Today I got a “limited capability for work questionnaire” through the post. I am already in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance in the Support group due to my sec bc, so I was surprised that they wanted the info all over again. I rang my local JobCentrePlus to query why I had been sent this form and did I really have to send it back given my circumstances, and the prat on the other end of the phone said it was just in case things had changed since I was awarded the ESA. I pointed out to him that my illness was ultimately terminal and that that wasn’t going to change! He just said in a sort of computer-says-no voice that because I had been sent the form I would have to fill it in and send it back. They’ve already had this form from me! I’m so incensed! Ok, this might sound like I’m being really wet, but it’s stressful thinking about how to word the responses and how they might use the information. Ok, worst case scenario is that I’d have the benefit stopped, and then I’d kick up a fuss, but I don’t want to waste what precious time I have giving them info they already have when I’m supposed to be in the ‘Support group’ which actually means exactly the opposite … they leave you alone instead of hounding you!
Have any of you been sent this form? I’ve completed it but before I send it back I’d be interested to hear what’s happened to others.
Hi Alison, sorry to hear you’re being hassled! I am on ESA also, but haven’t received one of these forms. I was, however, called in for an interview after my application. Like you, I have secondaries and explained the situation over the phone. Still had to go in. It was shortly after my diagnosis and I felt very wobbly and vulnerable. Luckily, on my appointment day, had a really nice chap who was incensed on my behalf, sent me home and then my money went up! I’ve just been to a secondaries course and we had a visit from a benefit’s expert. The whole system is being shaken up and he said that what applies today may not apply tomorrow. I’m sorry I can’t help you specifically but agree it’s very annoying to feel that you have to qualify your status particulary when it can be quite stressful saying your diagnosis out loud to someone who doesn’t care!
x
Let’s hope that the system shake up doesn’t shake us all up in the process!
There’s another work capability thread on this forum that gives horrendous examples of where the ‘system’ really lets people down. Where has all the humanity gone?
I’m annoyed too as I’ve recently been granted ESA but have to attend 2 interviews. I may be tempted to leave the dressing off my Hickman line and show them where it enters my skin! It seems stupid that I have to go to 2 interviews let alone one. Why isn’t the GP’s sick note enough?
I have to say that I was really angry when I was called in for an interview as I the news of my diagnosis was only just sinking in. However, as I said before, the guy at the office was great and the result was that I ended up getting quite a considerable sum on top of the original pay out. Unfortunately the system is designed to weed out those who may want to abuse the system, there’s little room for empathy when dealing with our situations. A tip that the benefits guy from my course told us was to always bring someone with you to any interview. That way you have someone as a witness and also to support you. For many of us there is a certain ‘shame’ involved with claiming monies but it’s important to realise that funds do exist and they have certainly helped me. I hope you are also claiming DLA which is non means-tested so it is an extra sum on top of what you are already getting. You can also claim for a discount railcard if you are claiming the latter. I’ve changed my philosophy now and if it’s there, I apply! Getting a secondary diagnosis is hard enough without worrying about money to live on. I’m already planning a few rail trips to places I haven’t visited in the UK.
I went today for my first interview and I was ready to have a gentle rant at the interviewer but she spoke first saying that she found it embarrassing to have to give me an interview and apologised for it.
I have no shame in receiving benefits as after all, I’ve been paying NI for years.
Good for you, I’m glad it went better than expected. Like a lot of similar organisations they are obliged to follow procedure.It’s always good to come across people who can sensitively follow procedure. I’m well over my benefit ‘guilt’ now and am enjoying my free time as much as possible without having to worry too much about financial burdens.
x
I too am on ESA. I received a letter “inviting” me to an interview to support me in getting back to work. I work for a Government Dept and so was quite racked off at the generic tone of this inpersonal off hand letter - did they not read my application form or medical assessment form, or my doctors notes??? So i called. I asked politely why they had sent me the invite, what was the purpose of the meeting, and how were they going to help me. Everyone claiming ESA has to attend an interview its the Governments rules otherwise your benefit may be stopped!! Sharp intake of breath - count to ten. So what will the interview cover in the vast 20 mins i am allocated. It is designed to see what help DWP can offer to get you back to work. But i have a job and i will be returning to it - exactly what support will you be giving me ?? You need to attend the interview to determine that! BUT the icing went on the cake when i said i was in chemo and the date selected was not a good time for me - she said no problem she would defer it for 2 months !! I think she just wanted to get rid of me or was too embarrassed to continue.
The Government has no real concept that this benefit is not a one size fits all - there are people who rely on this money as they do not have work and then whilst being ill to have to jump through bureacratic hoops ( cuz it says so !! ) is just not good enough. I am lucky i have a job to go back to, this is my first time claiming benefits outside SSP and i am so frustrated at how cumbersome, impersonal and patronizing some of these forms, letters, invites are. I know there are people abusing the system - but that does not make it right for the rest of us to suffer the Spanish Inquisition when we are only trying to claim what we are entitled to. Grrrr.
