ESA sent my migration letter to the wrong address..

Stevn

Hi.

If anybody could help me out I would appreciate it very much.

I am homeless and had been on ESA, in the Support group, for years. When I became homeless, due to repeated rent increases that I simply couldn't afford in the end, I gave the ESA my sisters address as a care of address, both on the phone and in writing. I sent a letter to them along with proof I was (and still am) on the council housing waiting list.

Last month I received a random one week payment before it was my usual payment was due, which has always been fortnightly and was usually around £360 a fortnight. I rang them to ask why I had gotten said payment and was told because I'm migrating to Universal Credit. I told them it's the the first I've heard about it and haven't been sent a migration letter yet. She asked for my address and I told her I don't have an address (I'm literally living in the back of a car) but they have my sisters as a care of address, she asked for my previous address, which I had to give up two years ago and she said that is the address they have for me on the system. I told her I've given my sister's address both on the phone and in writing as I said, she put me on hold to look into it, then came back apologised said yes the change of address is in my files but for some reason it had not been updated on the system and the migration letter had been sent to my former address. She told me to make a claim for UC asap and she will try to do something about it and get back to me (she hasn't yet). I rang the UC migration hotline to explain to them what has happened and the guy told me that although my deadline had technically passed, as long as I claim by June the 9th everything will be alright. I made a claim straight away, the same day.

I was told by both the woman at the ESA and the guy at UC migration hotline to write in the journal what has happened, which I did, I ended up writing multiple messages because I didn't have a clue how to use it nor what was going on. A guy eventually replied and rang me and told me they will be able to help me out and get my claim backdated after I have been to an ID confirmation at the jobcentre, I had been given an appointment in the town where my sister lives because I had also given the UC her address as a care of address, which is over 20 miles from where I'm usually based, but regardless I said ok I will go to it and when I did the woman there treated me like I was a fool, told me I had missed my deadline and I had to start attending job search interviews or I will get nothing, and made me the first commitment interview later that afternoon, I asked for a number to ring because that's just not right and I rang them outside the job centre, was told she shouldn't have said that, that she had already cancelled the interview she told me I had to go to and that they're sorry for everything being messy, it's usually straightforward, I've had a hard time with migration, because I was in the support group then I just had to accept the commitments on the phone he read out, which is basically tell them if my circumstances change and to check the journal now and then and they will sort everything out for me, which I did, and I thought they did?

The next day in the journal it had changed from having to wait until the 25th June for a decision to the 11th, which I was happier about, then it changed to my award has been backdated to the 9th of May because I made a claim within one month of the migration deadline and I had been awarded the standard allowance… and migration protection extra money £0 and this is because your award is not less than you was previously getting? £400 a month is clearly less than the £360ish a fortnight I was previously getting, by quite a lot. I messaged the journal person (on the 11th) and they told me my case is still going through steps with a specialist team and he will update me, I've not heard anything yet, but it has been the weekend and I have been paid the £400 (which almost covers what I've had to borrow to pay car insurance and buy food for the last 5 weeks) and I have my next statement now telling me I will be paid £400 again in another month. and again with £0 extra.

I already appreciate anyone who has read through this and my question is, how come it's saying I'm not entitled to any extra money because it's not less than I was getting, when it clearly is much less than I was getting? I've read I should automatically be in LCWRA group seen as I was in the Support Group on ESA (which I was in due to mental health issues btw, I suffer from psychosis, schizophrenia and a occasional overwhelming depression etc), but I have no award for this, only the standard allowance and £0 extra because apparently 400 is not less, never mind almost half, what I have been getting. Will I have to wait longer for the LCWRA to be added? will I have to wait for who knows how long for some kind of assessment? though I've read I shouldn't? any help or advice at all will be great, thanks.

IeyeIeye

I hope you can get it all sorted, and soon for your peace of mind.

If it's being dealt with by a specialist team that is hopefully a positive thing. Perhaps call for that update if you don't hear from them soon.

I know that if you were in the support group of ESA you shouldn't need to be re-assessed, and as you said, should be placed in the LCWRA group of UC.

OverlyAnxious

Don't take too much notice of the word 'specialist', anyone can call themselves that… It just means a separate team, not the Work Coaches or the Call Handlers.

As your situation is 'messy', it's difficult to know what will happen now.

If you had claimed within the deadline, then you should automatically get LCWRA. You won't get any Transitional Protection if you didn't get SDP with your old ESA as basic rate plus LCWRA is more money than old ESA was.

However, if they're treating your claim as new, due to being past the deadline, then you would have to go through another Work Capability Assessment in order to get LCWRA added. And you wouldn't get any TP there because it's treated as a new claim.

The fact that your statement mentions TP suggests that it is being treated as a migration. If that is the case then you just need to wait for ESA to send your info across to UC. There are delays for this at the moment due to number of migrations putting extra pressure on the system.

Stevn

Thanks, so I guess I just wait have to wait a little longer, before I ask for the mandatory reconsideration and then possibly put in an appeal then. the two people I spoke to on the phone after getting grief off the woman at the jobcentre ID confirmation both told me I'm migrating, not starting a new claim, though the woman on in the job centre had just insisted I have to.

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1037830#Comment_1037830

Yes, that's definitely being treated as a migration. LCWRA should be added soon without any need for another assessment.

