why no WHD this year? were on ESA

mrpip2002uk

Hi guys,
My wife and i have been on ESA for several years now and weve had the WHD for those years 

My wife is on my claim and our payment  for 2 of us has just gone up to approx £200 p/w but it was  approx £182 in march  at the time the WHD was paid.
For some reason we never had a letter from DWP this year to say we would get WHD and we didnt get the payment either?
When i contacted the WHD team they told me government had changed the rules and they asked for my address and then was told we didnt qualify this year ! even though weve lived at this same address for 30 years, i was stunned.
Because we have poor health and have to stay in a lot we are now paying £85 p/w dd to scottish power which just covers our usage over 12 months.
So out of our £182 income each week we were paying £80 p/w back in march energy bill, which left us with basically £100 p/w for 2 of us to exist on pay all our  household bills and feed ourselves let alone transport cost.

Why did the tories take WHD off us? when the Tories were bragging each day on tv about the WHD and cold weather payments help to people on all benefits did they stop WHD to us and probably more people on ESA.

Still to this day i hav'nt found out why they stopped our WHD can anyone tell me the answer to my question?
I even asked my tory mp but as expected ,no reply from him.
Thanks John

calcotti

mrpip2002uk said:

Still to this day i hav'nt found out why they stopped our WHD can anyone tell me the answer to my question?
I even asked my tory mp but as expected ,no reply from him.
Thanks John

The rules for qualifying changed Some people who previously got WHD no longer qualify. Others who did not previously qualify have repeated help under the new rules.

there is information about the scheme here
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/warm-home-discount/

mrpip2002uk

thanks calcotti,
i'm in the support group on ESA,but i dont know what ESA i'm on,i must not be on the income related ESA then,because we didnt get the WHD
what other forms of ESA  are there then? i didnt think there was a lower form of benefit than ESA   

poppy123456

Your ESA is very likely to be Income related based on the amount you’re receiving. Being on Income Related ESA isn’t the only criteria this time. 

They also look at the age and size of the property you live in. It’s very likely you don’t qualify because you didn’t receive a letter. Please see the link Calcotti posted. 

mrpip2002uk

thanks poppy,
weve lived in the same house for nearly 30 years its just a 3 bedroom terraced social housing house.
What i dont understand is how many types of ESA there is? and why when nearly half of our weekly income goes on energy to scottish power,i dont know how they expect us to feed ourselves?
were very lucky my mom in law helps us out with foods.
in the link from calcotti it staes people on income based ESA should get it,but what sort of ESA must i be on ?cause we didnt get the WHD? doing my nut in!

poppy123456

mrpip2002uk said:

in the link from calcotti it staes people on income based ESA should get it,but what sort of ESA must i be on ?cause we didnt get the WHD? doing my nut in!

That's not what the link says at all. It says if you're claiming certain means tested benefits, you may qualify.  If you're living in England or Wales being on certain income Related benefits isn't the only criteria now. They also look at the size and age of the property you live in.

The only ones that automatically qualify now if you live in England/Wales are those claiming Pension credit.

I've always qualified too and i also claim Income Related ESA but i didn't qualify this year because the house i live in didn't meet the criteria.

mrpip2002uk

thanks poppy,
So basically after they bragged on tv that people on very low incomes and benefits would be getting WHD,the tories have found a way to stop paying the WHD to people on ESA benefits like us! disgraceful rules change by the Tory foodbank party mps. crooked liars.