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I recently received a horror story from a reader, the reader gave details of their medical held recently at The Bridges Medical Centre in Sunderland. In their email the reader suggested it would be OK to print their story as they were in a very difficult position due to the actions of the ATOS cardboard cutout “Doctor”. From the information received I get the impression that ATOS are also giving misleading and uncorroborated information to benefit claimants who contact them in connection with their benefit suspension.
I must begin by telling you I do not reply to personal emails, I will respond to comments on the blog. If you do send personal emails which contain information on your experience please give your permission to publish your story. I have chosen not to publish this (M’s) story as there are too many clues to the authors identity and this may lead to further repercussions from ATOS, which may in turn ruin their chances at appeal. I have the following comments in response to the above mentioned email.
You have the right to appeal and can only do so once you have the “Decision Makers” response to the “Doctors” report and the subsequent letter telling you your benefits have been suspended.
You must follow the JC+ appeals process and ring your local Jobcentre and ask for a GL24 appeal form. Once you have this you can then appeal against the suspension and you are given the opportunity to provide any relevant and additional information which may support your appeal. Once you have done so your case is reviewed by another “Decision Maker” and they will write to you again with their decision, they will also tell you if your case is going to a tribunal so take my advice and challenge everything you consider to be untrue. Dont expect a fast reply or hold your breath here though, they usually drag their feet. If you are on ESA I am reliably informed you can continue to claim at the “Lower rate” whilst your case is under appeal.
When you say the ATOS employee you spoke to said there is no use in appealing as 9 out of 10 appeals are overturned, did you get their name? It would be very interesting to call them back and ask where they got this statistic from? If what they are telling you is untrue, and can be disproved, then maybe there is scope for a complaint here regarding the giving of misleading information. incidentally, you are not the first person to say this?
Your account is very detailed and should serve as an excellent reminder of your “examination”, this will no doubt come in very handy at your appeal.
Contact your Local Authority Welfare Rights Officer who may be able to help you with your appeal, you can find their number by ringing your Local Authority or Town Hall.
Contact your Local Authority regarding the unreasonable actions of your landlord.
Finally take a look at the assessing ATOS page of this blog, you will find a form which I am asking people to complete and keep on record as a reminder of the conditions and events during their ”examination”. You will also find a contact form which I urge you to complete every time you have any contact at all with ATOS or the DWP. They dont like it at all when you ask for names, contact numbers etc and you will find they squirm when you ask them to speak slowly or repeat themselves as you are taking notes of the conversation.
Sorry I could not reply directly to your email. If you choose to comment openly on the blog then please feel free to do so.
I’ll be back
hi,I went for a medical in Manchester a short time ago,and I have just received a copy of the medical report.The doctor told me at the end,that he would say that,I should go back to work for 6 months,sure enough,it did say that in the report.Unfortunately,at least 75% of the report was either total lies,or things I had told him about, where just left out.I am very worried about what I can do,the decision maker is going to judge my case,based on a load of rubbish.thank you for taking time to read this.Carl.
Comment by carl dyson — July 8, 2010 @ 4:31 am
Before you do anything seek assistance from your Local Authority Welfare Rights Officer or the CAB. Whilst you are waiting for your appointment write out a statement inwhich you challenge everything you see as incorrect, go through the report and highlight the statements you feel are incorrect, assumptions or lies in that order. Next, write out a further statement including each descriptor and your reply challenging the “Doctors” opinion and send that back to the decision maker, with any supporting evidence along with your GL24. When the DM falls on the side of the “Doctor” despite your challenge insist that your case goes to tribunal and after abvout 6 months you will be seen by them. More cases are being won at tribunal now than ever before and the more people who go this far the better it will be for disabled people in the UK.
