Partner's ESA Claim. HELP!?

sazwah

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on the problem that myself and my partner are having in regards to his ESA claim.
He is 22 years old and I am 20, we decided to move in together at the beginning of august this year and therefore made an appointment at his local job centre to get advice on what to claim for and how. We were advised that even though we'd be sharing a house and sleeping in separate bedrooms because of his disability/mental health issues, we'd still be classed as a couple as we are in a relationship together. Which is fair enough and we have gone down the route of claiming as a couple.
However we have experienced so many problems regarding both of our finances. I am a full time student studying a HND course at university and therefore rely on my student loan and grant as income for my half of the rent and bills etc. However my partner has mental health problems and is unfit to work and is in receipt of Employment Support Allowance/ESA. Obviously my student loan affects the amount he is entitled to, to a certain degree; however there was a period of time where his money was stopped completely and was told that he wasn't allowed to appeal against the decision and that there was "nothing he could do" which we both found absolutely mortifying and heart breaking as my partner is in such an unfit state already, he was left to feel completely and utterly distressed and made to feel like he did not deserve any help and questioned the likelihood of him becoming better. Then - A few weeks down the line, after numerous appointments with citizens advice bureaux, they told us to appeal anyway even if it was out of the appeal time limit, as this didn't seem correct to them. They were right, as a few weeks after that, my partner was told that a mistake was made and that he'd receive a small amount of back dated money and receive his ESA payments once again, which was a relief however there was no apology made for what he had been through.

Now the problems we are having now is that, because my partner is unable to work and even attend an assessment or a work focused interview, they have pushed the responsibility onto me; which has come to me as a massive shock because I've not been in this situation before and I couldn't understand why I'm being left to shoulder the responsibility of earning money for two people to live off and pay rent for two people AND go to university full time. It's scaring the hell out of me and I'm worried that i will have to move back to my home town, drop out of my course and lose everything all because I'm practically being treated as a carer (despite not even being eligible for anything to do with that) and being expected to work full time as well as study full time. I feel like the burden is too much and It's making both me and my partner incredibly ill with stress.
My partner suffers from anxiety and depression and I'm having to go to the doctors this Tuesday to get myself on anti depressants as I have been feeling depressed and suicidal for months now, particularly because of all of these money issues. So not only do I feel run down and horrific about this, My partner's mental health is suffering too. He is doubting the possibility of him ever recovering as he never is able to find stability or reassurance from the job centre and they are doing anything in their power to stop him from receiving as much money or any money at that matter.
My issue isn't about me going out there and getting a job just to make it clear, because i've been criticised because i'm a student and labelled as a layabout, which is far from the case, however my only issue on getting a job is because of how my partners ESA payments will be affected and how, as i mentioned previously, i'd be working for two people to live on top of studying. I can't mentally handle this and I don't know what to do and where to turn. It doesn't help that they'll scheduled the appointment 3 days before his ESA payment and not long before Christmas. I'm terrified!!

I'm just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and whether I do actually have to look for work, as Im expecting a "call back" tomorrow, despite being in college all day and having to borrow money off the college because my student grant has been delayed still. I've got a lot to deal with tomorrow and Im scared that i'll get a phone call and i'll end up breaking down when i hear something like "we appreciate that you're in full time education but we still want you to look for work".
If anyone is aware of my situation, then can anyone tell me what I can say on the phone to defend/explain our situation without his payments being restricted or delayed? I just feel like it was a bad idea moving in together now solely because of money problems. I feel like a huge burden and with feeling the way I do right now, I don't think I could handle working to pay for the two of us on top of my studies, i feel like im under great pressure so if anyone could help me in any way then please please do so.
:'( thankyou x

sunnyone

sazwah wrote: »

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on the problem that myself and my partner are having in regards to his ESA claim.
He is 22 years old and I am 20, we decided to move in together at the beginning of august this year and therefore made an appointment at his local job centre to get advice on what to claim for and how. We were advised that even though we'd be sharing a house and sleeping in separate bedrooms because of his disability/mental health issues, we'd still be classed as a couple as we are in a relationship together. Which is fair enough and we have gone down the route of claiming as a couple.
However we have experienced so many problems regarding both of our finances. I am a full time student studying a HND course at university and therefore rely on my student loan and grant as income for my half of the rent and bills etc. However my partner has mental health problems and is unfit to work and is in receipt of Employment Support Allowance/ESA. Obviously my student loan affects the amount he is entitled to, to a certain degree; however there was a period of time where his money was stopped completely and was told that he wasn't allowed to appeal against the decision and that there was "nothing he could do" which we both found absolutely mortifying and heart breaking as my partner is in such an unfit state already, he was left to feel completely and utterly distressed and made to feel like he did not deserve any help and questioned the likelihood of him becoming better. Then - A few weeks down the line, after numerous appointments with citizens advice bureaux, they told us to appeal anyway even if it was out of the appeal time limit, as this didn't seem correct to them. They were right, as a few weeks after that, my partner was told that a mistake was made and that he'd receive a small amount of back dated money and receive his ESA payments once again, which was a relief however there was no apology made for what he had been through.

