We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Esa help please,
peksy86
Posts: 20 Forumite
This is a bit of a long story do please bear with me 
A few things you need to know beforehand
I am 26, female and want to be a civil engineer. I have decent prospects, have a scholarship and have worked when I was mobile from 2007-2009.
I was born with a musculoskeletal skeletal genetic condition which severely started to affect my mobility in march/may 2010. Before then i had dislocated joints, my joints were creaky and I started develing back issues.
From 2006-2008 I was studying but due to family, money, health and other personal issues I had to leave temporarily. Between then and 2010 I was looking for work, volunteering at my local theatre etc. After that I was claiming ESA until October 2011.
In oct 2011 I went back to my course. Usually when you are in full time education, you will not be given ESA unless you are getting DLA.
Ok, so here is where it gets confusing:
In feb 2011 I got even worse and could barely walk, I spent every waking hour in an armchair, slowly getting crazier. I had no independance whatso ever as I couldn't use the crutches I was given. Every step I took was agony. Seeing as in feb I had no idea I could go back to uni, I spent my life on the Internet, staring at the same four walls for 18 hours a day. Thinking that I was coping In my situation I thought other people should have wheelchairs, I was in a bit of denial. I then found out that I could go back to university and desperately needed a way of getting about because my legs and back could barely handle walking to the bathroom 4 meters away once a day. I asked for a DLA form in feb by email, nobody sent me one so I contacted them in march and had one sent in. I asked for my claim to be backdated to February on the form. The result of that was that my entitlement stayed the same! I appealed as they seemed not to have not bothered to read my form. Everything they said I could do, I clearly explained in my form that I could not do. I wrote them a 7 page report disputing almost every single reason they gave me for not awarding DLA. I called into question the skills of the head of department who signed my ridiculous letter. I don't think she took it too kindly because all of my DLA was revoked.
I told my GP and he was shocked at what I was being put through.
Bearing all this in mind, I was now no longer entitled to ESA while studying as I had lost DLA. I was in a manual wheelchair at this point, unable to self propel and awaiting delivery of my motorised wheelchair. It is about November 2011 at this point. It took them a while to process this info.
All of my ESA from October - December is thenclaimed back as overpayment of benefit and I am left mid term, no money and no mobility.
In december I asked for help from the CAB, we put a tribunal application together. We decided to skip the appeal stage before this as we felt they were deliberately messing me about. Months go by and no word, I rang in and was told my info was being copied for tribunal. Another month goes by and I get a letter out of the blue "you have been awarded higher rate mobility and middle rate care, you will not being going to tribunal" they re assessed me without my knowledge or consent, sneaky or what?! Anyway, it was backdated to may not february 2011. I didn't appeal that because I was just fed up and scared of losing help again.
The date it was backdated to then covers the period where I started uni again (oct2011) and beyond so I think, yay! I can apply for ESA to be backdated! But no. I apply, send in all my paperwork and they tell me I haven't sent it in! My claim is suspended. This is march 2012. I tell them, I sent everything in, I no longer have the information. The guy from ESA tells me he has no idea what is going on and will get someone to give me a call and they never do!
During all this, I need a steady income to pay my fees, pay for travel which is £24 a day, bills, food etc. who else do I have left to turn to but Student Finance England or SLC. They give me loans and grants which all count as income so now, housing benefit gets reduced, as does council tax and I am left holding the "overpayment of benefits" bill again! The housing association then got involved and have helped me fill in another claim for ESA and we are looking at backdating it to when the DLA was awarded from as that is when I had gotten noticeably worse.
ESA was awarded within a week at assessment phase (I think) £111.45 + careers supplement - carers allowance = £85 per week as a couple. But it was only backdated to the end of May 2012, 3 months.
Had the DWP just awarded me the correct help back when I first applied, I would not have any of these problems now. I would have carried on getting ESA, DLA and the correct funding from Student Finance England (which doesn't count as income and would have gone on my course fees)
Questions:
1. Why was ESA only backdated by three months?
2. Does the backdated period of 3 months count as part of the assessment phase?
3. If ESA (backdated) does count that as the assessment phase, what group am I in because I haven't received an esa50 form or a medical.
