New member in need of advice re. ESA

lazydaisy

Hi All,
I have just joined & am finding this site very informative & useful.
I wonder if anyone could advise me.
I have recently been diagnosed with RA after having spent years in pain, but being too cowardly to go to the doctors. Eventually the pain became so severe that I braved it. My Mum & several female members of my family also have RA, so I was pretty sure before I was diagnosed.
I have a job which is on a temporary contract(holiday park). Basically, I clean caravans. The last two weeks I have been off sick with no pay, (not entitled) because of severe joint pains and constant fatigue.
I am desperate for money, no savings or income, so I downloaded the esa claim form and posted it.
Does anyone know what will happen next, or even if I have done the right thing? How long will it be before I get any money? I was going to apply for a crisis loan but they were scrapped on 1st April. The only option is a local food bank, but that doesn't pay my bills.
Sorry to be so long winded, but am so worried about money and am really depressed.
Thanks in advance

19smp59

I am so sorry for the awful position you are finding yourself in. My advice would be to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau as soon as possible and make an appointment with them for some benefit advice. They are supposed to be really good and will ensure that you get what you are entitled to. Good luck!

Suzanne x

lazydaisy

I think i will try cab tomorrow. Can't do any harm can it? Thanks for your reply Suzanne x

lizzy100

sorry i have no idea. you could try applying for DLA too. yea citizens advice is a good idea. goood luck.

barbara12

Hello lazydaisy
I am so sorry you are struggling like this..sorry I cant offer any advice but I do want to wish you good luck with it..and please let us know how you get on x

harleyquin

I am so sorry to hear of this predicament you find yourself in, through no fault of your own.
First port of call should be CAB as you have no money to live on, and that can't be right, so you need to find out if you can claim for immediate help as the ESA application can take many weeks to sort out.
I believe that local councils or jobcentres have taken over the crisis loans now, so there is still help available
If you are turned down, you must ask for a review, if turned down again go to Tribunal, these days we are having to fight all the way.
If you eventually win your case, your benefits will be backdated.
Hopefully your assessment for ESA will go through, but you need to be prepared to fight if it comes to it.
Good luck, and keep us updated.

Harley

trepolpen

hi , welcome to the forum , as the other said talk to the CAB , they are very good

RA has changed a lot in the last 10 years & the treatment for it so much better , good consultant will be able to make it so much better for you , the drugs may sound a bit scary but there are loads of us on several of them & had RA myself since mid 90s , try to be positive about them being able to treat your RA , hope you feel better soon

toady

Hello lazydaisy, sorry you are having to tackle the whole ESA business while having a tough time with your RA. Now that you have sent in your form, the next stage may be that at some point you will be called for a face to face assessment. That depends on the information you sent with your form & whether they feel they can make a decision without seeing you.

Did you get any supporting information such as letters or medical reports from your GP? If you didn't include anything like that with your form, then it's worth rounding up as much helpful stuff as you can, you always send it in or take it with you, as backup proof of your own account of how you are.

Hope the CAB can fit you in as they are having a lot of this sort of claim to cope with at the moment. If you do hear back from the DWP about your form, come back & tell us what they say. If they accept you for ESA you will be put into one of 2 groups which are different depending how severely you are affected by your illness.

Do hope you can get some short-term help money-wise, all the best, toady.

villier

Hi

Did you send a sick line from your GP with the forms, if not get one sent as soon as, CAB are very good, hopefully you can get this sorted soon.................tc............Marie x