How much will my student loan effect my partners ESA?

Zaliack

Hey guys, first time posting.

I'll start with a short history, so that you can get a sense of my frustration at ESA.

My girlfriend (21) and I (19) have a 2 year old daughter. When she was pregnant with her, she claimed income-related ESA due to mental health problems. ESA then refused to pay us after our daughters birth, and forced us to go onto IS. IS refused to pay us any more after our daughter was 15 weeks old. So a few weeks later, we claimed ESA again. This was going fine until she had to do the ATOS assessment. Long story short, we couldn't get a home visit assessment arranged, so her ESA was stopped.

I started my first year of an undergraduate degree on the 24th September 2011. MY partner tried claiming ESA again sometime around January. They said that they couldn't pay us until she had an ATOS assessment. After 4-5 months of nagging both the job centre and ATOS, we finally got an assessment where the person suggested she be put into the support group. We waited for a month to get a reply about the assessment, and we only got it once we phoned up and nagged ESA (presuming they just forgot about us). They have just got round to asking for my student loan information (about 6 months too late... :mad:). We've sent the information off, but after reading around I'm starting to think we won't get any money from ESA.

Last year, my student loan was just under £9500. If I'm right, parents learning allowance and childcare costs are ignored, so that's £6000. Apparently there is also around £600 ignored for textbooks and travelling fares (Which is a massive underestimate for law degree textbooks, and spending £45 a week on train fares) So that's £5400. Using the 42 week calculation, that's £128 a week income.

So If my income is £128 per week, that means that we will only get money during the holiday times?

Is it possible for her to get the full amount by claiming for herself (and getting it backdated to her original claim date?)

Would claiming DLA increase her ESA amount, and the backdated amount? We didn't think she was eligible for DLA, but we are just going to try and hope for the best.

Thanks

Caz3121

Zaliack wrote: »

Hey guys, first time posting.

I'll start with a short history, so that you can get a sense of my frustration at ESA.

My girlfriend (21) and I (19) have a 2 year old daughter. When she was pregnant with her, she claimed income-related ESA due to mental health problems. ESA then refused to pay us after our daughters birth, and forced us to go onto IS. IS refused to pay us any more after our daughter was 15 weeks old. So a few weeks later, we claimed ESA again. This was going fine until she had to do the ATOS assessment. Long story short, we couldn't get a home visit assessment arranged, so her ESA was stopped.

I started my first year of an undergraduate degree on the 24th September 2011. MY partner tried claiming ESA again sometime around January. They said that they couldn't pay us until she had an ATOS assessment. After 4-5 months of nagging both the job centre and ATOS, we finally got an assessment where the person suggested she be put into the support group. We waited for a month to get a reply about the assessment, and we only got it once we phoned up and nagged ESA (presuming they just forgot about us). They have just got round to asking for my student loan information (about 6 months too late... :mad:). We've sent the information off, but after reading around I'm starting to think we won't get any money from ESA.

Last year, my student loan was just under £9500. If I'm right, parents learning allowance and childcare costs are ignored, so that's £6000. Apparently there is also around £600 ignored for textbooks and travelling fares (Which is a massive underestimate for law degree textbooks, and spending £45 a week on train fares) So that's £5400. Using the 42 week calculation, that's £128 a week income.

So If my income is £128 per week, that means that we will only get money during the holiday times?

Is it possible for her to get the full amount by claiming for herself (and getting it backdated to her original claim date?)

Would claiming DLA increase her ESA amount, and the backdated amount? We didn't think she was eligible for DLA, but we are just going to try and hope for the best.

Thanks

details of what is counted as income from student finance
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_070816

DLA is for those with care and/or mobility needs
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Disabledpeople/DG_10011816

not sure about the "42 week rule" I thought student finance covered 52 weeks of the year which is why the final year payments were lower

von

If she's not entitled to Contribution-based ESA then she has to claim Income-Based ESA and if you are living together then you and your income and capital have to be included in her assessment.
Your student loan will have a £10.00 per week disregard.

Sparklebabey

Zaliack wrote: »

Is it possible for her to get the full amount by claiming for herself (and getting it backdated to her original claim date?)

Do you mean by claimimg she is a single person? Of course this is lying, and also benefit fraud, so am sure you didn't mean this at all.

mikey_bach

Student loans are attribuited over forty two weeks, you are a couple so the loan will cover the period beginning of Sept to the end of June.
So her claim will be nil over this period if they backdate her ESA anyway.
So no arrears will be due..