3. Can I appeal their decision to backdate my claim to may 2012? It is not my fault DLA was revoked when it shouldn't have been and it is definitely not my fault I was forced to take out loans to support myself and my partner who cares for me all day every day. This is all the dwp's fault.
4. Seeing as the DWP have effectively made me poorer by having to take out loans and possibly become homeless who the hell is going to face the consequences? heads need to roll and I intend on taking people to court. Everybody should be held accountable. I am fuming.
Any advice on how to proceed is greatly appreciated. As you can imagine I have all this information in my head and nowhere for it to go.
A few things you need to know beforehand
I am 26, female and want to be a civil engineer. I have decent prospects, have a scholarship and have worked when I was mobile from 2007-2009.
I was born with a musculoskeletal skeletal genetic condition which severely started to affect my mobility in march/may 2010. Before then i had dislocated joints, my joints were creaky and I started develing back issues.
From 2006-2008 I was studying but due to family, money, health and other personal issues I had to leave temporarily. Between then and 2010 I was looking for work, volunteering at my local theatre etc. After that I was claiming ESA until October 2011.
In oct 2011 I went back to my course. Usually when you are in full time education, you will not be given ESA unless you are getting DLA.
Ok, so here is where it gets confusing:
In feb 2011 I got even worse and could barely walk, I spent every waking hour in an armchair, slowly getting crazier. I had no independance whatso ever as I couldn't use the crutches I was given. Every step I took was agony. Seeing as in feb I had no idea I could go back to uni, I spent my life on the Internet, staring at the same four walls for 18 hours a day. Thinking that I was coping In my situation I thought other people should have wheelchairs, I was in a bit of denial. I then found out that I could go back to university and desperately needed a way of getting about because my legs and back could barely handle walking to the bathroom 4 meters away once a day. I asked for a DLA form in feb by email, nobody sent me one so I contacted them in march and had one sent in. I asked for my claim to be backdated to February on the form. The result of that was that my entitlement stayed the same! I appealed as they seemed not to have not bothered to read my form. Everything they said I could do, I clearly explained in my form that I could not do. I wrote them a 7 page report disputing almost every single reason they gave me for not awarding DLA. I called into question the skills of the head of department who signed my ridiculous letter. I don't think she took it too kindly because all of my DLA was revoked.
I told my GP and he was shocked at what I was being put through.
Bearing all this in mind, I was now no longer entitled to ESA while studying as I had lost DLA. I was in a manual wheelchair at this point, unable to self propel and awaiting delivery of my motorised wheelchair. It is about November 2011 at this point. It took them a while to process this info.
All of my ESA from October - December is thenclaimed back as overpayment of benefit and I am left mid term, no money and no mobility.
In december I asked for help from the CAB, we put a tribunal application together. We decided to skip the appeal stage before this as we felt they were deliberately messing me about. Months go by and no word, I rang in and was told my info was being copied for tribunal. Another month goes by and I get a letter out of the blue "you have been awarded higher rate mobility and middle rate care, you will not being going to tribunal" they re assessed me without my knowledge or consent, sneaky or what?! Anyway, it was backdated to may not february 2011. I didn't appeal that because I was just fed up and scared of losing help again.
The date it was backdated to then covers the period where I started uni again (oct2011) and beyond so I think, yay! I can apply for ESA to be backdated! But no. I apply, send in all my paperwork and they tell me I haven't sent it in! My claim is suspended. This is march 2012. I tell them, I sent everything in, I no longer have the information. The guy from ESA tells me he has no idea what is going on and will get someone to give me a call and they never do!
During all this, I need a steady income to pay my fees, pay for travel which is £24 a day, bills, food etc. who else do I have left to turn to but Student Finance England or SLC. They give me loans and grants which all count as income so now, housing benefit gets reduced, as does council tax and I am left holding the "overpayment of benefits" bill again! The housing association then got involved and have helped me fill in another claim for ESA and we are looking at backdating it to when the DLA was awarded from as that is when I had gotten noticeably worse.
