the interview and he would do it by telephone at the set time on the tuesday...he made it very clear my benefit WOULD STOP if I did not answer the phone for any reason. I said it 'may stop' as thta is the general terminology but he said no it WILL STOP....I could not leave the house so I was in and had the interview over the phone....the next day i received a letter with my next appointment for november...rediculous situation...

Not only can I not attend as I am too ill and unable to walk much of the time, I am a medical professional with a job to walk back into once I am able (luckily) they cannot help me in any way whatsoever, I do not have a strenuous job, no lifting etc, i don't need a carrer change I just need my health back, nothing else my but health back. Job centre plus are unable to do that for me but even though i am unable to leave the house they insist that I will lose my benefit if i do not have a face to face or telephone interview with them..

Sorry to go on but as it seems the exact same situation for you I thought i would pass my thoughts....I hope it works out differently and better for you and please tell me if it does as I would love to be able to argue this with them again but as it stands for me awaiting appeal from wrag to support requires these interviews...

Good luck

John

Hello John, and everyone else.

I am shocked at your story. I actually contacted the JCP office concerned with my WFI/WRAG by email and sent a letter to them by special delivery explaining the reasons why I could not attend and that I was also appealing the decision. I received a written reply saying that deferral of my meetings was fine and to contact them when I get the result of my appeal. It seems wrong to me that this has happened to you, but I have to admit I have had run-ins with the JCP offices which have not been so great.

All I can do now is wait for either a decision on the paperwork from my appeal, which they said they were looking at first, or have to go to a tribunal. Either way, I don't know the timescale is on either so all I can do is sit tight and wait.

Hope this helps?

Pusscat

Why aren't these cases reported to the authorities... ??

couse they don't care