Esa hell ..desperate for feedback and advice anyone please :-)
Comments
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I see that you have applied for PIP so that is a good start.
Although I respect your daughter's decision not to claim benefits I think that in your situation you are going to have to maximise your income in any way that you can. Hard decisions are going to have to be made and some pride swallowed.
First thing to do is (another) trip to CAB where they can check that you have all the benefits that you are entitled to. I am sure they will suggest PIP for your daughter, if appropriate, and if awarded that she could claim ESA whilst at university although any student loans may be taken into account.
If your daughter was awarded daily living PIP then you could claim Carer's Allowance for her.
Are you in privately rented accommodation and claiming Housing Benefit? Is your rent covered by HB or do you have to make a 'top up?'
CAB should be able to check that you are on the cheapest tariffs for your utilities and help deal with any debts.
Can your 17 year old get a part time job?
In simple terms you have to maximise your income and minimise your expenditure.
There may be other help that I haven't covered.
All of you have to accept that this is a time when you need help and should not feel guilty about accepting it. On the other side of the coin both your children need to do their bit - either by claiming benefits or doing some part time work.
I don't know what your and your daughter's particular disabilities are but is there any work that you both could do which would fit around them? Sometimes you have to 'think outside the box'.
I am honestly not trying to minimise your problems but in your circumstances it seems that you have no alternative but to accept help wherever that comes from.0 -
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pmlindyloo wrote: »I see that you have applied for PIP so that is a good start.
Although I respect your daughter's decision not to claim benefits I think that in your situation you are going to have to maximise your income in any way that you can. Hard decisions are going to have to be made and some pride swallowed.
First thing to do is (another) trip to CAB where they can check that you have all the benefits that you are entitled to. I am sure they will suggest PIP for your daughter, if appropriate, and if awarded that she could claim ESA whilst at university although any student loans may be taken into account.
If your daughter was awarded daily living PIP then you could claim Carer's Allowance for her.
Are you in privately rented accommodation and claiming Housing Benefit? Is your rent covered by HB or do you have to make a 'top up?'
CAB should be able to check that you are on the cheapest tariffs for your utilities and help deal with any debts.
Can your 17 year old get a part time job?
In simple terms you have to maximise your income and minimise your expenditure.
There may be other help that I haven't covered.
All of you have to accept that this is a time when you need help and should not feel guilty about accepting it. On the other side of the coin both your children need to do their bit - either by claiming benefits or doing some part time work.
I don't know what your and your daughter's particular disabilities are but is there any work that you both could do which would fit around them? Sometimes you have to 'think outside the box'.
I am honestly not trying to minimise your problems but in your circumstances it seems that you have no alternative but to accept help wherever that comes from.
No i appreciate your reply and advice, and as you point there is a huge element of guilt involved .
Not helped by many peoples judgemental attitudes about what you may or may not "deserve"
yes the CAB and others have suggested my daughter claim.But after seing what ive been going through she feels totally put off by the whole harrowing process and i do not blame her one bit.
The conditions we share are not very well known about or well understood so that complicates things further.
However i do think you are right and we may need to go back to the drawing board on this.0 -
Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »Because you put 'housing benefit N/A' which means Not Applicable
Yes i know what N/A means .0 -
No i appreciate your reply and advice......
However i do think you are right and we may need to go back to the drawing board on this.
I, too, would completely agree with with pmlindyloo.
She has given excellent and very knowledgeable guidance.
Please don't be put off by any judgemental responses on here, you need to do what is best for you and your daughter.
Your CAB may be able to help with your daughters PIP form.
If PIP is awarded then In addition to ESA, she may be able to claim Housing Benefit as a student.
This could be a good resource for her:
https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/helplines/disabled-students-helpline
Best wishes.Alice Holt Forest situated some 4 miles south of Farnham forms the most northerly gateway to the South Downs National Park.0 -
QUOTE]Thanks so much Alice for your reply.
She did start a pip app but felt defeated by it due to knowiing what the process would entail ei : feeling disbelieved etc ..niether us feel very good the majority if the time so its difficult trying to help each other through these things especialy when there is so much adversity .We both often struggle to get through the days without feeling exhsusted sometimes so i totally get it ..
But you are right.I do think she should look into things and maybe get some help from the CAB .
And yes all good advice is much appreciated after all its what i came here for .0 -
Yes i know what N/A means .
Glad to hear it. In which case, you did say that you don't get housing benefit so not sure why you are querying my question as to why you don't get it.
I only know of two reasons why people can't get housing benefit. One is owning their own home and two is having savings above the limit. I'm not aware of what else would be a disqualification but happy to be enlightened.0 -
Hi cheeky monkey As far as i recall i never once said "i didnt"get housing benefit im sure i simply said it was non applicable?But i may be wrong .
weather or not i recieve housing benefit is irrelevent to my original post where i have a query about my being put on the lowest rate of ESA dispite being on it for well over a year with continual sick notes provided.Im sure this has absloutely nothing to do with housing benefit ?
I have zero savings.If i did i wouldnt be on a forum discussing my current financial hardship .
I have no disqualifications for any reason.
i realise my original post probably seemed a bit confusing as my situation IS very confusing due to the DWP messing me around for such a long time.When you are unwell.It is very hard to take in times ,dates,and other data when one is being bombarded by paperwork appointments and phone calls for months on end.
Im sure you understand that .0 -
By the way,
It appears you have been very lucky to get JSA processed as a valid claim (whenever you have claimed it). That is because JSA is not allowed to be processed unless the claimant has said- I am available for work
- I am looking for work
The Jobcentre is not allowed to put a JSA claimant on EPS until after their first payment of JSA. If a claimant shows up at their WFI and is indicating that they are unable to look for work due to illness, -according to procedure-, the JSA cannot be awarded.
Anyway.....
All claim dates for JSA and ESA since Nov 16 - start and finish dates.
And then ask them for any gaps in the payment history from November 2016 onwards.
I would expect the gaps to occur between your different claims. I would also expect your ESA payments to have continued beyond your first ESA end date.
So you might have claim dates:
ESA 12/11/16 - 25/04/17
JSA 15/05/17 - 15/06/17
ESA 16/06/17 - Live
And payment dates
12/11/16 - 14/05/17
15/05/17 - 15/06/17
16/06/17 - ongoing
So this example would be "gaps between claims" but "no gaps in payment"0 -
Thanks very much epitome .
I am going to call tommorow definitely .
It was always the tribunal service and ESA that told me to claim JSA after every failed exam or tribunal.
i would have to make a claim over the phone to JSA and then go in for an appointment to sign on .There they would place me immediatley into the 13 week rule of being able to claim if you are sick. absaloutely no questions about it The job centre were always aware of my fit notes .I have been signed off work continously for a year and a half.the first few of those months i was still claiming working tax credits where you are allowed 5 months illness.
Obviously i was hoping to go back to work and continue on tax credits but i neber got better from my original illness and aquired new ones too hence applying fir ESA .
Unfortunately i never got any help with any of it and have been trying to do it on my own up untill recently so that wont have helped.
very much appreciate your feedback and i will get those dates first thing.0
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