ESA was awarded within a week at assessment phase (I think) £111.45 + careers supplement - carers allowance = £85 per week as a couple. But it was only backdated to the end of May 2012, 3 months.
Had the DWP just awarded me the correct help back when I first applied, I would not have any of these problems now. I would have carried on getting ESA, DLA and the correct funding from Student Finance England (which doesn't count as income and would have gone on my course fees)
Questions:
1. Why was ESA only backdated by three months?
2. Does the backdated period of 3 months count as part of the assessment phase?
3. If ESA (backdated) does count that as the assessment phase, what group am I in because I haven't received an esa50 form or a medical.
3. Can I appeal their decision to backdate my claim to may 2012? It is not my fault DLA was revoked when it shouldn't have been and it is definitely not my fault I was forced to take out loans to support myself and my partner who cares for me all day every day. This is all the dwp's fault.
4. Seeing as the DWP have effectively made me poorer by having to take out loans and possibly become homeless who the hell is going to face the consequences? heads need to roll and I intend on taking people to court. Everybody should be held accountable. I am fuming.
Any advice on how to proceed is greatly appreciated. As you can imagine I have all this information in my head and nowhere for it to go.
0
Comments
-
Ok - to attempt to break this down.
??? DLA in payment? What levels?
Feb 2011 - request DLA form.
Mar 2011 - rerequest form, and backdating.
??? DLA revoked
May 2011 (awarded DLA from this date, at a reconsideration (this is 'skip the appeal stage before this - you can't - it's mandatory))...
Oct 2011 - started uni
May 2012 - backdated ESA started from this date
Aug 2012 - Applied for ESA
I may go back throught his again - but to begin with.
1) ESA is usually only backdatable 3 months.
2) the backdated period is part of the assessment phase, but the assessment phase lasts 13 weeks after you actually apply - you don't get the medical immediately.
3) see above.
4) In principle, you can apply for compensation due to maladministration from the DWP.
Unfortunately, at this point, it's pretty impossible to without much, much more detail work out who's at fault, and why, and if the fault meets the level of 'official error'.
First step probably is to go and get a copy of your full ESA and DLA files.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/privacy-policy/data-protection/
Have any of the above decisions - ESA or DLA tribunal - happened within the last month.
If so, you may have grounds for an 'in time' appeal. (I don't think so, looking at the chronology)
It owuld be useful if you could fill in the timeline properly.
Otherwise, you have to make a 'late appeal'.
What was your initial DLA award, and when.
When was your DLA reduced to zero.0 -
rogerblack wrote: »Ok - to attempt to break this down.
??? DLA in payment? What levels?
Feb 2011 - request DLA form.
Mar 2011 - rerequest form, and backdating.
??? DLA revoked
May 2011 (awarded DLA from this date, at a reconsideration (this is 'skip the appeal stage before this - you can't - it's mandatory))...
Oct 2011 - started uni
May 2012 - backdated ESA started from this date
Aug 2012 - Applied for ESA
I may go back throught his again - but to begin with.
1) ESA is usually only backdatable 3 months.
2) the backdated period is part of the assessment phase, but the assessment phase lasts 13 weeks after you actually apply - you don't get the medical immediately.
3) see above.
4) In principle, you can apply for compensation due to maladministration from the DWP.
Unfortunately, at this point, it's pretty impossible to without much, much more detail work out who's at fault, and why, and if the fault meets the level of 'official error'.
First step probably is to go and get a copy of your full ESA and DLA files.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/privacy-policy/data-protection/
Have any of the above decisions - ESA or DLA tribunal - happened within the last month.
If so, you may have grounds for an 'in time' appeal. (I don't think so, looking at the chronology)
It owuld be useful if you could fill in the timeline properly.
Otherwise, you have to make a 'late appeal'.
What was your initial DLA award, and when.
When was your DLA reduced to zero.
Hi Roger,
Thanks for attempting this
To clarify:
I told ESA and JSA that I intended to finish my degree whenever it was possible to do so. I had to send in written confirmation that I was still a student at the university to ESA. They were well aware of the situation years in advance.
