Esa stopped jsa nightmare

Sharron18

Our Esa was stopped 12the August as my partner did not satisfy the requirements and scored low, so we telephoned DWP and they transfered us to JSA. My partner went in this morning with ID etc to an appointment they gave us and expected to receive a payment. Once there he was told we can no longer claim joint jsa and need to apply for universal credit. We have no money and waited 2 weeks already for this appointment to be told sorry but NO. Why on earth was this not told to us on the 13th of August when we called. I'm at my wits end now school about to start and no uniforms. What can we do?

sheramber

You can ask for an advance payment while waiting for your first payment of UC

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/get-an-advance-first-payment

poppy12345

Sharron18 wrote: »

Our Esa was stopped 12the August as my partner did not satisfy the requirements and scored low, so we telephoned DWP and they transfered us to JSA. My partner went in this morning with ID etc to an appointment they gave us and expected to receive a payment. Once there he was told we can no longer claim joint jsa and need to apply for universal credit. We have no money and waited 2 weeks already for this appointment to be told sorry but NO. Why on earth was this not told to us on the 13th of August when we called. I'm at my wits end now school about to start and no uniforms. What can we do?

If your area is a full universal credit area then that's the reason why you can't claim JSA. Check your area here.
https://ucpostcode.entitledto.co.uk/ucdate
If it is then he can claim online but payments for UC take 6 weeks. Any housing benefit, tax credits you claim will transfer to UC. If he claims this then he won't be able to go back onto ESA.

Has he requested a mandatory reconsideration for the ESA? He has 28 days to do this from the date of the decision. He should put in writing what he disagrees with and state which group he thinks he should be and why.
Being placed into the Support Group isn't about scoring points, it's about satisfying one of the Support Group descriptors. Here.
https://benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1353-support-group-descriptors
Reg 29 & 35 is explained here.
http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/making-exception
WRAG descriptors here.
https://benefitsandwork.co.uk/employment-and-support-allowance/esa-glossary/1354-work-related-activity-group-descriptors

Sharron18

This is all new to us and to be honest it's quite an upsetting experience. My partner is going to phone them tomorrow. We've done the online application but we want it backdating to the 12th as all this fuss is absolutely their fault. Do you think they will? Hes going to ask about an advance.

Sharron18

This is all new to us and to be honest it's quite an upsetting experience. My partner is going to phone them tomorrow. We've done the online application but we want it backdating to the 12th as all this fuss is absolutely their fault. Do you think they will? Hes going to ask about an advance.

calcotti

Sharron18 wrote: »

We've done the online application but we want it backdating to the 12th as all this fuss is absolutely their fault. Do you think they will?

You can definitely ask for backdating on grounds you were given incorrect information. If they refuse you can complain and ask for confirmation. See here https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/before-you-apply/how-universal-credit-is-paid/

Sharron18

Such a palaver after 2 hours on the phone we've managed to get an appointment to verify our identity as my bank is not compatible with their system ????? Also I need to prove that we were originally moved to JSA after esa finished so we can get it backdated seems UC cannot see JSA notes or whatever so instead of them picking up a phone to check and get email confirmation we have to phone jsa tomorrow to see what they can do. What are these people doing exactly we've had nothing since 12th august I've got 61p in the bank and I cant get anything til the appointment Tuesday 4th. Surely this isn't right. Like I said this is new to us and the sooner I get another job the better it's more stressful than working and the worry is beyond belief.