Comment by dwpexamination — July 8, 2010 @ 6:47 am
I appealed to overturn ATOS decision and my appeal was refused because I was told that my symptoms didn’t make sense and that I was TOO ELOQUENT. I had been diagnosed with COPD and have lived with this for nearly 5 years. I have just been told that I have lung cancer and that the symptoms that DO NOT MAKE SENSE are symptoms of having a tumour in my left lung as well as chronic asthma and COPD. I am waiting for a hospital appointmnet to have my lung removed.The tumour has been growing for 4 years at least. We know this because I had a scan 4 years ago and the specialist found a shadow which she said was nothing to worry about. The specialist dealing with my case now has confirmed that this shadow is the tumour I have.
Comment by Anonymous — February 25, 2011 @ 11:04 am
Do you have an advisor from the CAB or welfare rights office? if not you need to get in touch with one immediately. Please give me a little more information if you can. Also check out our sister forumhttp://dwpexaminations.blacktrianglecampaign.org/index.php where you will find other people in a very similar situation.
Comment by dwpexamination — February 25, 2011 @ 4:11 pm
i live in york and am going for a assessment in aug,the main reason i cannot work is i have really bad fibromyalgia,the last assessment i had was 2005 and i had to end up appealing,i did win the appeal,i did get the report the so called doctor wrote about me and it was alltwisted words and outright lies,the so called doctor literally snatched my walking stick off of me took no notice of me crying,was literally forcing me to bend forward even tho’it caused me untold pain,i have since learnt he wasn’t meant to do that,it was ignored when i mentioned it , so you can imagine how stressed i am about going on in aug, can they force me to do things i know are going to increase my pain levels?or do i have the right t refuse?
Comment by sal — July 14, 2011 @ 11:23 am
Hello Sal.
NO…they certainly cannot force you to do things, especially if it causes you pain, it sounds like the last examiner was a real brute.
Usually they ask you to carry out an action like bend your back to touch your knees etc, and watch to see if you will do it.
Just tell the HCP that to carry out that action causes to much pain and you wish to skip it.
And yes we know all about ATOS and their lying medical assessments.
For expert and free advice, and what to do about it, advice from real people in the know, click on here http://dwpexaminations.blacktrianglecampaign.org/index.php
Comment by dwpexamination — July 14, 2011 @ 7:27 pm
hey just thought i would let you know i failed my medical at atos and am going to appeal as i looked at the points awarded by the WCA and i scored myself 93 points!!!!!!!! my answers to the so called examiner were on the most part clear cut and even if they did misenterpret some of it on the questions i know could not have been misinterpreted i would have scored at least 50 points. I seriously regret not taking someone with me as i live 5 minutes away from the examination center. the state of my mental health means that i get very uncomfortable around certain people have no organisational skills cant make my way to anywhere i am not VERY familiar with feel sick on public transport dont pay attention to risks and have possibly the most irregular and uncontrolable sleep pattern ever, (I will sleep for anything up to 24 hours and will not be able to sleep for a further 24-36 hours afterwards until i am exausted, when i am asleep i am almost impossible to wake and if woken will be asleep again after 5 minutes.) ATOS believe i am fit to work just wondering what any of you think about this as i would find it laughable if not for the fact that my benefits have been stopped
Comment by Anonymous — September 28, 2011 @ 1:50 pm
Hello Anonymous.
Hardly anyone gets points, even people with lung cancer and brain tumours get zero points so there’s no need to worry about that. it’s just normal. You say you are going to appeal, that’s the way to go, don’t forget to write on your appeal introduction you wish to be paid at the assessment rate whilst waiting for the appeal to be heard, that way at least you will get some money every week and your rent and council tax rebates etc.
Also please visit our forum http://dwpexaminations.blacktrianglecampaign.org/phpBB3/ and help us by telling your strory and getting the best advice on how to appeal etc…!!
