Another Person Migrating From ESA IR To U/C Questions

Starbright2

Thanks Newcad, the housing element is the one I could do with being right. I'm slightly over the £6k limit so keeping my eye out for requests for bank statements too. 

Robbie64

I've been holding back applying for a benefit transfer advance in the hope that my Support group /  LCWRA status can be confirmed in the next few weeks but from reading the above it looks unlikely it will be confirmed by the time my monthly payment is made. I have until 20 June to accept the advance. Is it worth waiting a couple of extra weeks or do you think I should accept it now? I'm a bit reluctant to take an advance in case my LCWRA and Transitional Protection amounts aren't included at first as any repayment will be coming from the basic allowance / housing payments but I could do with the money. 

Also, Starbright2, did you get a reply when you posted a note on your Journal that you were transferring from ESA Support Group? I included a note similar to yours and did get an acknowledgement which said:

Hello Robert,

Thank you for keeping Universal Credit updated.



Regards, (name)

Starbright2

Hi Robbie64 I've just looked through my journal & no, I've not had a acknowledgement 

Robbie64

Starbright2 said:

Hi Robbie64 I've just looked through my journal & no, I've not had a acknowledgement 

Some Case Managers seem to quite good at acknowledging Journal entries and others aren't. I saw some posts on the Benefits and Work website where some posters got a reply like I did, others never got a reply at all.

HillStreetBlues

Robbie64 said:

I've been holding back applying for a benefit transfer advance in the hope that my Support group /  LCWRA status can be confirmed in the next few weeks but from reading the above it looks unlikely it will be confirmed by the time my monthly payment is made. I have until 20 June to accept the advance. Is it worth waiting a couple of extra weeks or do you think I should accept it now? I'm a bit reluctant to take an advance in case my LCWRA and Transitional Protection amounts aren't included at first as any repayment will be coming from the basic allowance / housing payments but I could do with the money. 

What I would do is take an advance and not spend at least 15% of your standard allowance, that way it would cover the shortfall of the deduction even if  LCWRA isn't paid. 

Newcad

@Robbie64 as you know the New Claim Advance you are offered is based on how much your UC monthly payment is likely to be.

Even if you have taken an Advance at the first "offer' then if/when another element is added you will (should be) offered more.

In other words there's no need to wait and you can take what Advance is currently offered, and take more later if the LCWRA gets added in time and so they offer more.

There are 2-ways of looking at the New Claim Advance:

1- The less you take the less you have to pay back each month. (So only take the least that you need).

2- Where else are you going to get an interest free loan with no questions asked? (So take the max that you can).

Robbie64

Newcad said:

@Robbie64 as you know the New Claim Advance you are offered is based on how much your UC monthly payment is likely to be.

Even if you have taken an Advance at the first "offer' then if/when another element is added you will (should be) offered more.

In other words there's no need to wait and you can take what Advance is currently offered, and take more later if the LCWRA gets added in time and so they offer more.

There are 2-ways of looking at the New Claim Advance:

1- The less you take the less you have to pay back each month. (So only take the least that you need).

2- Where else are you going to get an interest free loan with no questions asked? (So take the max that you can).

Technically, it's not a New Claim Advance, it's a Benefit Transfer Advance. I'm not sure if the calculation is any different though. At the moment the advance is calculated as the standard allowance of £400.14 plus my eligible rent (calculated monthly). As I'm on conts based ESA and receive a Civil Service Pension, I won't actually get any UC if the LCWRA element isn't included, along with Transitional Protection.

I suppose looking at it as an interest free loan is good. Plus when my UC is £0 I can then ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration which should (hopefully) speed up getting any missing elements added.

Edit to add: I've applied for the advance. I went for the maximum and will probably need to sort out something about repaying some of it until my UC has been put into payment at the correct amount.

Again, apologies to Starbright2 for sort of hijacking the thread but I thought it was relevant to someone making a migration claim from IR ESA.

Starbright2

No problem at all @Robbie64 I may have to do the same further down the line so all info is most welcome 

Starbright2

My last old style ESA was paid today. Last week & this week it looks like the old HB has been paid. So the fun with rent should start next week 

TimeLord1

It's always advisable to let your landlord know what's going on because if they have portal access, they can sort your account out with UC a lot quicker and confirm your information.