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Advice for my parents benefits mess up
sam3273
Posts: 19 Forumite
My dad is currently on Contibutions Based ESA in the support group as he is no longer able to work due to Rhumatoid Arthritis and Back Surgery problems, His wife is his carer,
His wife recently got her old age pension and called up the pension office to let them know that she is my dads carer and that he is on Contributions based ESA in the support group, and asked do they also need to contact the ESA by telephone, and was told - (NO we will do that for you as all the computers are linked and they see what we can see, so they will know that you have started to receive your pension, so you DO NOT need to contact them)
she asked them twice, and even called again the next day just to make sure, and was told the same information again that the departments share information.
on the 16th November they get a letter saying they are now going to reduce my dads ESA by the amount that his wife receives in pension, when he called up the ESA office to find out why this ESA was being reduced he was told that (your wife how has an income, so we are reducing your ESA)
He explained that it was her old age pension and not an income from working, he was told (NO one informed us of this, so we are now penalising you and we are also going to fine you £50 for not informing us)
when my dad tried to explain that the people at the Pensions office told them that they didn't have to notify them as they would do it as all the computers were linked and that they would be able to see the updated information he accused my dad of lying,
and said that the only way to stop this fine and reduction of ESA and also the ESA that they have been paid while she has been getting her pension for the last 4 months, would be to go for a Mandatory Reconsideration,
He wrote letters, and sent the recorded delivery, the people at ESA said they hadn't received the letters in time and fined them again even though they had tracked the letters and someone had signed for it, they just said - just because someone just signs it doesn't mean we have seen it.
they then got a letter back saying that if they wanted to take it to a Mandatory Reconsideration they would be charged to take it that far, plus costs, still while paying out this money, and paying the fines,
can someone please tell me can they do this?
if one department tells you that you don't need to contact another as its on the system and every other department has access to it, why should they be fined? and forced to pay back pension money while still struggling to pay bills and eat, having had his ESA cut
it just doesn't make sense to me???
sorry for the long explanation but it simply doesn't make sense to me??
i think they are being taken for a ride buy the system at the systems expense !!
His wife recently got her old age pension and called up the pension office to let them know that she is my dads carer and that he is on Contributions based ESA in the support group, and asked do they also need to contact the ESA by telephone, and was told - (NO we will do that for you as all the computers are linked and they see what we can see, so they will know that you have started to receive your pension, so you DO NOT need to contact them)
she asked them twice, and even called again the next day just to make sure, and was told the same information again that the departments share information.
on the 16th November they get a letter saying they are now going to reduce my dads ESA by the amount that his wife receives in pension, when he called up the ESA office to find out why this ESA was being reduced he was told that (your wife how has an income, so we are reducing your ESA)
He explained that it was her old age pension and not an income from working, he was told (NO one informed us of this, so we are now penalising you and we are also going to fine you £50 for not informing us)
when my dad tried to explain that the people at the Pensions office told them that they didn't have to notify them as they would do it as all the computers were linked and that they would be able to see the updated information he accused my dad of lying,
and said that the only way to stop this fine and reduction of ESA and also the ESA that they have been paid while she has been getting her pension for the last 4 months, would be to go for a Mandatory Reconsideration,
He wrote letters, and sent the recorded delivery, the people at ESA said they hadn't received the letters in time and fined them again even though they had tracked the letters and someone had signed for it, they just said - just because someone just signs it doesn't mean we have seen it.
they then got a letter back saying that if they wanted to take it to a Mandatory Reconsideration they would be charged to take it that far, plus costs, still while paying out this money, and paying the fines,
can someone please tell me can they do this?
if one department tells you that you don't need to contact another as its on the system and every other department has access to it, why should they be fined? and forced to pay back pension money while still struggling to pay bills and eat, having had his ESA cut
it just doesn't make sense to me???
sorry for the long explanation but it simply doesn't make sense to me??
i think they are being taken for a ride buy the system at the systems expense !!
0
Comments
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Has your mother been added to your dad's ESA claim?0
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No, she's not on his claim, thats why i don't understand what going on0
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Have you seen these letters from the DWP or are you just saying what your dad has told you?
You say his wife is his carer. Was she receiving Carer's Allowance for him?
Like you I cannot see how they can reduce his contribution based ESA so suspect there is something which you don't know about.
Can you have a look at all the award letters and the recent letter that have been received.?
