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Mandatory transition from support ESA to UC but being messed about by DWP

carrotonastick90

Hello,

Received a letter from the DWP about 3 weeks ago that i ignored a letter they sent in January for a mandatory migration from income based ESA in the support group to UC. For starters, they did not send me a letter in January, so i called them up immediately to ask why they sent me this letter. They insisted they did and they said they tried to contact me by phone which they also never did. I couldn't be bothered with the messing about and just wanted to get it out of the way straight away so filled in the questionnaire on the site as i was told if i did not fill it in myself, that i wouldn't have access to it and would need to call UC anytime i wanted to get in touch with them which is frankly ridiculous policy.

Anyways, 2 weeks go by and i am told i will have an on phone interview to confirm my identity as they wouldn't accept the ID i had on me and my passport is out of date. I have this interview and not 2 questions in i am told that the computer has "denied me" and the interview needs to be face to face. I told them that's annoying but its fine if its a home visit as i have a agoraphobia and have not been able to leave my residence for a long time. They tell me that is fine and will contact in me in the next few days with an appointment but the wait time might be 6 weeks and i will lose my ESA as the cutoff is in 2 weeks...not 1 hour goes by and the same person calls me back and tells me that its not possible for me to have a home interview ,and if i want to continue the claim, it is mandatory i come into the job centre which i absolutely cannot do. I live alone and have alienated most of the people who have helped me with my conditions. I cannot even go round to the shops let alone walk almost an hour to my nearest job centre. The anxiety from all this is just compounding and i am just supposed to accept this and there is nothing i can do about it i am told. I've never failed a medical and have always gave adequate evidence and gave them permission to speak to whomever they need to who has insights into my condition. I don't know what i am supposed to do and as per usual the DWP is of no help and essentially told me to like it or lump it. as there is no way i am getting a home visit for reasons they will not tell me

Are they even allowed to do this?

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Comments

OverlyAnxious

Hi,

I am sorry to hear about your situation. I had a similar issue with ID verification last year, and it sounds like they've tightened up even further since then.

The sad reality is they are allowed to do this based on their own system, because everyone has to verify ID as a legal requirement now to prevent fraud, it does not matter that you're migrating from ESA.

The only things I can suggest are to keep pushing for a home visit through the journal. Try all of the different message headings. Also get your MP involved if possible. And also see if there's a disability advice service in your area could help.

carrotonastick90

I've left some entries in my journal and somebody got back to me within 30mins of writing in it. They told me there is no reason for me not to be getting a home visit, but a telephone interview is no longer possible as a means of quenching their criteria for identification. About 10 mins after speaking to that guy who said in so many words that the last person was essentially lying to me and they don't understand why, that same person who phoned me initially to tell me that a home visit is not on the cards, called me to tell me that no matter what i do to request one i wont be getting one??? Does this guy have a vendetta against me or something, lol? Why are 2 people telling me it's possible and there is nothing on the system to suggest i should not be able to get one, and 1 person saying it isn't possible and i wont be getting it.

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1010667#Comment_1010667

The UC staff are well known for giving out poor advice. I worked out that about 80% of what I'd been told in the journal, and a relative had been told on my behalf, was incorrect!

You just need to keep trying different avenues until you get a more useful staff member unfortunately.

carrotonastick90

Ok, noted. I've never dealt with this side of things so i naively assumed the telephone interview would be a breeze. How wrong was i. I guess i just have to wait till i actually see the appointment show up in my journal, and if its at the job centre, continuously push back, or hope the other 2 chaps i interacted with were right about the 1st one

Thanks for your help anyways

Albus_Alumni

Hey @carrotonastick90 I can see you've already talked through things here and I dont want to confuse things. I just wanted to pop in and say a quick welcome to the community. Hopefully you can speak to one of the useful UC staff soon.

