ESA 3 form or is10 form or both? IR esa

mrmca

Hi, im having a nightmare with the job centre. im accepted onto ESA wrag group cont based. I also get DLA . I thought i qualified for the 2 disability premiums so rang jc, they said i already receive one which is about £15 and didnt understand why i wasnt receiving the SD premium. After about 5 calls and 2-3weeks of waiting they then decide i dont get it because i need to be on Income related ESA.
They say i need a ESA3 form and to go to my jc for one, i do this, they havent even heard of the form! they get on the phone and the person they are speaking to hasnt heard of it! so i go home and ring them up and get one sent in the post!
i filled it in sent it back and after 4 weeks heard nothing, i rang them up and asked, they said i will hear within another 2 weeks, 2 weeks have passed now 6 altogether, heard nothing, rang them back up and they say it still hasnt been processed im still showing that im on contribution base, they said they will get the specialists to ring me back, ( they never ring back!)
ive then today been looking on the net to try and see how long it takes to process this esa3 form ,when i stumbled across something that worried me! i came across a form called IS10 which is to apply for the SD premium for people on esa and IS, i had concerns when i was sent the esa3 form as its a change in circumstances form, and i havent changed circumstances!
Now, as i meet all the criteria for the SD premium, will i receive it using the esa3 form or is it taking so long to process because it is in fact the wrong form and i need to fill in the IS10 form, if i do need a IS10 form, will i be backdated the the SD money from 6 weeks ago when i filled in the esa3 form?
im so confused!!!!!! i now realise i need the esa3 form to apply for IR as a top up to my esa cont based, but i said to the jc i wanted IR ESA so i could qualify for the SD premium, so should they have told me i needed a IS10 form at the same time! or do i not need an is10 form and when im accepted for IR esa will i automatically be given the SD premium?
Or is this ESA so complex neither, me, you, the jc, or the "specialists" know how it works?
any help?

thanks a lot

suelees1

So are you saying you are only receiving cont based ESA?

If you're entitled to the additional sdp (severe disability premium) it's paid as income related ESA on top of any contribution based.

The IS 10 form is simply to ask you if anyone is being paid Carers Allowance for looking after you or if there are any non-dependants living with you.

By the way no-one on ESA gets the usual dp, only the sdp if you get the middle rate of the care component and meet th4e other criteria plus the edp (enhanced) if you get the high rate of the care component of DLA

I've not heard of the ESA3 either but if it needs to be completed to enable you to get income related ESA then you probably need to complete that and the IS10.

I believe you will get the arrears but when is a different matter. Leave it a week or so and make an official complaint

mrmca

Hi, thanks for the reply, im on cont esa in the wrag group, i also get the edp which is £15 a week, as i get dla high care, live alone and have no savings with no one claiming carers allowance i should recieve sd premium which is about £55, but i was told i needed to be recieveing IR as a top up and to fill in the ESA3 form for IR but as i had stated would i then be entitled to the SD premium i was told yes, i wasnt told about this IS10 form, i just stumbled across that when i was on the net today, MY ESA3 form has been in 6 weeks not heard anything back yet. im now worried the ESA3 form will only get me the IR ESA and not the SD premium as i was reading on the net although you need IR esa for the SD premium ( along with all the other criteria) you need to fill in a IS10 form, Do i need to fill in that form? if so why wouldnt the jc tell me i needed to and if i do, will the SD premium be back dated to 6 weeks ago as i was told if i filled in the ESA3 form then i would get the SD premium through that form, but if it then turns out i need the IS10 form, would i not get back dated and just get it from the Date i ask for the IS10 form, im confusing myself even writing this!!!!

DanielleNic87

They should have enough information on the esa3 to award the sdp. Just to warn you they only backdate Income Related ESA from when you requested it.

HTH

NASA_2

It's so easy to understand.

Premiums are only paid on top of Income Related benefit. Have to ask, why didnt you claim Income Related at the start of the claim?

mrmca

it might be easier to understand if the people at the jc didnt keep contradicting themselves! one person says you can have it, one says you cant, one says you have to apply for this, another says you dont!!! some people at the jc havent even heard of the forms they say you need! ive even been told by one of the people at the jc over the phone that they dont even understand esa!
I didnt apply for IR because i didnt even know i could, i was on IB and was transferred over to esa, i wasnt told properly the ins and outs, when i was accepted i got a letter saying you may want to apply for IR but you might not qualify but no information to go with it and no info on the premiums, ive spoken to numerouse people at the jc trying to get this sorted and me onto IR for just over 2 months now, and each time i speak to someone im told different things all contradicting each other

suelees1

DanielleNic87 wrote: »

They should have enough information on the esa3 to award the sdp. Just to warn you they only backdate Income Related ESA from when you requested it.

HTH

Danielle, if the edp is being paid isn't the OP already in receipt of income related? If so then there should be no problem getting the sdp backdated.

I have to admit I don't know this off the top of my head

mrmca

Hi Suelees1, Thats one of the things that was confusing me, i was originaly told the £15 extra i was recieving was because i transferred over from Ib, so i researched about IR as i found out i would qualify for the top ups/premiums, i wrote a letter to the jc saying how can i get on IR and i meet all the criteria for the top ups/premiums so would i then get the premiums, they didnt answer any of my questions but wrote me a letter saying this is the breakdown of the money you recieve as requested! on the breakdown it now said the £15 was for the ed premium! so i rang up the job centre to say if i am on ed premium then i must get the sd premium surely? as you can only get the premiums if you are on IR, but im not on IR so how can i get the ed premium, it doesnt make sence, as if i get one i should get the other! but no matter how many times i ask i just go round and round and no one can answer the questions i have!

Does anyone know how long it should take for me to hear back from the esa 3 form, i sent it off 6 weeks ago and heard nothing, when i rang up 2 weeks they said i would hear within 2 weeks, its been the 2 weeks and i havent heard, when i ring up they say it still hasnt been processed and someone will ring me back, but they never ring back.