A little help would be so greatly appreciated (ESA)

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  • lilpenguini
    lilpenguini Posts: 22 Forumite
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    thanks by the way guys, for answering me. is a muddle. i may have to ring them up... hooray an hour on hold!:cool:
  • poppy12345
    poppy12345 Posts: 17,963 Forumite
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    lilpenguini wrote: »
    Its contribution based I have checked all his documents just now.
    As stated this isn't means tested.
  • lilpenguini
    lilpenguini Posts: 22 Forumite
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    So we don't have to send these statements?
  • Alice_Holt
    Alice_Holt Posts: 5,950 Forumite
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    I suspect he will be getting a small income related top-up (£15 pw enhanced disability premium), This can be paid when an ESA claimant is receiving Enhanced DL PIP.
    https://www.gov.uk/disability-premiums-income-support/eligibility

    This element will be under scrutiny by the DWP. So yes, it is likely statements will need to be supplied.
    But the repayment will only be c.£65 per month.
    Alice Holt Forest situated some 4 miles south of Farnham forms the most northerly gateway to the South Downs National Park.
  • pmlindyloo
    pmlindyloo Posts: 13,049 Forumite
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    As Alice has said although he is getting contribution based ESA he also has an income based 'top up' of income based ESA. This is due to the enhanced disability premium which is awarded because he is on the enhanced daily living component of PIP.

    It is just this part of his claim that they are enquiring about. He is still entitled to the contribution based part of his ESA (the £73.10 per week)

    Just send the bank statements with an explanation of his gambling problem and his boy friend gifting him money for debts. You can enclose evidence from his doctor about his condition and a letter from his boy friend saying that he gifted him the money. Highlight the amounts on the bank statements.

    If a decision maker decides that both of these amounts are deprivation of capital then he will lose the enhanced disability premium (about £15 a week), have to pay back this premium but will then get just the contribution based ESA part of his claim - the £73.10 per week.
  • lilpenguini
    lilpenguini Posts: 22 Forumite
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    Thanks very much. He has only been getting the £73 since he claimed so not sure that this top up has been applied? However thank you for all the extra clarity here. I am on hold with them now just to make sure but going to give up imminently...
  • pmlindyloo
    pmlindyloo Posts: 13,049 Forumite
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    lilpenguini wrote: »
    Thanks very much. He has only been getting the £73 since he claimed so not sure that this top up has been applied? However thank you for all the extra clarity here. I am on hold with them now just to make sure but going to give up imminently...

    In that case they are checking as to whether he is entitled to the income based 'top up' - i.e the enhanced disability premium added to his contribution based ESA. So the good news is that he will have no overpayment if they decide he has deprived himself of capital.

    So the advice given before remains the same. Provide the bank statements with your evidence.

    If they accept the gifts and that the gambling was not deprivation of capital then he will get the enhanced disability premium money backdated to the beginning of his claim.

    As an aside, have you considered being his appointee? And/or get power of attorney for him? Would he be happy for either of these to happen?
  • lilpenguini
    lilpenguini Posts: 22 Forumite
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    Thanks again for this. Yes I am looking at being his appointee formally as he is unable to cope with all of this and is unable to use the phone. My mother had been helping him until her own illness struck. I am currently looking after his financial affairs unofficially as part of his addiction recovery.

    He is concerned they will contact his boyfriend directly about the money he gave him to help him out of a pickle, but is prone to irrational worry with his anxiety disorder/autism & I don't think they could do this or would do this via a bank statement but can I reassure him as such?

    Was on hold 45 minutes with ESA and had to give up.. will try again later. Meanwhile you guys have been most helpful! I will include a letter of explanation and evidence with the statements to anything I send. Might it be that they are looking to put him into the support group without a medical assessment? He had been declined a home assessment (he can't leave the house) but we appealed this and have yet to hear again. PIP recently did an assessment at home no problem, for his review.
  • poppy12345
    poppy12345 Posts: 17,963 Forumite
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    lilpenguini wrote: »
    Might it be that they are looking to put him into the support group without a medical assessment?
    I doubt it would be that reason they sent this letter. It's the assessment providers that would be dealing with his ESA claim at the moment, not DWP. It passes over to DWP decision maker/case manger once the assessment report has been returned.
  • pmlindyloo
    pmlindyloo Posts: 13,049 Forumite
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    edited 12 April 2018 at 2:31PM
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    lilpenguini wrote: »
    Thanks again for this. Yes I am looking at being his appointee formally as he is unable to cope with all of this and is unable to use the phone. My mother had been helping him until her own illness struck. I am currently looking after his financial affairs unofficially as part of his addiction recovery.

    He is concerned they will contact his boyfriend directly about the money he gave him to help him out of a pickle, but is prone to irrational worry with his anxiety disorder/autism & I don't think they could do this or would do this via a bank statement but can I reassure him as such?

    Was on hold 45 minutes with ESA and had to give up.. will try again later. Meanwhile you guys have been most helpful! I will include a letter of explanation and evidence with the statements to anything I send. Might it be that they are looking to put him into the support group without a medical assessment? He had been declined a home assessment (he can't leave the house) but we appealed this and have yet to hear again. PIP recently did an assessment at home no problem, for his review.

    Be proactive as regards the boyfriend gifting him money and get the boy friend to write a letter.

    As regards looking to put him in the support group then this letter is nothing to do with that. If placed in the support group then the support group component (extra money) can be awarded on a contribution based claim.

    Savings/capital can only be queried as regards his being entitled to disability premiums as these would give him an income based 'top up'. The support group component does not give him an income based 'top up' - it will be part of his contribution based claim.

    Also we should have said that deprivation of capital can only occur if your brother gambled the money knowing that if he lost it then he could have claimed the income based part of his ESA. I think this would be very difficult to prove based on his medical conditions. Plus how many people with no health problems know about disability premiums?
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