Has Anyone Else Experienced This?

chirpychick

Back in about November time I applied for DLA and was approved on the very minimum level - that has all gone fine.

I was told I would probably be also entitled to ESA too so I phoned up and put in an application.
The lady on the phone told me that I had no paid in enough national insurance or something which I thought was odd as I had been working for 5 years previously and my national insurance had been paid. But accepted what she said.
I got a letter in the post stating the same (im not sure now where that letter is) a day later i got a form to fill in or a form explaining the procedure but i disregarded it having been told I wasn't eligible.

I have been receiving my DLA every month but most definitely nothing else at all!

So today we get a phone call from some private medical firm who said they have been asked to arrange a medical with me (9 months later?!) my husband answered the phone, he thought it was some kind of sales call or something and said that I was out but I was on the loo lol I came downstairs and took over the call and the man asked me to go to a medical in the city near me and I informed him I can't do that because I don't leave the house alone and then he said well who is lying here you or your husband as he just said you were out and i said to him i was on the toilet but that we dont tend to share that with everyone who phones up and he wasn't very nice about it!
Anyway I said to him why was i being asked to do this and he said it was for ESA and i said i haven't been claiming it or getting any money from them.
He told me to phone them straight away, which I did but obviously I didn't get through as it was busy then they shut.

I will phone tomorrow but now I am really scared that a) they think im lying about my condition and that it might affect my DLA because i think we would go bankrupt if we couldn't get that £80 a month especially with a baby on the way, but also ive never been in trouble before and i am really scared they will think ive been making it up or something. which i 100% haven't! They could sit outside my house 24/7 and not see me leave the house alone.

b) I dont understand why ESA want me to go for a medical if im not claiming any money from them and havent in the past?

is this all just an error????

can anyone put my mind at ease?

rogerblack

Do not attribute to conspiracy what can adequately be explained by incompetence.

In some cases, they can process an ESA claim, even if you do not return the form.
It is not impossible that you might have been granted ESA (though not paid due to them thinking you weren't eligible), and then either there has been a long delay in arranging your first medical, or you were put in a group without a medical, and this is your second.
If you are not paid, but are entitled to ESA, you will be getting NI credits towards your pension.

The only way to start to work out what's happening is to phone ESA.
Were you working fulltime employed?
If you were, then you should be entitled to contributory ESA.

If you in fact do have a live claim, it may be possible for them to revise the original decision and get your arrears (which will amount to a few thousand by now).

ceecee1

I would imagine that although you are not entiled to any money from your ESA claim that they have a live claim for national insurance credits.

This means that for each week they accept that you are not fit for work that they credit your national insurance account 'with a stamp' - for want of a better phrase - you would need to go for a medical if you wanted to maintain that claim.

However, you only need to pay National Insurance contributions now for 30 years to get a full pension and that amount of years is reduced for each year that you receive child benefit. So if you are pregnant you might feel that you dont need to pursue these national insurance credits.

chirpychick

I had been working full time for a couple of years and then part time thereafter for about 3 years.

rogerblack

chirpychick wrote: »

I had been working full time for a couple of years and then part time thereafter for about 3 years.

The important part is the relevant 2 tax years - 2009/10 and 2010/11, probably.
The fulltime employment is not relevant as it'll probably be entirely outside these years.
It's probable you may not have worked enough to claim contributions based benefits in these two tax years.
This will depend on your income.
If you are on income-related ESA (though not paid due to partners earnings) a main benefit is your NI being paid, and contributing to a pension, as has already been mentioned.
In addition, there may be additional 'back to work' funding in some cases, if you go directly from long term sickness benefits into work.

chirpychick

Hi
just to say thank you.
i finally got through and they said the case was open but they havent paid anything, no stamp or anything. They dont know why i was called and closed it. That was that.

Muttleythefrog

chirpychick wrote: »

Hi
just to say thank you.
i finally got through and they said the case was open but they havent paid anything, no stamp or anything. They dont know why i was called and closed it. That was that.

Pleased to hear it. In light of above advice and continual ability of DWP to impress me with their incompetence in administrating ESA I'm changing my signature in a couple of seconds.

gingergee

Awww i liked the Norman Bates with a briefcase one....... lol x

Elvisia

Gawd...do these DWP people have any idea how much stress they put people through...they seem to think it's all fine when cases are closed and don't appreciate how stressed we get over this sort of thing....am glad it's all sorted now OP.

Muttleythefrog

Elvisia wrote: »

Gawd...do these DWP people have any idea how much stress they put people through...they seem to think it's all fine when cases are closed and don't appreciate how stressed we get over this sort of thing....am glad it's all sorted now OP.

If they do they either don't care much or are stuck in a beaurocracy that is rigid and so unfit for purpose it can barely adapt. But I have to say it does take the biscuit when people who are not ESA claimants are getting the professional treatment for ESA claimants... you'd think even the DWP could contain their incompetences to only those who are unfortunate to be claiming the benefits.