They've stopped the Incapacity Benefit but...............

julie777

cit_k wrote: »

you will (almost certainly find) that they will not be able to cope with a phone application for esa either, as you have the ib claim on their system.

I have been in the same position as you, and when i tried to claim esa over the phone, that is what they told me, they could not proceed due to having the ib details on the system.

I had to fill in the form the old fashioned way, in person with a pen.

Ring them up (or pop into a jobcentre to just pick up one) and ask them to send you a esa claim form.

Its important you get an esa (or jsa) claim sorted as soon as possible, as if you do decide that the tribunal erred in law, and wish for it to continue, they will not pay income support on the basis that you are appealing, until the tribunal accepts an error of law was made and grants you a fresh appeal.

In my case, the housing benefit also stopped, and we almost got evicted (we were about 5 days from going to court before it was sorted).

So, ask for or collect an esa form and get it filled in as quickly as possible.

If you doctor will back you up (ie will provide you with a backdated sicknote) then you can have your esa claim backdated for 3 months, so its worth looking into that aspect.

As we had no been paid for that 3 months, we got to keep the money, but im not sure if they will deduct any previous is payments from any backdated esa, its worth trying anyway, but you do need a backdated sicknote if you want to backdate the claim.

Dont forget to inform housing benefit etc that you are appealing or claiming esa (or both) etc, so you dont get landed with an overpayment of hb etc (if you have not already done so)

thank you for all your advice. Sounds like you had a really tough time. Hope things are better for you now. We have made appointment with g.p. And forms for the housing ben.
Esa are sending the form as you rightly said. I feel a bit happier now things are under way. Thanks again :)for your support.

julie777

dmg24 wrote: »

As your husband is already working some hours, is it not possible that the Tribunal were correct, and he is fit for some work?

Oh yes, he is. He asked to do Permitted Work as a stepping stone to working more regularly. He did the odd very small carpentry job at first and progressed to 6 hours a week driving over 2 days! He'd only done that for 6 weeks at the time of the tribunal but rather than seeing his willingness to try and work (and understanding that ME takes years to recover from)
they pulled the rug out from under us. Just hope one of the other benefits will see us through and that he can continue his little job as it's not too strenuous and good for his morale.
Looking at full time work would be absolutely impossible.

NASA_2

cit_k wrote: »

You will (almost certainly find) that they will not be able to cope with a phone application for ESA either, as you have the IB claim on their system.

I have been in the same position as you, and when I tried to claim ESA over the phone, that is what they told me, they could not proceed due to having the IB details on the system.

I had to fill in the form the old fashioned way, in person with a pen.

Ring them up (or pop into a jobcentre to just pick up one) and ask them to send you a ESA claim form.

Its important you get an ESA (or JSA) claim sorted as soon as possible, as if you do decide that the tribunal erred in law, and wish for it to continue, they will not pay income support on the basis that you are appealing, until the tribunal accepts an error of law was made and grants you a fresh appeal.

In my case, the housing benefit also stopped, and we almost got evicted (we were about 5 days from going to court before it was sorted).

So, ask for or collect an ESA form and get it filled in as quickly as possible.

If you doctor will back you up (ie will provide you with a backdated sicknote) then you can have your ESA claim backdated for 3 months, so its worth looking into that aspect.

As we had no been paid for that 3 months, we got to keep the money, but Im not sure if they will deduct any previous IS payments from any backdated ESA, its worth trying anyway, but you do need a backdated sicknote if you want to backdate the claim.

Dont forget to inform housing benefit etc that you are appealing or claiming ESA (or both) etc, so you dont get landed with an overpayment of hb etc (if you have not already done so)

The Income Support will be deducted from the ESA if there is an overlap of the benefits but as ESA would have been a higher rate then there may be some arrears. That is of course assuming it isnt a fresh claim within six months.

It is more than possible that the IB claim will prevent a teleclaim being taken - even though the IB claim will be (Or already is) closed the interest still pulls through onto the ESA system and makes it impossible to take the claim.

cit_k

julie777 wrote: »

Oh yes, he is. He asked to do Permitted Work as a stepping stone to working more regularly. He did the odd very small carpentry job at first and progressed to 6 hours a week driving over 2 days! He'd only done that for 6 weeks at the time of the tribunal but rather than seeing his willingness to try and work (and understanding that ME takes years to recover from)
they pulled the rug out from under us. Just hope one of the other benefits will see us through and that he can continue his little job as it's not too strenuous and good for his morale.
Looking at full time work would be absolutely impossible.

