Hi, I was hoping I could get some advice on my situation. Basically my situation is that I am currently in receipt of PIP (Personal Independence Payment) and ESA (Employment and support allowance). I receive these benefits because I am currently unemployed. The main reason for this has been my Crohns, constantly having to dash to the toilet, not leaving the house on certain days because I have been told by doctors that I have a quite aggressive form of the disease and I suffer from severe stomach cramps and 2-3 times weekly I experience vomiting regularly.
However, despite these symptoms I am an optimistic person. I hate the thought that my condition is stopping me from achieving a good quality of life. I am making a bit of extra income from an internet business at the moment. This has given me financial stability and I am working with somebody to expand the business with a view to coming off benefits and fully supporting myself without any assistance. However I received a letter recently that invited me to attend a benefits assessment. I'm absolutely terrified by this because the last time I had an assessment, I was given 0 points. I did appeal this and a tribunal awarded me with 38 points and backdated money. But the tribunal took 14 months and during that time I survived from handouts given by family and friends.
So basically I'm in an awful situation again. I feel that if I get invited to an assessment by a government contacted company (Who are incentivised to award nothing) then I may have another 14 months struggle of relying on others to provide for me until my tribunal is heard. But the whole point in my post here is to ask others who have faced a similar situation to perhaps give me an idea of what exactly I can submit to these people who carry out benefit assessments to make them realise that I have a severe condition? Can I actually get my IBD doctor to submit evidence? I haven't asked but I wasn't sure if they got involved in these matters.
Any advice is appreciated, Thank you
However, despite these symptoms I am an optimistic person. I hate the thought that my condition is stopping me from achieving a good quality of life. I am making a bit of extra income from an internet business at the moment. This has given me financial stability and I am working with somebody to expand the business with a view to coming off benefits and fully supporting myself without any assistance. However I received a letter recently that invited me to attend a benefits assessment. I'm absolutely terrified by this because the last time I had an assessment, I was given 0 points. I did appeal this and a tribunal awarded me with 38 points and backdated money. But the tribunal took 14 months and during that time I survived from handouts given by family and friends.
So basically I'm in an awful situation again. I feel that if I get invited to an assessment by a government contacted company (Who are incentivised to award nothing) then I may have another 14 months struggle of relying on others to provide for me until my tribunal is heard. But the whole point in my post here is to ask others who have faced a similar situation to perhaps give me an idea of what exactly I can submit to these people who carry out benefit assessments to make them realise that I have a severe condition? Can I actually get my IBD doctor to submit evidence? I haven't asked but I wasn't sure if they got involved in these matters.
Any advice is appreciated, Thank you