Now the problems we are having now is that, because my partner is unable to work and even attend an assessment or a work focused interview, they have pushed the responsibility onto me; which has come to me as a massive shock because I've not been in this situation before and I couldn't understand why I'm being left to shoulder the responsibility of earning money for two people to live off and pay rent for two people AND go to university full time. It's scaring the hell out of me and I'm worried that i will have to move back to my home town, drop out of my course and lose everything all because I'm practically being treated as a carer (despite not even being eligible for anything to do with that) and being expected to work full time as well as study full time. I feel like the burden is too much and It's making both me and my partner incredibly ill with stress.
My partner suffers from anxiety and depression and I'm having to go to the doctors this Tuesday to get myself on anti depressants as I have been feeling depressed and suicidal for months now, particularly because of all of these money issues. So not only do I feel run down and horrific about this, My partner's mental health is suffering too. He is doubting the possibility of him ever recovering as he never is able to find stability or reassurance from the job centre and they are doing anything in their power to stop him from receiving as much money or any money at that matter.
My issue isn't about me going out there and getting a job just to make it clear, because i've been criticised because i'm a student and labelled as a layabout, which is far from the case, however my only issue on getting a job is because of how my partners ESA payments will be affected and how, as i mentioned previously, i'd be working for two people to live on top of studying. I can't mentally handle this and I don't know what to do and where to turn. It doesn't help that they'll scheduled the appointment 3 days before his ESA payment and not long before Christmas. I'm terrified!!

I'm just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and whether I do actually have to look for work, as Im expecting a "call back" tomorrow, despite being in college all day and having to borrow money off the college because my student grant has been delayed still. I've got a lot to deal with tomorrow and Im scared that i'll get a phone call and i'll end up breaking down when i hear something like "we appreciate that you're in full time education but we still want you to look for work".
If anyone is aware of my situation, then can anyone tell me what I can say on the phone to defend/explain our situation without his payments being restricted or delayed? I just feel like it was a bad idea moving in together now solely because of money problems. I feel like a huge burden and with feeling the way I do right now, I don't think I could handle working to pay for the two of us on top of my studies, i feel like im under great pressure so if anyone could help me in any way then please please do so.
:'( thankyou x

Your not making much sense, they cant force you to work or even look for work because thats not their (JC+) role.

You knew your grants would affect your BFs ESA, he is gettin a reduced amount and thats what you were told so I dont see the problem their?

Edited to add he can claim LHA/HB on behalf of you both id he currently isnt doing so, you being a fulltime student wont matter, this is what I originally clicked reply for.

Caz3121

Was your partner receiving contribution or income based ESA?
Has he claimed housing benefit? - you cannot claim it as you are a full time student but he can and they will use some of your student funding as income- this is the case whether he is receiving ESA or not

tomjonesrules

I'm lost - can someone summarise please?

swbrua

tomjonesrules wrote: »

I'm lost - can someone summarise please?

Here's how I'm reading her post:

She has a partner who is unfit for work, he receives ESA -- and there was previously mess up with his payments.
She is a student who attends university full time and uses her student loan to pay part of rent/living costs, with partners ESA covering the rest.
The government view her student loans as part of her income and this affects her partners ESA as they live together as a couple (even though they don't share bedrooms because of his problems)

This is what I think she means by the second half:

As she has income (student loans) his ESA has been (or will be) reduced below workable level for them (because they're a couple) which means she needs to find a job to cover the difference, but if she gets a part-time job her income will be even higher and he'll lose his ESA completely, again causing a below required income level. Alternatively (depending on how you read her post) his ESA is being cut off because he "can't" attend any sort of interview/assessment for his ESA eligibility to be assessed, I think the line "they have pushed the responsibility onto me" is her take on the situation, not an actual literal explanation of the situation.

Therefore her only choice is to get a full time job while attending university full time, which isn't something she feels able to do.

...I think.