ESA appeal advice

[fackinell]

Hope this is the right place to post...

Basically I am representing my mum at a benefits appeal this week. She has worked all her life until she was threatened with either (ill health) medical discharge or to take voluntary early retirement. Basically a jump or be pushed situation.

She has four chronic illnesses to contend with that debilitate her every day living. Basically she won't represent herself as she feels like a 'beggar'. No offence meant to anyone on benefits but this is how she feels. She is not fit to work but refuses to admit this to claim her benefits. She is living on her work pension and savings in private rental (won't go council as the extra rooms are required for grand kids (and she wants to stay there).

Anyone any experience of what I can expect to be thrown me? I want to be totally prepared.

unless the doctor has sent medical reports there is not a lot positive your mum can expect and really ,if she will not admit it??? you may as well stay at home

Can't believe the last response! The tribunal will be interested in learning what your mum can and can't do more than her medical problems alone. You need to look at the descriptors that she has to satisfy (they will be detailed in the pack she has been sent) and work out which ones she can do and which she can't. Your mum will need to attend because only she can say what her difficulties are.

Thanks so much for your replies. As it happens, due to a scare-mongering letter saying 'bad representation may be detrimental to your claim' she has the wind put up her and now not only won't attend, but won't let my Dsis and I attend. It doesn't look good unless she admits she has problems with her health.

We would not have represented her badly, I would have said she has 'difficulty doing this' and 'pain when doing that' but not straight out can or can't. I'm really disappointed!!

Who did the letter come from ;it sounds really bizarre as representation is generally not very important in the tribunal?

OhNo, it was in the notes that mum was given. She showed me the paragraph. Was from a head office in Edinburgh. I'm really concerned that her no show will mean her case will be thrown out. I have a good friend in the benefits office giving her advice. She just won't take it. Her newest job app has come to a standstill due to her heart condition. Nobody will touch her.

If she doesn't attend then it will depend on whether the tribunal accept the medical report from the exam she went to. If they have concerns about it they may adjourn to get her GP records before making a decision.

Thank you, Ohno, that's good to know. It's a pity she's so reluctant to claim, she has held down employment for 44years!! Never had any kind of benefit apart from the old family allowance. I can't think of any other ways to get her to see she is not 'scrounging' off the state. FX the panel can see that also. I'm going to the GP with her next time to let them know what she really has difficulty doing!!

Thanks for your help.

You should tell your mum that the tribunal is the Social Entitlement Tribunal i.e. their job is to consider whether people are entitled and not to judge them as "scroungers" etc.

I will do, thanks ohno. We have a several drug and alcohol abusers on ESA and DLA around here (I know this due to the nature of my work). It's very annoying that addiction is seen as more of a disability than chronic illness. Getting money thrown at them only enables the habit (and I guess the idea is to keep crime down too), but why should a lifetime employee like my mother be on the bread line when she can't work?