Steviemac63

Ask for a phone video call they can still see you ive seen other people asking for this

carrotonastick90

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1010701#Comment_1010701

Thanks, Albus. Hopefully i do. I understand their need to combat fraud and i'm willing to comply with any request for that, as long as it doesn't trigger my issues, but the way i was spoken to and treated by the first dude, was not on at all.

carrotonastick90

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1010706#Comment_1010706

See, if that is an option then why do they not suggest it as an alternative? I really don't understand why they appear to operate with such disregard as their default. Not all, but most. The other 2 fellas i spoke to were the only decent interaction i have had in regards to this situation since trying to get it sorted

Steviemac63

Because they like to hassle and Bully people that’s what they’re trained to do they read from a script Be careful they don’t stop your money because that’s the way they work. Good luck

carrotonastick90

After going back and forth with them in the journal and on the phone since i brought this up they've settled on the fact that i am not getting one and if i wish to complete the claim it has to be my local job centre. When i ask for an answer they just tell me the computer has alerted them to my claim needing to be completed as such due to "security reasons" when i ask them to elaborate they tell me they can't and we go round in circles. I've trying to see if the CAB can do anything about this as this just doesn't seem right given my circumstances. I'm a mixture of infuriated and riddled in anxiety of all this. I never imagined it being this difficult....

If they wont reason with me then i'm just gonna have to go without. I can't just do something on their command i've not been able to do for years for a multitude of viable reasons........

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1012064#Comment_1012064

Don't think there's anything more I can advise unfortunately. I really hope you can get somewhere with them soon though. Please do keep us updated.

The cruel irony of this situation is that a significant number of people qualify for LCWRA because they're unable to manage tasks such as getting to a Job Centre!

kittenface19

@carrotonastick90

What a torrid situation. I really hope you can figure this out. I've got my fingers crossed for you.

carrotonastick90

So, update on my situation. I got a mandatory reconsideration and the CAB got all the requirements for a face to face interview waived as they found my job centre was being unreasonable and because they wouldn't give a specific reason as to why i cannot have a home visit they told them to relinquish any requirement for an interview. Was not expecting them to be that effective as i've never used them before, but that was surprising. Took 2 weeks like, but got there in the end

They accepted some photos of claim forms, prescriptions and another document with my NHS number on and that was pretty much it. Get paid next week full amount LCWRA and everything

If my experience was anything to go by, anybody in a similar situation should get in touch with the CAB as i was honestly on the verge of just going without before i contacted them

OverlyAnxious

I'm very glad to hear CAB had so much impact in your situation.

Sadly they've only ever been useless whenever I've tried them. Perhaps it is area specific.

carrotonastick90

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1016531#Comment_1016531

The national line actually was. I was going round in circles with some operatives acting like they did not know why i was calling even though the first lady i made my CAB account with told me that they know everything from the minute my number pops up, so if i get the run around, just call back till you get somebody who acknowledges you straight away. That's pretty much what i did. Must've spent entire days on the phone going back and forth with the CAB and DWP. Journal is useless and my work coaches ignored most of what i wrote in there and mostly just gravitated to making very stern demands and threats to come in or the claim will end, disregarding all of my very legitimate reasons for why that wont be possible.

One odd thing about the CAB, or this might be specific to my region(Merseyside)it's really hard to get through to anybody local even if you use the number for the local office. I only managed to speak to somebody at the Merseyside office a total of twice and i explained the phone situation so they gave me an email eventually for the head person there (Catherine i think her name was). The first few people i dealt with at the CAB who pushed through the MR were awesome and extremely helpful and understanding of my particular situation (schizo affective disorder with agoraphobia/anxiety)and they fortunately relayed everything to my local CAB, but there's people who work there who seem to just want to stick to the script and will act like they cannot do anything for you outside of giving you a benefits estimate.with those people just tell em bye and phone again and you will eventually get somebody willing to go the whole hog with ya.

I hope nobody has to go through the BS i went through, but that is exactly what i did to get this resolved without needing to jump through any of the usual DWP hoops

Good luck

poppy220

Has anybody had a home visit yet . I'm very anxious and worried.im due a home visit and wondered how it went. What they ask for how long it is etc would be grateful for any advise.

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1016586#Comment_1016586

Quite a few members on here have had home visits for the UC ID verification. Some have gone better than others. But I don't remember seeing any that failed the verification.

If you have paperwork with your address on and photo ID they will ask to see that. If not they may have to ask biographical questions. If you rent privately they will also want to see the rental agreement. And they should ask to see a bank card for the account where you would like the UC paid as well. I would expect it to take around 15-30 minutes, but that will depend on your circumstances and what types of ID you have available. If you can get everything ready before they arrive, that is ideal.