Income based support group ESA being cancelled

aaronlowe

I was on income based ESA in the support group.

I just got a letter today, 29 Mar 2018, dated 23 Mar 2018 that my ESA will be cancelled from 27 Mar 2018.

Reason:
You have not paid or been credited with enough National Insurance Contributions.
We have based the tax years ending 5 April 2011 and 5 April 2012 to assess your claim.

What confused me is that I was claiming JSA all through those tax years. I thought JSA credited NI payments?

Also, in the same letter it says:
We will still credit you with National Insurance contributions while claiming Employment and Support Allowance.

So, I am confused. How can I run out of NI payments on income based ESA in the support group?

There are absolutely no instructions what to do next. They cancelled my ESA 2 days before I received the letter so I have absolutely no income provision.

What are my options? Will my housing benefit be cancelled and I am made homeless again?

BorisThomson

It is the contributions based element that you are not entitled to. If you weren't receiving this then contact them as it sounds like a mistake. Is this a new claim?

Do you have savings or other household income?

(Just noticed the years they're looking at, if this is a new claim what have you been receiving in the interim?)

Alice_Holt

This seems very odd.
1) Income-based ESA does not depend on NI contributions.
2) If you are receiving Contribution Based ESA and in the Support Group, then the benefit is not limited to 365 days.

JSA does not give you a NI contribution history that enables you to claim CB ESA (only towards SP).

I would suggest -
A) Ringing the ESA line to clarify (their letters are not always clear);
Taking the documents to your local CAB and getting a second opinion / advice on benefits.

HB can continue, but you need to go to your HB dept and complete a nil-income form. Do this asap

How long have you been receiving ESA?
Are you sure it is Income Based?

aaronlowe

BorisThomson wrote: »

It is the contributions based element that you are not entitled to. If you weren't receiving this then contact them as it sounds like a mistake. Is this a new claim?

Do you have savings or other household income?

(Just noticed the years they're looking at, if this is a new claim what have you been receiving in the interim?)

It's not a new claim. Have been claiming ESA for about 4 years. I have no savings or other income.

aaronlowe

Alice_Holt wrote: »

This seems very odd.
1) Income-based ESA does not depend on NI contributions.
2) If you are receiving Contribution Based ESA and in the Support Group, then the benefit is not limited to 365 days.

Are you sure it is Income Based?

Yes I am sure it is income based. It even says so in the letter.

"You are not getting any more income-related Employment and Support Allowance."

Note, they say it in past tense. They gave me no warning. They cancelled the ESA before I got the letter. How can anyone cope with this?

TELLIT01

You need to call them for clarification because the letter doesn't make any sense. Income Related ESA is for those who haven't made sufficient NI contributions to qualify for Contribution based benefit. The letter stating you don't have sufficient contributions would only apply to Conts based benefit.

aaronlowe

Alice_Holt wrote: »

Have you been to an ESA assessment in the last month or so?
Have you been assessed as fit for work?

No, I got re-assessed about 3 years ago and the ESA continued. Seems the thing to do is phone ESA and ask them to explain. Ironically I need to put an extra £10 on my phone to do that because last time they put me on hold for 1hr 15 minutes. Not a good time to be spending money. Then if they are sure the ESA is cancelled I will phone Housing Benefits to tell them my ESA got cancelled without any prior warning. Hopefully they'll then be able to backtrack it. Then if that happens I'll have to book an emergency appointment with CAB.

I've never known DWP to make a mistake once they have the right information so I have no idea how this will get resolved. I promise to come back and say how it resolves for those who advise others. I am your case study

pmduk

Most DWP numbers are now 0800 numbers and therefore free to call from a mobile.

tazwhoever

Quick question: As CB ESA (support) runs more than 365 days, how long does IB ESA (support) run for?

aaronlowe

pmduk wrote: »

Most DWP numbers are now 0800 numbers and therefore free to call from a mobile.

The number supplied with the letter is a 0345 number. I hope it doesn't count as call minutes or I will have to top up, but you're right. I forgot not all numbers use up minutes. Fingers crossed. If they had given any forewarning at all or any options of what to do I wouln't have panicked.

The only thing in the letter is the usual copy and paste section about asking for a mandatory reconsideration but this doesn't seem like something where you can ask for that. It's a mess. It's designed to be a mess. Scary!

aaronlowe

tazwhoever wrote: »

Quick question: As CB ESA (support) runs more than 365 days, how long does IB ESA (support) run for?

It's not ever supposed to end because it's based on your income, not your contributions, which is why this letter confused me so much.