Have the DWP brought in ESA re-assessments for the Support Group yet?

Here you go, another part of my life!

I have never had any "face-to-face" interviews with ATOS, Capita or even Maximus. I did see a social security doctor back in 1993, but that was only because I moved out of my parents house to my wife to be. Course this meant I needed to change Doctors, Dentists, etc. And back then I was on DLA but only for 2 years.

Social Security sent my new Doctor a form to fill in, so he did saying there was nothing wrong with me, this put my claim on hold. So, I made an appointment to see my new Doctor, and as soon as I went in his surgery he said "I have made an awful mistake, and I am very sorry". At the time Social Services contacted him he had never seen me and my records had not been transferred from my old doctors.

Hence, I complained to Social Services for taking my new doctors word over mine, when he did not even know me, and did not have my records at that time.

So, then Social Services contacted a Private Doctor that they pay to examine me. I went, I got dropped off by car to see the doctor, and then I was called in to his surgery room. The first thing he said to me was "It states on the Social Services letter that you have no disabilities".

Then he asked me, about my history and how I had come to be in his surgery, he was horrified when I told him what had happened. He was more interested in my disorder, because there was only 7 reported cases in the UK at the time. He even ordered and paid the taxi double the fee to take me home. A very nice doctor indeed, I always remember what he said to me, he said "Social Services pay me to examine people like yourself, I am disgusted at the way you have been treated, but I can guarantee it will never happen again in my full report back to them", he told me. "I stand by my word!" he helped me to the taxi and gave the taxi driver £20 to take me home, the taxi driver this is much more for a trip which is just down the road. When I got home, the taxi driver tried giving me half the fare... I said no, class it as a good day for your business.

The next 2 brown envelopes I had from Social Services and a letter from my own doctor, stating he had filled the form in without seeing my records or me was very wrong and would never happen again.

Social Services but me back on Invalidity Benefit and my DLA was changed from 2 years to "indefinite", which was done by the Social Services Private Doctor.

Since then, and they know my condition is not one that can be reversed very easily, well it can but the chances of becoming me normal self was just 5% with Deep Brain Surgery. I have seen people that had the DBS done, and they wish they never said yes! So, I just progressively suffer more and more as the years go by, basically falling apart but in pain.

Now, I was on Invalidty Benefit, then this was changed to Incapacity Benefit and then changed again to Contribution-Based ESA in the support group. Even though it has been changed all those times over the years I never have attended any "face-to-face". To be honest, I am expecting when DLA is changed to PIP, no assessment will be done, and it will just be on a 10 year period. In many rare cases this does happen, and numerous cases have gone through lately because of DWP staff losses, revenue losses, and what the Government thought they would gain from changing people over from DLA to PIP never happed, it was supposed to create a gain of £800 millon - but they did not take in to account so many cases that would go as far as tribunels. So, basically it was a waste of time, apart from they brought down the amount of people that were abusing the system, which was one good thing - nothing else was good, sending people to work, or even the recent bad case of sending a woman she was sacked on the same day her life-support was switch off.

Regards,

Les.

My ESA changed without me even filling in any forms at all. The DWP does know my case in a lot of detail, which my wife updated back last year. So, the DWP is quite up to date with most of my multiple disorders, medication and backup letters dated last year. I guess they could of updated their information back then and put me on PIP, but no they left me on DLA High Rates on both Components.