One of the reason I am saying this is because they do not charge for reconsideration or any costs so I find this unusual which makes me think it might be hearsay.
Since it does seem complicated I suggest your dad visits CAB with all letters, bank statements etc etc and ask them to sort this out.0 -
if you dad wasn't claiming an income related ESA top up for his wife ....
what was she living on before becoming entitled to her state pension?0 -
How much was he receiving prior to the reduction? This will determine if he received a top up or not.
Unless they have a lot of capital that it would make sense that she was on the claim.0 -
Somebody is not telling the truth hereMy dad is currently on Contibutions Based ESA in the support group as he is no longer able to work due to Rhumatoid Arthritis and Back Surgery problems, His wife is his carer,
His wife recently got her old age pension and called up the pension office to let them know that she is my dads carer and that he is on Contributions based ESA in the support group, and asked do they also need to contact the ESA by telephone, and was told - (NO we will do that for you as all the computers are linked and they see what we can see, so they will know that you have started to receive your pension, so you DO NOT need to contact them)
she asked them twice, and even called again the next day just to make sure, and was told the same information again that the departments share information.
on the 16th November they get a letter saying they are now going to reduce my dads ESA by the amount that his wife receives in pension, when he called up the ESA office to find out why this ESA was being reduced he was told that (your wife how has an income, so we are reducing your ESA)
He explained that it was her old age pension and not an income from working, he was told (NO one informed us of this, so we are now penalising you and we are also going to fine you £50 for not informing us)
when my dad tried to explain that the people at the Pensions office told them that they didn't have to notify them as they would do it as all the computers were linked and that they would be able to see the updated information he accused my dad of lying,
and said that the only way to stop this fine and reduction of ESA and also the ESA that they have been paid while she has been getting her pension for the last 4 months, would be to go for a Mandatory Reconsideration,
He wrote letters, and sent the recorded delivery, the people at ESA said they hadn't received the letters in time and fined them again even though they had tracked the letters and someone had signed for it, they just said - just because someone just signs it doesn't mean we have seen it.
they then got a letter back saying that if they wanted to take it to a Mandatory Reconsideration they would be charged to take it that far, plus costs, still while paying out this money, and paying the fines,
can someone please tell me can they do this?
if one department tells you that you don't need to contact another as its on the system and every other department has access to it, why should they be fined? and forced to pay back pension money while still struggling to pay bills and eat, having had his ESA cut
it just doesn't make sense to me???
sorry for the long explanation but it simply doesn't make sense to me??
i think they are being taken for a ride buy the system at the systems expense !!
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” --Upton Sinclair0 -
I've seen the letters, but they are currently charging him £32 per month to recover the amount, that they paid in ESA when she started claiming her pension,
the original letter he has from ESA says contributions based ESA,
two letters later it suddenly changed to income related - this was only after she started receiving her pension,
the next letter they received after lots of calls was he was suddenly back on contributions based ESA, he worked for 40 years,
all the savings they had which was not a lot, were used up to pay the difference on their rent, as myself and my husband currently pay the difference between their rent and the amount charged
as they don't get enough to pay for the full rent, they only live in a one bedroom bungalow,
its all so confusing.0 -
Sounds like they are incorrectly treating it as an occupational/private pension. Even if it was one of those it still wouldn't affect his ESA (C) when paid to a partner.
Either DWP are messing this up on a monumental scale or the story is being relayed incorrectly somewhere along the line.0 -
If the mother's pension is being taken into account the father's ESA claim must be being treated as Income Related. We might get a clearer indication if we knew how much ESA was being paid before the confusion over the mother's pension income.0
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he gets £224.10 per fortnight, or he did before they deducted the £45 per week his wife gets for her old age pension,
the confusing part is that they still pay her pension, but limit his ESA,
the £32 per month they have to pay back is the department of work and pensions said is for an overpayment of ESA while claiming pension???
he can't claim his pension yet, he has another 3 years before he can claim it,
no matter how many letters they have written and even myself and my husband have helped them write letters to the DWP trying to find out whats going on, but they are sticking to their end that - no one told them that she was getting her pension,!!!
yes they did, they told the Pension department who told them they would deal with it, she even has the date and time of the phone call,
but they are denying that ever happened.
think dads just got to the point that they have got you which ever way you look at it, if you don't agree with them they make you pay....
i agree its a monumental mess up!0
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