When you get the statement of reasons from the tribunal, check to make sure they did not use any of the 'recent' evidence against you, the tribunal is only meant to look at how the evidence was back when the decision is made, not how things are now.

Arg

dmg24 wrote: »

It is a constructive suggestion. It is very easy to get stuck in the benefits trap, so this could be seen as an opportunity to move forward. After all, I doubt the OP's husband wants to stay on benefits indefinitely. He may cope better than he expects, but the only way to establish that is to try.

Did you have a more helpful suggestion?

It seems he was doing fine so far.
What kind of benefits would he then be put onto and how would that help more than his previous position?

dmg24

Arg wrote: »

It seems he was doing fine so far.
What kind of benefits would he then be put onto and how would that help more than his previous position?

Given the OP's response, it is clear that my question was indeed very helpful. Now why don't you try to offer something constructive, rather than trying to find fault where there is none?

twinkledee

hi my partner went for medical in august and was found fit for work ( impossible to do as she is suffering with mental health problems), anyway appealed and recieved statement of reason from atos ( he had marked the opposite of what she answered).

recieved letter from tribunal services and it is to be held in middle of march. we have a solicitor and he has gathered evidence from her doctor and mental health doctor, had welfare rights come to the home and fill in dla form for her and he thinks it should of been overturned just with the doctors letter, also she is due to start seeing a psychologist tomorrow ( dont know if she will try to attend as she has problems getting out).

the medical doctor at atos scored her 6 points and both her other doctors scored her 23+
i feel the medical system failed her as she is only just getting help now and all this with atos has really set her back she feels like she is on trial and doesnt want to attend this tribunal.
will it make a difference if she is not there???

welshmoneylover

twinkledee wrote: »

hi my partner went for medical in august and was found fit for work ( impossible to do as she is suffering with mental health problems), anyway appealed and recieved statement of reason from atos ( he had marked the opposite of what she answered).

recieved letter from tribunal services and it is to be held in middle of march. we have a solicitor and he has gathered evidence from her doctor and mental health doctor, had welfare rights come to the home and fill in dla form for her and he thinks it should of been overturned just with the doctors letter, also she is due to start seeing a psychologist tomorrow ( dont know if she will try to attend as she has problems getting out).

the medical doctor at atos scored her 6 points and both her other doctors scored her 23+
i feel the medical system failed her as she is only just getting help now and all this with atos has really set her back she feels like she is on trial and doesnt want to attend this tribunal.
will it make a difference if she is not there???

You may receive better responses if you start your own thread.

eskimo26

julie777 wrote: »

Oh yes, he is. He asked to do Permitted Work as a stepping stone to working more regularly. He did the odd very small carpentry job at first and progressed to 6 hours a week driving over 2 days! He'd only done that for 6 weeks at the time of the tribunal but rather than seeing his willingness to try and work (and understanding that ME takes years to recover from)
they pulled the rug out from under us. Just hope one of the other benefits will see us through and that he can continue his little job as it's not too strenuous and good for his morale.
Looking at full time work would be absolutely impossible.

I hope they didn't use the fact he was getting permitted work in there decision making as its completely against the rules to do that.

You have two options, apply for ESA and he can do permitted work again or apply for JSA and I THINK (someone in the know please confirm or deny?) he can negotiate to do a maximum of 16 hours work because of disability, have his adviser put this on his 'jobseekers agreement' when they draw it up together. If he does do 16 hours of work a week it will allow him to claim tax credit top-up too (based on disability entitlement).

You need the tribunal report or any ESA claim will end up going the same way as the IB. With JSA he can also do up to 15 hours of work while on it but it will reduce the JSA payments. However as your husband has CFS this option will help him build up working hours gradually even if he gets no extra money as such. It also gives him access to housing benefit and council tax benefit, you can get a JSA claim where your getting as low as 10p (minimum weekly award) but people still do it for the access to HB and CTB.

Incidentally if you don't mind me asking what kind of treatment is he getting and how severe is he? Is the GP sympathetic?

julie777

Your info was helpful. In fact his ESA claim has just been turned down. We have not yet received the reasons. We could try to make the claim in my name but again, his permitted work income would be deducted.
Yes our GP is sympathetic and has many patients with CFS. He has referred my husband to Gateway who gave him counselling re bereavement, also sent him on the CMP (condition management). He is currently attending a course with OTs in an ME/CFS unit. He is improving gradually by applying all the advice and resting properly with a kind of meditation. He is able to be active for part of most days but not necessarily able to do physical work every day.