How long is the usual wait after ESA sent?

Hi Kate, I was in exactly the same position as you (IB to ESA) and the waiting was horrible. As a rough guide, in my area (the South West) it took them 3 weeks to contact me after they received my ESA50 (sent by special delivery too!). So you hopefully won't be waiting too much longer. Good luck, I hope it all goes well for you

Hello,

I am a NEW applicant for ESA. I filled in the ESA50 and got my medical date three weeks later.

I had my medical today. It was pretty much as bad as everyone has said. I hired a car to take me there and stay with me for the duration. I called as the car was late the person who answered the phone said if we were 5 minutes late the appointment might be rescheduled.

Nevertheless, the driver got us there 10 minutes early. I walked across the road and took a dirty small elevator to the second floor. The woman at the desk then told us we would have at least 45 minutes to wait!!

We gave her the mobile number and I headed straight back to the car. Oh, yes the dismal waiting area with no chairs for people in pain, just as described by other people.

After a long wait I was called in. I did see a GP. The man introduced himself as Dr...The questions were just as I expected per the ESA50 documents on B&W, so I was in no way surprised. I did bring to the Dr.'s attention that as I had already waited I would need to lie down. He had no problem with that.

He asked me about a typical day for me; which I described. Then after more fully expected and prepared for questions, he said he would do a quick physical exam. I told him what was hurting when it did. I told him that some things I could not do at all and did not do them. I just wouldn't do it. He did not insist.

I left there feeling that I had told him as much as I could but probably did not emphasis enough that I couldn't do these things over and over. I failed there and am now feeling sick about that.

Nevermind. I will expect the worst.

The ESA guide on this site made everything clear. I am glad that I was prepared. It was still a horrible thing to go through though.

cmarie

I am the OP. It's now been 17 days since ATOS received my ESA50. I've had a call today from the DWP. The lady said that she was sorting out my ESA and needed to know which bank account it should be paid into, as there was an old bank account on her system which was different to the one I use now. I then asked if that meant I was now going to get ESA, she said that I was being transferred to ESA and that I'd get a call about it in about four weeks time. This is deeply mysterious. I do not now know if this means that I am being moved to ESA without having a medical, and if so, which group of ESA I am being moved to. Has anyone any ideas? She was Scottish and said she was calling from the DWP in Kilmarnock. She did not ask me to verify any other details such as date of birth, address or NI number.

The delays tend to indicate that the DWP are not able to keep up with all the work. Whether that is a national trend, or just temporary or regional I have no idea.

The most important thing is to be prepared and be truthful and thorough in your completion of the forms when they eventually come

Thanks, XFactor, but what I want to know is, does this call from the DWP mean that I won't have to have a medical? Does anybody know what the administrative workflow of an IB to ESA transition is?

Hi Kate

I'm afraid it is completely impossible to guess what the DWP are doing from a simple phone call. It's difficult enough when they explain their thoughts in writing!

I can only tell you that the fact that they want your bank account number does not mean that a decision has been made. This is standard information that they usually take in advance.

Good luck

Derek

Edit: Although a lot is unknown about the transfer process the guide 'Being transferred from IB to ESA' contains a lot of information about how the process has been working.