ESA payments delayed by MONTHS at a time

DemiDee

Hi all,

A relative of mine was on contributions based ESA until last month, and the whole process has made her more anxious and distressed than ever. They are supposed to pay every two weeks, but some weeks it was two weeks, others it was eight, and finally, she had to wait 12 weeks despite sending letters which were simply put on file and ignored.

She was never, in the 11 months on ESA, sent or asked to submit a medical form which means that she never moved on from the £60+ rathe to the £90+ weekly rate that you are supposed to move on to after 13 weeks of being on ESA as long as you attend all the interviews they ask you to go to (according to the booklet). Surely it is not her fault that she was not sent a medical questionairre and she should have automatically been put on the new rate regardless.

Now, after complaining again, she has just received the medical form, but she's back at work, even though not at all well. What else was she supposed to do when they simply weren't paying for 8-12 weeks. She's now been told to complete the forms as if she wasn't back at work just so that they can assess which group she's in! What?!

I wonder if they are deliberately delaying payments by weeks and also delaying sending out the medical questionairre so that they can get away with keeping people on the £60+ rate.

Any advice would be most appreciated, and I would also love to hear from anyone else who has had ESA payments delayed by weeks, with absolutely no explanation. The whole process has been a nightmare for her from start to finish, but maybe this is the way they force people back into work before they are truly well enough.

NASA_2

Was she submitting medical certificates on time? Most people delay their own payments by sending their lines in later.

You are right though, the DWP have conspired to prevent people getting money at every avenue, they plan it and implement it from top to bottom.

In answer the the question whether 'she should just be put on the new rate' that its a ridiculous question. She has to have been assessed for the WCA. She can still fill in the ESA50 to explain her circumstances at the time she was claiming. I wouldnt fancy her chances though.

DemiDee

I have asked and she says there was only once when she was unable to get to the surgery, and thus got the form in late, but payments were being delayed both before and after that time. I will advise her to fill in the medical form and see what happens from there. It all seems like a shambles. When she told the advisor at an interview that she was going back to work on a self employed basis, the advisor - who has apparently been very helpful - said that she'd never had to fill out one of those 'back to work' forms before! Thanks for your advice, NASA. Most appreciated.