Stevn

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1037832#Comment_1037832

Thanks, this makes me less anxious about it all, I was doing my best trying to look up the process and came upon this website thread. Obviously if I had gotten the migration letter I would have sorted this all out by now and perhaps even had some kind of idea what was supposed to happen. I guessed that they'd award whatever they was going to give me together, rather just leaving the LCWRA till later and telling me my award is not less than I was getting. Hopefully it will be sorted sooner rather than later, I've had to pay 2 months car insurance (again, I sleep in the back of the car, it's been my accommodation since I became homeless two years ago) out of my overdraft, since the ESA suddenly stopped my usual payments, and that alone was over £300. The £400 I've just got shas taken me to close to getting out of my overdraft, If I have to wait another month, going further and further into my overdraft, for another only another £400, then that would suck, a lot.

chiarieds

Hi @Stevn - & welcome to the forum. I don't know if I'm adding to the discussion as I don't claim UC, but wondered if it might be possible to get an advance payment. These are normally for while you're waiting to receive your first UC payment, which altho you have, as you well realise, has not as yet included the LCWRA element.

It might be worth asking Shelter due to your difficult circumstances, or simply ask UC, tho knowing what they're like then it might be an idea to ask Shelter first! If you could get one, they need to be paid back out of your UC, but are interest free. Posting 'just in case': https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/benefits/universal_credit_advances

Stevn

Thanks, but besides the reassurance here, I've no idea if, or when, they are intending adding the LCWRA element. I rang and asked about it (and asked why it said £400 for a month is not less than the approximately £760 a month I was previously getting) and asked about it in the journal, the person on the phone mentioned they might need me to go to a health assessment and I

got this reply on the 11th in the journal. nothing else yet, besides getting the above payment yesterday and a statement for the same standard allowance amount next due on the 15th of July.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Stevn

• £720

Roughyed1485

I’m just glad that I’m probably one of a few that won’t be receiving a migration letter. I’m currently in the Support Group with ESA and I’ve been told when I rang them up that I wouldn’t be receiving a migration letter and would be staying in the support group. I can imagine so many people are worried sick about the transition over to Universal Credit. The DWP don’t like to make things easy and clear cut with there forms and questions. Of course the Labour Government and Rachel Reeves going after those of us that are too disabled to work.

Stevn

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1038089#Comment_1038089

I had known about the migration process thing going on for a while, but seen as I wasn't to do anything until I had been the letter, as time passed I thought maybe they aren't swapping me over and leaving me as it is. I just hope the UC sort it out, because I need to be able to pay car insurance and road tax etc as it's the roof over my head, I don't think it would be covered by housing benefit, but I have been able to make it work with what I've got since I had to give up my house, and I'm definitely too disabled to work unfortunately, I used to do, but was beaten within an inch of my life one day, I still have a bad shoulder injury from it, but since then I started getting bad mental health problems, seeing and hearing things that apparently aren't real, ended in the mental health unit, and I have every single symptom of schizophrenia, I don't think they attack caused it, but triggerred it's development, so yeah, it's the mental health rather than the physical disability I was in the support group for. The last time the ESA sent me to an assessor, they ticked some boxes decided I was perfectly fine and able to work and function perfectly in society, so I had to appeal that and then to court where they eventually had to put me in the Support group and pay me a lump sum backdated, and now the ESA screwed me with this due to their mistake not updating the system, although I double informed them. I really hope I don't have to go through all that again, as it took more or less a whole year, and I wasn't homeless and was less vulnerable back then

Roughyed1485

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1038097#Comment_1038097

Blimey Steven you’ve certainly been put through the wringer big time 😳 I just hope they can sort everything out and make the transition smooth for you. I’m on Universal and they cover my rent alongside subsidiaries that come along with it. I’m on PIP, ESA, Universal. I’m worried sick myself about being messed around by PIP in 2027 when they reassess me, have me fill paperwork out, not sure how things are going to work out with ESA if I have to go through an assessment with them. It just sickens me to the core how the disabled, elderly and infirm are being targeted by the Labour Government and Rachel Reeves.

Stevn

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1038099#Comment_1038099

Yeah, I see random articles about this current government going after disabled, elderly and infirm, not really what I'd have expected from Labour, but seen as I didn't have an address, I was unable to vote so it's not my fault :) I don't know anything about PIP or other benefits, I know when I moved into my previous a address that they gave me around 325 pound housing benefit towards my rent, which was only £410 when I signed the tenancy agreement, so I paid the rest with my ESA. then every 6 months the landlord started increasing it and when it got to him asking me for £675 a month I just had to give up, I didn't want to go in a hostel with dodgy people so thought I will just sleep in my car until the council offer me somewhere affordable, I've been on the waiting list for two years now.

Roughyed1485

Crikey that’s truly shocking 😮 can’t imagine what it’s like having to sleep in your car, very very scary place to be. All councils and housing are stretched to breaking points. I was dumped by my ex wife in October 2023, I ended up in a mental health unit on suicide watch, then I was living in a Supported Living property where I had 24 hour Support Workers on site for 3 months, then living in a multi occupancy house for six months where it’s fair to say two occupants did further damage to my mental health and I had 3 hours of Support a week from a Support Worker. All the while from me being in the mental health unit to being in the MOH, I was bidding on housing in Cumbria and Montrose & Angus. That was until Derby Homes emailed me to say that due to me not bidding on any properties that they were closing my account! I didn’t even know I had an account set up. I rang them up and the woman at the other end said, “right what is it you have” I went through all of my health conditions and at the end she just said “you need to bid on housing for someone over 60” I was like what the bleep. I was only 40 at the time, I bid on some properties, I was successful in being able to view a flat that had a stairlift and had been empty since April. I went with my Support Worker and viewed it and had to climb the stairs as the stairlift had been removed. I took one look around the flat and said I’ll take it! In five years I’ve gone from being a support worker to now being a service user, I’ve had a lot of maintenance and adaptations since I moved in. I got slated by a dear friend early last year for saying I was homeless! I told her straight that I although I was living in care and had a roof over my head, I was still classed as homeless, If it’s anything I’ve learned since October 2023, is how much people are judgemental and highly opinionated!