Sorry to rant on.
x
I absolutely agree with what you say sandripples. My next ‘interview’ in a couple of weeks time will consist of a medical examination for God’s sake! I’m tempted to whip off the bra and twirl my Hickman line around like a stripper’s nipple tassels! The appt is on a Sunday, so it’ll be double pay for them probably and what a waste of money.
I too have a job to back to and resent greatly this interrogation! Isn’t my GP and occupational health assessment enough?
I too have received a letter this morning asking me to make an appointment for a medical. I cannot believe this. I recently sent off my latest doctors note and have every intention of returning to work in September. I have never claimed any benefits before I was diagnosed with breast cancer and the letters and forms I have had to fill out has amazed me. Has anyone else had to have a medical, if so what happens? I object to been made to feel like a faker. Why isnt my doctors note enough evidence for these people!
Yesterday I attended a Breast Cancer Care Secondary Breast Cancer meet up (well worth it, in my view, for a variety of reasons). One of the sessions was run by two local Macmillan welfare rights officers, and they told me that the organisation sending out these Work Capability Assessment forms on behalf of DWP is known for making this mistake - of sending out the Work Capability Assessment form to people who have already applied under the special rules - and that although I do have to send it back I should write on the front “DS1500 already sent” and sign it without filling in.
Well, too late not to fill it in as I have already done so, but I have now followed their advice as well and hopefully that should be the end of it. So if any other secondaries ladies get the same form (ESA50), and they are already getting ESA under the special rules, I would follow their advice: put “DS1500 already sent” on the front, sign & return form, but don’t otherwise complete.
i too have had all this rubbish trust upon me and have refused point black to attend anything as like many of you i to have a job to go back to(which i am now on a phased return)i have flatly refused, each time i have spoken to them, to allow them to call this a benefit which i belieive mostly it isnt as its based upon my own NI contributions. i am asbolutely appalled at the treatment we are receiving and i am taking this to my MP and further, as you said why do we need a medical when there is evidence from the onc, breast surgeon and gp available?arggghhhhhhhhh
sue
Hello to the girl that asked what happens at a medical exam,
I had to attend one in April,I got a lovely little man who seemed quite caring. The questions he asked were EXACTLY the same questions he asked my husband 3 years ago,hardly anything connected with the illness a person is off work with at all,and my husbands complaints were all far removed from BC. The questions ranged from" what are your hobbies" to" how far can you walk" to"who does the cooking"to “how did you get here today”. I was on my guard all the time,I felt as if he was trying to trip me up but when he asked me how I had coped with chemo,rads,surgery etc.,I just burst into tears and he put his arm round me while I had a little sob. The last part of the interview involved me taking off my jacket and doing the same arm exercises that hed had my hubby doing,that proved its all very standard stuff,not tailored to what the individual is suffering from.
Good luck and don`t get too stressed about it, love Mags xx
In response to a user’s concerns please remember that this thread is for those of you with secondaries to comment on your experiences, if you don’t have secondaries you may wish to start a similar thread in a primary room. Thankyou for your co-opertion.
I’m on higher rate DLA and receive working tax credits as my husband works and we are on a low income - I’ve not got ESA as apparently ‘i didn’t pay enough contributions during the last 2 years’ WELL OF COURSE NOT, I DIDN’T BLOODY WORK AS I WAS BEING OPERATED ON AND THEN RECUPERATING…
Vicky has recently been accepted for ESA without any problems thankfully, so I think sometimes it can be down to which office and who you talk to.
She had the 40 minute phone call whilst they went over the details in the application and although there was a little confusion as they said they wanted a copy of the DS1500 form which they already had (Vicky already gets DLA higher rate & mobility), it all seemed to go fairly smoothly.
Slightly more confusion when she got the letters through as one had a lower rate & the 2nd letter was a “revised” copy dated the same day but with a higher rate (presumably avoiding the initial period as she’s under the special rules). They’d even backdated it by about 2 months which made life better.
Technically she’s still employed (although no longer paid) but she’ll never be able to go back to work as the secondaries are now too far along.
I claimed for ESA on Tues 27 July. It was completed over the phone and took 20 mins (shorter interview as claiming contribution based). I am claiming under special rules and advised them DS1500 sent in when I claimed DLA. Received letter on the Friday requesting medical certificate, payslip and SSP1 which I sent back same day. Received letter from them Wed 4 Aug saying claim successful.
Can’t believe how quick they processed this, and its being back dated 3 months as I hadn’t realised I qualified for this benefit.
Breast Cancer Care is part of the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), a national coalition of over 30 different charities and other organisations committed to working towards a fair benefits system.
The Disability Benefits Consortium is urging people affected by breast cancer to take part in a new survey which aims to find out more about your experience of claiming benefits.
The online survey can be accessed through the following link - surveymonkey.com/s/dbcsurvey - and takes no more than 15 minutes to complete.