Comment by dwpexamination — September 28, 2011 @ 6:12 pm
i actually tried to join the forum but was told i got the catchca wrong and had to try again later i think its this computer since i never failed a catchca before and have failed 7 in the last month with no problems with my vision :/
Comment by Anonymous — September 28, 2011 @ 6:59 pm
These captchas are a pain sometimes, it’s difficuly to make out if it’s a capital letter as well, unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about the captchas, try again, I’m sure you will get there, don’t forget to acknowledge with your e-mail. I have made that mistake before and couldn’t get in to forums…LOL.
Comment by dwpexamination — September 28, 2011 @ 7:40 pm
the person i care for has , cardiomyopthy severe dilated l v impairment , last yr his friend shot him in the neck out side my home in front of me , they shot 4 times with a 9mm hand gun , he refused the witness protection scene as he will never be able to come back as he will of had new id , he went to court and gave evidence, , they got 14 yrs each , now he has ptsd as well. he s been up all night 4 19 month , sleeping day time , he s a time bomb ready to go off if any one is not right ,he has a violent nature 2 other but is a nice carring person, he been to psychologist with agree he has ptsd and a personality disorder too
i was rung up saying that he take many thousand pounds and dose nt go to court , or the money will be put on his HEAD , now he s not the same person he were s bullet proof vest s and is ready 4 any reprise’s thing is his hart is not working right hes on lots of meds , he can not even do any thing 4 his self now,
he moves from place too place for his safety
the job centre plus have sent him a letter saying they are going to home visit him at a time from 9 am to 2 pm , he will end up in jail as he s not right in the head @ mo ,
should i ring the doctor and tell him and the jcp ? about the mental state he is in , ?
Comment by Karen — January 22, 2012 @ 3:37 am
Hello Karen.
I think that the mere fact that you have serious doubts about your friends mental health issues and feel the need to ask others what to do speaks volumes, you obviously feel your friend will not be responsible for his actions if he is put under any more pressure and as much as we detest ATOS employees we don’t want to see them get hurt for just doing a lousy job.
Therefore Karen I think you would be doing your friend and any strangers that come to visit him a great favour if you let ATOS know upfront and as soon as possible that visiting your friend at this moment in time would/could be an unpleasant experience and could they reconsider.
You say ring the Dr do you mean his GP ? yes that would be a good idea because his GP has a responsibility to inform other health employees that his patient is at the moment at least, let’s just say potentially volatile, and you can always visit the JCP he deals with as well and ask to speak to someone in confidence, and again let them know, talking to someone in confidence will get it across to them you are serious and they will inform ATOS on your behalf.
As far as I’m concerned your civic duty towards Government employees would be over and the rest is up to them, all I can say is if I worked for ATOS healthcare (The company who carry out health and functional assessments on behalf of the Government) I would be extremely grateful that you warned me via the Department of work and patients that visiting your friend could be hazardous to my health.
This is just my opinions and suggestions Karen good luck and I hope they listen to what you have to say.
Comment by dwpexamination — January 22, 2012 @ 7:08 am
received my appt letter for medical in birmingham, the letter says in bold print the assessment centre is not wheelchair accessible!!!! Phoned ATOS who know nothing about the venue, got to wait til monday to ring venue myself, or get partner to do it.
Comment by Anonymous — February 4, 2012 @ 6:25 pm
Hello Anonymous.
The ATOS venue is not wheelchair accessible ? and ATOS know nothing about it ? surely somebody is having a laugh ?.
A phone call to the right people in ATOS surely should get you another venue ?.
Make sure you dodge the disabled bashers on your way there, the abuse of disabled people sometimes starts before we even reach the ATOS centre. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/feb/05/benefit-cuts-fuelling-abuse-disabled-people
Comment by dwpexamination — February 4, 2012 @ 7:57 pm
I Have Won My Appeal Just to let you Know i scored 18 Points at the hearing
Comment by colin — May 28, 2012 @ 4:11 pm
Hello Colin.
That’s excellent news, now you just have to hang on to get your backdate money..!!
Comment by dwpexamination — May 28, 2012 @ 5:48 pm