ESA - trapped in a loophole - help, is there any way through?

BlueSkiesandClouds

Hi everyone

I really hope someone can offer some advice regarding ESA as I feel I've fallen through the cracks in the system and really need some advice as I'm not getting it officially.

I run my own business and due to the recession things have been tight for a while.

My accountant suggested from April 12 applying for a small earnings exemption, to help reduce my costs for a while which we did.

In March this year I was diagnosed with a lymphoma and am currently receiving chemotherapy, as you might expect my business has virtually ground to a halt because of this.

I applied for contribution based ESA but was refused on the grounds of not having paid into it for the last two full years (despite paying in all the other years, apparently they only count the last two). And I can’t apply for income based ESA as my other half is on SSP and we get WTC.

After lots of phone calls to different people I was told to cancel my Small Earnings Exemption (SEE) and then I could pay back the outstanding amount and then I would be entitled to ESA minus a six week penalty for paying it late.

I have now been told that the SEE can only be cancelled from this June and the SEE will still be valid all of the year that is causing the trouble. I can pay voluntary NI but if I do it will be classed as class 3 which counts towards my pension but not ESA. If I want to pay class 2, which is needed to get the ESA, I will have to apply to pay them voluntarily and this will take 3 weeks before they can even tell me *IF*I can pay them back, never mind waiting for the invoice and getting the payment in.

What on earth can I do??? I have virtually no money coming in, desperately need some help and seem to have fallen through the cracks of bureaucracy! We’ve been trying to get this sorted for months now.

Can anyone offer any advice?

We (my partner and I) have tried ringing the local benefits office, national numbers etc., but they either don't seem to have come across our situation, or give contradictory advice.

We've spoken to MacMillian benefits support as well and they are stumped as well...this really is our last resort.

Does anyone have any ideas?


Thanks very much in advance.

jacques_chirac

Does your partner work 24 hours or more? If so, this will be a bar to you receiving IB ESA. If they are on a low income they may be entitled to WTC.

Have you discussed with Macmillan if you may be entitled to PIP?

pmlindyloo

Presumably you are not entitled to income based ESA because your wife is working?

How many hours is she working? Do you now qualify for tax credits?

If you can give us a little more information we might be able to help more.

If you have no dependent children then she will have to work 30 hours to claim tax credits.

If you have dependent children then it is 24 hours a week.

Are you entitled to Housing Benefit and /or Council tax reduction?

You would probably qualify for PIP (the old Disability Allowance)as you are receiving chemotherapy. Check out the descriptors (have a google) This is not means tested so your wife's income and any savings would make no difference.

Difficult to say what you might be eligible for as we don't know your wife's earnings and your family make up. All means tested benefits are based on total household income and savings.

BlueSkiesandClouds

Thanks for your reply jacques chirac.

My partner has read my post and said I don't understand the situation properly (not surprising, I'm suffering with exhaustion and 'chemobrain' - the drugs can make you stupid!).

She will be rewording and reposting it.

To answer your question, she does usually work 24+ hours a week (for my business) but is currently signed off with stress and depression and is claiming SSP, not surprising as she's spending the majority of her time looking after me.

Macmillan do think we are entitled to PIP as well as carers allowance, we have the PIP form and will be sending it off today.

BlueSkiesandClouds

pmlindyloo:

We do claim tax credits at the moment and seem to qualify for that OK.

We have no dependent others and currently run the business from home living with my family so we aren't entitled to any housing related benefits.

As I say it's been a lean time of late so we don't have any saving and are currently spluttering along with WTC, a very small amount of business income and to be honest a massive help from family which we feel rather ashamed about needing.

BlueSkiesandClouds

Apologies for deleting and reposing but I have now updated the details.

Thanks so much for your help so far pmlindyloo and jacques chirac.

tokenfield

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Presumably you are not entitled to income based ESA because your wife is working?

How many hours is she working? Do you now qualify for tax credits?

If you can give us a little more information we might be able to help more.

If you have no dependent children then she will have to work 30 hours to claim tax credits.

If you have dependent children then it is 24 hours a week.

Are you entitled to Housing Benefit and /or Council tax reduction?

You would probably qualify for PIP (the old Disability Allowance)as you are receiving chemotherapy. Check out the descriptors (have a google) This is not means tested so your wife's income and any savings would make no difference.

Difficult to say what you might be eligible for as we don't know your wife's earnings and your family make up. All means tested benefits are based on total household income and savings.

The OP is entitled to claim ESA - income based. However, as it appears that they are receiving far more money (SSP + WTC) than the household needs to live on, I can't see that they can be entitled to anything more except PIP.

PIP will be a long drawn out claim and ALL claims will be subject to a rigorous assessment with the likes of ATOS.
There are also long qualifying conditions - backwards as well as forwards.
Seems to me that they should have enough to live on as it is.

All benefits, including PIP, are a position of last resort and not a option of choice - they were but thankfully this has changed.

pmlindyloo

Let's look at the tax credits situation first.

Whose name is the claim in? Is that person still achieving 30 hours a week (minimum for your situation) If not then you need to notify them of the change of circumstances. If your wife was working 30 hours a week before she was off sick then this is OK as it still counts whilst she is receiving SSP.

As far as I see it you have different options: (hopefully others can confirm)

1. You continue as you are with your wife receiving SSP and tax credits (if you meet the hours criteria)
2. If you no longer meet the hours criteria you could close your tax credits claim, your wife continues with SSP and you apply for Income Support as a joint claim to 'top up' your SSP.
3. When your wife's SSP runs out you make a claim for ESA and you can be added to her claim or you make the claim and she can be added your claim.
3. When you are awarded PIP you could stop the ESA claim and your wife claim Carer's Allowance and it is topped up by Income Support. or you can continue with your ESA claim.

It is extremely difficult to know which option is best as it depends on whether you are still eligible for tax credits or not, plus whether your wife is able to return to work and/or is eligible for Carer's allowance.

Carer's Allowance cannot be claimed until you are awarded PIP. Google Carer's allowance and see the eligibility criteria.

This is complicated. I mention the tax credits question because you may no longer be eligible and do not want an overpayment. Perhaps this is the first question that needs to be answered.

As to your current situation then because you are living with family I cannot see that you are entitled to any other benefits other than the SSP and working tax credits.

If I have missed anything or made a mess of it I am sure someone will correct me!

BlueSkiesandClouds

Thanks again pmlindyloo,

We'll definitely ring the WTC bods to check they know of our situation and make any necessary changes. My OH was working more than the 30 hrs prior to becoming unfit for work, so I believe she is still entitled to WTC, better to check though.

I really hope my OH doesn't need to go on ESA and can get back to work before those suggestions is needed but I will certainly keep your suggestions in mind if that becomes the case.

It really is complicated, not something you need when you are going through everything we've been going through these last few months but I suppose it's the same for everyone.

Of course when you've been running your own business the costs associated with that don't just disappear when you can't work anymore - phone lines, accountants, web costs etc are still there needing paying for.

epitome

You won't get Income Support as a top up to SSP unless the SSP & WTC amount to less than £112.55 per week. - unless there is a DLA care claim for one of you in which case the threshold will rise to about £150 ish

It would appear that your household is already getting more than £112.55 a week, so no entitlement to ESA IR payments.

You are wanting ESA Conts but have not paid the relevant class 2. *If* you have been correctly advised that you can pay off the class 2 and become eligible then that is all you can do. Get on and do it.

My understanding based on previous reading is that it is not possible to pay off the missing class 2 to become eligible. So if you do it, please update this thread.