Timeline:
Feb 2011 - request DLA form by email. I was getting lower rate care only.
Mar 2011 - rerequest 2nd DLA form by phone as the one i requested by email was not sent out. Asked for backdating to feb.
May 2011 (awarded DLA from this date, at a reconsideration. We were given the option for an appeal or a tribunal on the same form gl24?? We chose tribunal.
April 2011-sep 2011 spent waiting for the first DLA decision and then appealing that decision with extra evidence and then waiting for the result.
19th Sep 2011 DLA revoked and sent to tribunal on the same day.
Arranged funding from SFE
2nd oct 2011 I went back to my course. ESA money recouped back from me to this date. As DLA was removed I was no longer entitled to ESA during course.
Oct-Nov 2011 I got my motorised wheelchair BUT could only use it indoors
Dec 2011 started using motorised wheelchair outdoors and dislocated hip
Jan 2012 ESA stopped and claimed back as overpaid benefit as was housing benefit and council tax. DLA awarded and backdated to may 2011
Feb-March 2012 application for ESA, submitted proof. Told I should have no problems being awarded ESA and backdating it from it 2011 at least by ESA themselves in letter form.
Mar-may 2012 waiting for ESA claim results. I sent in SFE funding original documents with application. Additional info requested as well as SFE funding info. I sent in additional info and told them i no longer had the SFE information. I received no comms about my claim. this was suspended/closed as they say I didn't send in evidence. Awaited phone call regarding this and possibly reopening case, never got one.
Aug 2012 ESA claim submitted with help from housing association. They feel I have good grounds to have it backdated to October 2011 at least and said I should be put in support group.
Sep 2012 ESA awarded and backdated to may 2012
Evidence sent in with August claim: proof NHS motorised wheelchair is used, specialist rheumatologist report, occupational therapists report, GP's letter, proof of DLA and carers allowance, current income via bank statement, old SFE information*, details of SFE help I am eligible for and will be applying for this academic year.
*The old SFE information is from 2011, not the most recent one i sent in with the march/may application. I don't remember any differences between that info and the latest info I gave them in march/may. I have made them aware that they need to double check this as I am 99% sure of the figures but not 100%. On all of my ESA applications I gave them my customer reference number with SFE for them to check the details if they need to.
So re your answers:
Although my claim has been backdated by three months/12 weeks, I must wait an additional 13weeks (assessment phase) to find out what will happen rather than 1week?
Do you know of any links to more info re maladministration and official error by the DWP please?
Neither DLA or ESA have gone to tribunal yet. ESA was awarded on Friday and DLA was awarded back in Jan 2012.
thank you for helping:j0 -
So re your answers:
Although my claim has been backdated by three months/12 weeks, I must wait an additional 13weeks (assessment phase) to find out what will happen rather than 1week?
Do you know of any links to more info re maladministration and official error by the DWP please?
Neither DLA or ESA have gone to tribunal yet. ESA was awarded on Friday and DLA was awarded back in Jan 2012.
The assessment phase can last as long as it takes JCP to complete the work-capability assessment and make a decision about whether you qualify for the WRAG or SG, however once the decision is made JCP will have to backdate the relevant component to the first day of your 14th week of ESA.
In relation to maladministration, I can't do links however you just need to search "Financial Redress for Maladministration". A complete guide is online.
Your ESA and DLA claims have been a complete nightmare and given the problems you have had you may want to ask your MP to intervene (things tend to get done a lot faster then).0 -
I'm afraid that I can't wade through this but have to say that any means tested benefits should always have been based on your student loan and grant, whether you took them out or not.0
-
Just to point out that the DWP often make basic errors with students. You need DLA to be able to claim INCOME RELATED esa whilst a full time student but if you were getting contribution based esa it shouldn't have stopped in the first place. I mention this because a skim read showed you were working 2007-9. Can you confirm if it was income related or contribution based?0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 353.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.2K Spending & Discounts
- 246.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.2K Life & Family
- 261K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards