ESA ending sigh

machomanugget

Hello,

can anyone give me any advice please. i am disabled and recieve higher rate DLA for both parts... i have just recieved a letter stating they are stopping my benefit (ESA) due to it being more than 365 days..

how does this work? i have only just been to atos for yet another interview and have now had my DLA increased to the higher rates, but now they are stopping my ESA.. this is a bit wierd to say the least.. does anyone have any links or advice on what to do?

many thanks

moose1982

It'll be the same letter I got this morning.

Do you have a partner living with you who earns? If so, then they may be earning 'too much' by what DWP say you will need as a family to live. If no, then contact them to let them know that you should be moving to Income Related.

machomanugget

no my partner does not work... dont understand how they have come to this decison when i have have just had my DLA changed to higher rates..

so do i just not recieve anything now?

moose1982

DLA and ESA are different things completely. ESA is like JSA, it is mainly paid out of work, while DLA can be paid while in work. So your DLA will continue.

Does your letter have a line which says:

'Based on the information held on your current award of benefit, when your contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance ends you will get income-related Employment and Support Allowance based on how much the law says you need to live on'

If so, then assuming your partner has not left work from when you claimed ESA, then the information they hold will be current and correct, therefore, you will receive ESA still.

But you can always phone them to check, put your mind at rest?

MrsManda

machomanugget wrote: »

no my partner does not work... dont understand how they have come to this decison when i have have just had my DLA changed to higher rates..

so do i just not recieve anything now?

DLA and ESA have completely different criteria so the fact that you're receiving DLA does not mean you'd continue to receive ESA.

It sounds like you are claiming contributions based ESA and was put into the Work Related Activity Group. This is now limited to 365 days.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_201237

You can ask to be assessed for income based ESA which does not have a time-limit attached if you have savings of less than £16,000.

If you think you meet the criteria for the ESA Support Group (which is not time-limited) then you can ask for your claim to be looked at again. The criteria can be found in the guide to the work capability assessment which can be downloaded from here:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_172012

machomanugget

i understand that, what i am getting at is that whenever you ring them they deny full stop they talk to each other because there different benefits, but twice i have been awarded benefit after going for ESA i got dla because they used info from the other one, even though they dont talk to each other..

no my letter does not say that, it says i am not entitled to income related due to income or capital... i have no income only ESA and i have 0 savings, they were all used while it took nearly 2 years to sort my claims... not that it was over 5k savings anyway..

it just says after the date you wont recieve any money.

MrsManda

machomanugget wrote: »

i understand that, what i am getting at is that whenever you ring them they deny full stop they talk to each other because there different benefits, but twice i have been awarded benefit after going for ESA i got dla because they used info from the other one, even though they dont talk to each other..

They share information, but their assessment procedures are different and they can't give you advice/comment on DLA if you phone ESA and vice versa which I guess is what they mean when they say they don't talk to each other.

machomanugget wrote: »

no my letter does not say that, it says i am not entitled to income related due to income or capital... i have no income only ESA and i have 0 savings, they were all used while it took nearly 2 years to sort my claims... not that it was over 5k savings anyway..
it just says after the date you wont recieve any money.

It's based on household income so if you live with your partner and they have income/savings this may be why you've not been awarded income based. If you think you've been assessed wrongly and should be entitled to income based then call them and asked to be assessed for income based.

moose1982

In that case, things have changed and they have out of date information, tell them. Ignore DLA completely, get that right out of your mind because ESA is completely different. You are entitled to IR ESA but their information is old, just say you would like to be considered for income-related because you do not have savings and your partner does not earn. It really does sound like they have got into a muddle and it'll be easy to sort out.

machomanugget

thank you MRSmanda i didnt see your post when i was replying to the helpful moose!

my partner does not work and has no savings she claims incapacity benefit.. our benefits where all sorted out apparently when we were moved into a property that was more wheelchair freindly due to my problems.. so i dont understand where they have come up with all this..

yes i see what your saying now... i just thought it was wierd as last time they used my esa meeting to start my DLA...

thanks

midnight_express

It is because conts based ESA is now only paid for 12 months.

mazza111

Certainly sounds like you've been put in the Work Related Activity Group. If you believe you should be in the support group then you should appeal that decision. Even in the WRAG, if you still have an underlying entitlement to Income Based it should continue. You really need to contact them and find out exactly what's going on.