Moving over from ESA Support group to UC advice.

Newcad

The problem is one of a claimants rights.

A benefit claimants entitlement is theirs by law. - So by law the DWP can only give that entitlement to a 3rd party if the claimant agrees to let them do that as a "Alternative Payment Arrangement".

In the case of rent an APR is a "Managed Payment To Landlord" (MPTL).

Most tenants in such a situation are going to agree to a MPTL rather than be evicted, but the DWP has to ask them and can't just bypass them anymore like they have been doing.

(There have also been cases of LLs asking for MPTL saying there were arrears when there weren't).

rich_shot2003

Can i check about something please as i have just had my UC statement this morning and something does not look right in it so need some advice please.

I was in the ESA Support group and as far as i knew i was getting a Disability premium with my ESA but on the UC statement nothing is showing for a disability premium so have they missed that off or do i stop getting it now i am on UC?

Also my wife has a part time job which she only earns £46.55 a month which UC have taken off £25.60 off for that so is that right?

working it out i feel i am now worse off then what i was on ESA.

Also the Carers allowance that my wife claims as she is my carer does not look right for 4 weeks as i worked that out to be £327.60 but they have taken £354.90 off UC and also its got on statement Carer £198.31 that we have been given is that because my wife is my carer?

This is my 1st statement so bit hard to understand it and it covers Assessment period 31st Jan to 27th Feb.

Any help please.

KxMx

Taking your points in turn:

LCWRA element is missing 

(Unless your wife gets a qualifying disability benefit, you wouldn't have got SDP with your ESA, you would have gotten EDP. UC LCWRA pays more than ESA SG + EDP so nothing to make up)

This means the work allowance (an amount you can earn before deductions are applied) hasn't been taken into account, and deductions have been made on the first £1 instead of after she has earned £404.

The Carers Allowance deduction is correct, CA is a weekly benefit and you have quoted the amount for 28 days.
UC is a monthly benefit, to convert a weekly benefit to monthly you multiply by 52 then divide by 12.

Carers Element is paid under UC for being a carer yes.

What I would do is add a note your Journal (using the Payment option) and state you migrated from ESA SG but LCWRA is missing from your statement, and due to this an incorrect deduction has been made to your wife's earnings.

Once they've sorted it out, a letter will be added to your Journal stating the amount owed due to underpayment. Payment will then be sent to your bank within a few working days.

Your total before deductions should be + £416.19 (LCWRA) and + £25.60 (incorrect earnings deduction). 

poppy12345

I can't see the LCWRA element on that screenshot, this should be included because you were in the Support Group. Put a message onto your journal under the payment section and tell them that it wasn't included and it should have been. 

For the carers allowance deduction it's £354.90, this is because there's 4.3 weeks in a month, not 4 weeks. To work out the monthly deduction you times the weekly amount by 52 then divide by 12. £81.90 x 52/12 =£4,258.80 £354.90. 

As there were also some deductions for earnings it seems like they haven't included the work allowance, this would be because the LCWRA element isn't included. Once they recalculate your statement it will reflect the work allowance and with earnings of just £46.55 there would be no deductions because your work allowance would be £404/month. This means you can receive that amount of earnings before deductions apply. 

rich_shot2003

Many thanks for that.

I did think something was not right so i have added a message to them on my journal so hope they look into it ASAP as i am getting the UC next Thursday so hope its sorted by then.

How can they miss THE LCWRA out in the 1st place as they must had seen that i was in the support group on ESA.

poppy12345

Your total amount before deductions should be as follows... 
Standard allowance couples £617.60
 LCWRA element £419.16
 carers element £198.31
 housing element £682.32 = £1917.39 (before deductions)

Deduction... Carers allowance -£354.90 
Total amount after deductions should be £1,562.49/month. 

rich_shot2003

poppy12345 said:

Your total amount before deductions should be as follows... 
Standard allowance couples £617.60
 LCWRA element £419.16
 carers element £198.31
 housing element £682.32 = £1917.39 (before deductions)

Deduction... Carers allowance -£354.90 
Total amount after deductions should be £1,562.49/month. 

Many thanks Poppy12345.

Have taken a photo of your post to make sure they do it right this time!!!

KxMx

rich_shot2003 said:

Many thanks for that.

I did think something was not right so i have added a message to them on my journal so hope they look into it ASAP as i am getting the UC next Thursday so hope its sorted by then.

How can they miss THE LCWRA out in the 1st place as they must had seen that i was in the support group on ESA.

Communication between ESA & UC is slow and not automated. The computer systems are not compatible because ESA's are so old. 

I heard second hand recently that the increased number of migration letters is slowing communications down between the departments even more.

There is supposed to be more automation now when migrating from ESA, but I've only seen a very few examples of this working as intended.
I still personally advise people to allow a few weeks for ESA to confirm your status with UC. 

rich_shot2003

Just a update.

I got a answer back from UC and they had underpaid me £474 as LCWRA was missing.

So that has now been paid by them so should get that later on this week.

So looks to me on my new statement its all sorted now but will get it as 2 payments.

TimeLord1

Newcad said:

Just to note that the DWP say that a 'fix' is now finally in place, and that those migrating from ESA to UC should no longer be asked to supply Fit Notes.

There's a headline on Rightsnet but the full article is subscription only, so I have nothing to link here.

Better late than never.

Still seems a thing @Newcad I'm not sure how they confirm people are migrating over from ESA Support Group without people reminding them of entitlement.