ESA / JSA help please

AimSay

Hi ,
I am after a little bit of advice if possible please.
My husband was claiming ESA due to a brain injury and broken spine and has just failed the Atos medical with 9 points. The letter adviced him to apply for JSA which he has done. At the first sign on they told him he isnt entitled to JSA as he isnt capable of working.
They told us we should of appealed the ESA decision but can't appeal now as he has applied for JSA. I don't work because i need to keep an eye on him 24/7 he can be a danger to himself and others.
Our HB & CTC has also been suspended till we can prove what income we are getting.

No one at the job centre or council can tell me where we are supposed to go from here, as we now have no income coming in apart from CB every 4 weeks.

So my question really is who can I contact that may be able to help us would it be CAB ? And is there any kind of hardship fund we can access to buy food until benefits is sorted?

Thanks for reading

dmg24

How long ago did he receive the decision letter?

klndesigns

I would re apply for ESA and if the decision comes back the same then appeal. the process can be long but i would go through it and see what the outcome is. Also go to CAB and talk to them, they will tell you that you should have appealed,nearly all claimants as far as i know have had to appeal with ESA and have ended up going to a tribunal. This may sound daunting but at least you will have the basic ESA payment until either after your appeal or your tribunal. when you reclaim make sure you get all the medical evidence you can sent to ESA and keep copies as you will need then for appeal/tribunal. CAB will advise you of this, they should also help you with your new claim too.
As for hardship fund there is only a crisis loan which needs to be paid back, you could also ask CAB as they will know more places to go to get help. But do to go CAB and do re apply for ESA, you will get the basic rate to start with so that would give you some income for food etc. Also once you put in a claim you should get housing benefit and caouncil tax benefit once you start being paid from ESA.

NASA_2

Is he on DLA? If so what rate of the Care component is he on?

If you are still within the month of the ESA decision you can appeal. I'm not sure if claiming JSA has any impact on whether the appeal is a payable one.

If a new claim is made then it will go to a decision maker who has to decide whether the claim is to be accepted. Nothing is payable until that decision is made.

cit_k

AimSay wrote: »

And is there any kind of hardship fund we can access to buy food until benefits is sorted?

You can apply for a crisis loan from the DWP for food / gas/electric.

Its a small amount, and you have to pay it back when your benefits are sorted, by weekly payments (or all at once if you can afford it, say if you get a backdated payment if you win at tribunal)

Telephone the DWP and ask someone for the number for a crisis loan application, they are done over the phone usually.

Be aware, you may be on hold to crisis loans for a long time, so persevere - you will get through eventually if you stay on the line.

If you cannot afford to phone from home for whatever reason, then the jobcentre should have a phone you can use for free.

AimSay

Thank you all so much for the advice everyone.
We recieved the decision letter on 27th August. Rang up that day to apply for JSA, saw an advisor for work focused interview on 31st who said to ignore the fact he has sick note and can't be alone. Went in to his first sign on day on 3rd september and thats when they said he cant legally be on JSA. Husband isnt on DLA, as thw Jobcentre told us not to bother applying as he wouldnt be entitled to anything.

Newly_retired

Job centre frequently gives worng information. Go to CAB.

NASA_2

CAB also frequently give wrong information - get advice from as many places as possible and try to piece the truth together.

andyandflo

AimSay wrote: »

Thank you all so much for the advice everyone.
We recieved the decision letter on 27th August. Rang up that day to apply for JSA, saw an advisor for work focused interview on 31st who said to ignore the fact he has sick note and can't be alone. Went in to his first sign on day on 3rd september and thats when they said he cant legally be on JSA. Husband isnt on DLA, as thw Jobcentre told us not to bother applying as he wouldnt be entitled to anything.

All he needs to do is appeal against the ESA decision in writing before the 25th September and ask for the ESA assessment rate to be paid. He can then come off JSA and await the Tribunal.

dookar

AimSay wrote: »

Went in to his first sign on day on 3rd september and thats when they said he cant legally be on JSA.

Did they explain why?

AimSay

dookar wrote: »

Did they explain why?

You can't claim JSA if you can't actively seek work. Which is a fair enough point, but the letter said he was able to do some kind of work and to apply for JSA.

once again thanks for all your replys.