ESA has dropped from £450per fornight to £259per fortnight and no reason given!!

money08

YesI had moved over quite a while before I think. I wrote a letter to DWP thank them in 07/2018

re: Contribution Related benefit change to Income Related

Newcad

If you had moved to UC before you had that review then although may have been due a backpayment of IR ESA they should not have started paying IR ESA ongoing.

If they did do then that would be another error, and would be the likely cause of the problem now, because UC would have no way of knowing that ESA had done that.

You can't be paid both IR ESA and UC at the same time (you can have CB ESA and UC at the same time, but the CB ESA is then deducted from the UC).

So it may well be that having made an error when moving you from IB to ESA they have then made another error when trying to put it right.

Unfortunately it is looking like, through no fault of your own,  you may have been being overpaid benefits for a few years now, and if you have then they will take it back at so much a month from your UC payments.

money08

Yeah thats why I think maybe I should quit while I still have some money coming in. My needs are simple anyway so thankfully the impact wont be too drastic. Certainly not as drastic as being cut off from benefits again for six months completely and without a word till CAB got involved.

I cant believe anyone who is paid to come up with a benefits plan got away with this total shambles that it is today.

My case, in the grand scheme of things must seem quite simple compared to families, those working and on benefits etc. Now all the future holds is they have given up trying to sort it all out and will just rob the poor as ever and kick people even more whilst they are down. Bring back the single payment giro I say.

Newcad

Ah, but all the Post Office local branches are (being) closed - so where would you cash your green giro?

I've got to say that if what I suspecr may have happened to you is true then it's a pretty unusual set of circumstances.

MakIng a new error when trying to correct a first error is inexcusable, but that's  the DWP we have all come to know.

money08

sadly its all designed to corral us to make it easier to keep an eye on us. AI lives already......cant even stash cash any more its such a dirty word now. Might as well give it all away before they take the lot and then cull me for getting old.

Form an orderly queue FREE CASh FRee cash

Grumpy_chap

It seems as though some element of the OP's benefits that have changed may be an income-related benefit.  
Has anything in the OP's circumstances changed that possibly the OP does not identify as income change?  I am particularly thinking about any change in savings that may have occurred, so creating an assessed income, especially given the OP's other thread about credit card "stoozing".
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6516992/credit-card-0-deals-and-savings-on-benefits/p1

money08

No changes at all beyond the additional notes mentioned here in regards the latest statement from jobcentre/DWP.

" The latest statement from DWP

OK just looked at my most recent Jobcentre Plus statement for ESA showing annual rate changes for April 2024. Its added a line which it has never said before as follows.

From Feb 17 2024 ESA £129
Then it adds this unusual line (You are not getting any more income-related employment and support allowance)
then back to normal lines
from 13 April 2024 it goes up to £138.

 

A few pages on it then states

how esa IS WORKED OUT
Limited capability for work addition=£44
Which gives you a total INCOME-RELATED AMOUNT- £44.70

 

No income will be taken off your esa bla bla so still £44
but then

"However because you are entitled to contribution-based ESA we will pay you" £129
from Feb 2024

 

Prior to this latest I letter was on income related I think."

So it looks like for some reason one ran out on income related and now added to contributory for some reason. Which is weird as I havent worked in over a decade due to disability.

The stoozing stuff wont work cos I dont have any balance to transfer on my current card (one of the few reasons a CC debt would have been handy for a change!!) in regards the 0% purchase thats also no good unless I can get the landlords to let me pay a few months rent up front with the new CC at 0%. Doubtful beyond one payment that seems.

KxMx

You mentioned earlier changing from Incapacity Benefit, that's why your ESA has been Contributions Based and now New Style ESA after claiming UC. That part is 100% correct and how things should be. 

Newcad

You have posted that ESA statement a few times now, so here's an explanation of it:

The 'Extra' line on that ESA statement will be because someone (finally) noticed that they have been incorrectly paying you IR ESA when they shouldn't have been paying it because you were already claiming UC.
It is simply telling you that they are now stopping incorrectly paying you that IR ESA, and so as from Feb 17 2024 "You are not getting any more IR ESA."

They are not asking for any overpaid ESA to be given back, because it's now easier administratively for UC to say it was the 'overlapping' UC paid at the same time that was overpaid, and claim that overpaid UC back.
(I suspect they are still calculating how much that is, and is why you need to take everything you can to CAB so that they can do the same calculation and make sure the DWP get it right).

The "How your ESA is worked out" is just the standard confusing wording on all 'Old Style' ESA statments.
They always mention the 'Income Related Amount' even if you don't have/never had IR ESA.
(I have seen the equivalent letter for 'New Style' ESA which of course doesn't mention Income Related at all).