ESA stopped. No money

gemmyloulou

So, my boyfriend notified ESA of change of address over a year ago, he also notified them this was as he had moved home with me where he was living alone prior. Everything was fine. We had a baby, he is now 5 months old so I am on maternity leave getting SMP which is very low! My boyfriend received a letter last week making him fill in a large form to reapply including MY details for his claim. They then rang and said they were suspending his claim to investigate because THEY had made a mistake and not paid accordingly since he notified them. They accepted blame but said he still owed thousands, which he doesn't as he did everything he could. Today he was due to be paid and nothing is in the bank. They asked for my past 3 months payslips so we sent them the next day. Now we have all our bills and rent to pay as well as supporting our family including a 5 month old and only my maternity pay to do it, which as you can imagine is nowhere near enough. Can anyone assist? 

calcotti

If they have failed to act on information supplied to them and as a result he has been overpaid that would appear to be 'official error' and under ESA rules they cannot claim that money back. Unfortunately there is little you can do to speed things while they sort it out.

poppy12345

He told them the change of address but is he sure he told them he would be living with you?

TELLIT01

Did your boyfriend complete a form ESA3 and return that to DWP?

Lanzarote1938

Are you claiming tax credits, child benefit etc? Was he on income based ESA?