Hello again readers,
Take a look at Aberdeen and Burnley first under the cosh.
March 4, 2010
7 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Hello again readers,
Take a look at Aberdeen and Burnley first under the cosh.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Theme: Rubric. Blog at WordPress.com.
Hi to all, I stumbled onto your website and firstly i`d like to say i`m appalled at the treatment that you have received at the hands of this institution and what a great idea this website is. I`m after advice, I claimed for the employment support allowance in January of this year having been on the sick since October and have been called in for the medical at Atos and have had conflicting advice from the authorities. My Doctor has given me a sick note to the day of my appointment and has told me that after that, Atos decide if I continue to receive payment or not! My question is this, Do I still recieve the payments while they decide and do I still have to send in sicknotes? Hope someone who has been through this can help, Cheers George. Ps Please keep up the good work.
Comment by George — March 24, 2010 @ 8:34 am
Speaking from personal experience only, I had my “medical”, a “Doctors” report was completed by the ATOS cardboard cut out and sent the same day via email to my local Jobcentre. This then languished for a month in the intray of a “Decision Maker” who actually makes the decision on the continuation or suspension of your benefits. To aid this process the “Decision Maker” looks at all the evidence he has available including your IB50 or the ESA equivalent, evidence from your GP, any specialists you may have advised them of and the ATOS cardboard cut out “Doctors” report. Once the “Decision Maker” has had a look at this lot, he then decides to continue or to suspend your benefits. Unfortunately the general concensus is, the “Decision Maker” usually falls to the side of the ATOS cardboard cut out “Doctor” and suspends your benefits if you have not scored enough points. As far as I am aware if you appeal in the first instance to the “Decision Maker” and hopefully provide further evidence he (or another person) will re-examine your case and sadly, the general concensus is he will turn you down. I am informed by a reader thet ESA claimants can claim at a lower rate during the appeals process, however, I am not aware if this applies to IB claimants (see DWP score sheets or points make prizes). In a nutshell ATOS do not actually decide to stop your benefits, this falls into the hands of the “Decision Maker” who will then blame the ATOS cardboard cut out “Doctor” if he gets caught out and the tribunal overturns his decision. ATOS contribute by giving the “Decision Maker” enough amunition i.e. the lowest possible score he can award which empowers him to penalise you by suspending your benefits. Harsh, you may think, but this is wht mmy personal experience was. Oh, I went as far as the Tribunal where the ATOS cardboard cut outs score was massively overturned. Good luck and keep us informed, oh and if you can, contribute to the blog by providing a description of your “medical Centre” and the “Medical” if you can. In closing, what I am urging people to do is to think carefully where they put thier x at the next General Election, I ask you not to vote Labour or Tory as thes fools have us and our right to benefits in thier sights, find the party you think has your interests at heart and vote for them whoever they may be. Good luck and keep us posted. Dont forget to ring your local Jobcentre the day after your medical and ask for a copy of the “Doctors” report, they cant refuse, I am sure like the rest of us here you will have your eyes opened.
Comment by dwpexamination — March 24, 2010 @ 12:37 pm
Wow! It really does seem like a nest of entangled bureaucratic red tape that I find myself walking into! Thanks for the heads up and I will let you know how it goes. The Medical centre is the Birmingham one that you have already posted. If there is anythng new, I`l add to the post if that is ok. Glad to here you eventually won your award, although the hoops you were made to jump through, must have put you under considerable added pressure you could`ve done without! Cheer`s once again. George.
Comment by George — March 26, 2010 @ 7:56 am
If you give up, they win. I dont give up…….
Comment by dwpexamination — March 27, 2010 @ 1:45 am
Hi, I guess it`s been awhile since I`ve written, this has been due to confusion with appointment times and new appointment being given. I finally had my medical last month and promptly gien no points. My appointment was at Five Ways in Birmingham,everything was as you said it would be from the over friendly welcome by the doctor to the Colombo moment at the end “ooh just one more thing”, But the best bit was the the childs chair I was expected to sit on for most of the 45mins examination. I am in the unfortunate position of having to sign on for Job Seekers due to my financal situation and was given an appointment for today at Kings Heath Job Centre, only to be told that they no longer do new claims at that Job Centre anymore by Elaine (no last name)who thought that this was highly amusing! as they have been having trouble with the main appointment making body for more than a year! As you can guess I did`t see the funny side! just thought I`d post it here just in case anyone else has been told to attend a New Claims interveiw at Kings Heath. I still intend to appeal, just making sure I have as much evidence as I can before sending in my GL24.
Cheers to all
George.
Comment by George — September 8, 2010 @ 2:58 pm
i myself hav a medical coming up but i dont understand it cos i was awarded dla last year till 2011, so if they think im unable to work y do i have 2 go to these medicals 4 esa. i was a main witness in a murder trial and suffer with agraphobia,anxiety and depression with severe panic attacks. im on high doses of prozac and sleeping tablets cos of threats im getting from the murderers family and friends i havnt left my home 4 3 wks i cant cook or hav my meds my mum has 2 giv me my meds daily she even stays til im asleep and this is making me worse ive tried 2 kill myself twice, ive had to move my son down souuth 4 his safety i havnt seen him 4 two year the last medical i went to the asshole of a doc lied basically writing opposite of wot i told him i hope i get a fair hearing cos i do want to come off benefits 1 day but im far from ready now.
Comment by michael wayne — October 9, 2010 @ 3:09 pm
Welcome to our rapidly growing community of ATOS victims, If you take a look at the other pages on the blog you will see you are not alone, this is the most important thing to remember. Atos and the DWP are not attacking you, though that’s whet they want you to think, they tar everyone with the same brush. First contact ATOS and ask for a home visit, if you are unsuccessfull and must attend , take someone with you, someone you can trust. Ask them to take notes of the proceedings, the ATOS cardboard cut out will not like it and will try to put you off by saying you cant use your notes at any tribunal or in any court. Don’t worry, just carry on regardless, its your right to take notes, take a close look at the alleged “Doctor” though, those little tell tale beads of sweat on his upper lip and his fighting will conform you have hit a major nerve. They hate it when you have a witness who is taking notes. To make your life a little easier I have produced an assessment form on the assessing ATOS page, this form will allow your companion to score the building, “Doctor” receptionist, parking etc and will serve as an aid to your memory when you are writing out your appeal. The DWP usually wait a month or so before they stop your benefits and the letter usually arrives the day before or on the day your benefits are due, for maximum impact. This is a terror tactic they use, they know that the majority of benefit claimants rely on their payments being in the bank or on their doorstep on time, they also know that the worry of not being able to pay rent, council tax and to buy food is a great motivator to get you to reclaim on jobseekers allowance. On the assessing ATOS page you will also find a useful contact form, print some of these off and keep them near the phone. It is essential that you gather the information the form asks you to and that you make a written record of your conversation, it helps throw them if you tell them you will be making a record of the conversation, they hate that. No doubt you are aware of the help available from your Local Authority Welfare Rights Office and the C.A.B. It is essential that you seek assistance from one or the other and particularly as a representative at your tribunal. ATOS and the DWP see themselves as judge, jury and executioner untill you take the upper hand. Fight them all the way, when you are at your tribunal come across as a credible witness, don’t shout, swear or act aggressively toward them, they are in a position to help you. Why not register with our sister forum, its free and is available to you at http://dwpexamination.myfreeforum.org where you will find loads of people in the same boat, loads of good advice and support and above all a feeling of belonging, rather than that the DWP try to create.
Comment by dwpexamination — October 10, 2010 @ 2:47 pm