Phone call from UC about why I've not migrated from ESA yet.

Vulcress

Hello.

The phone went and the Gentleman was from UC, Said previously on here I am terrified of everything DWP related owing to pretty much everything always going wrong since I was a teenager. I have till Aug 2nd to start the UC application over from ESA/Support group. The Gentleman on the phone wanted to know why I had not started the application then he said was I aware if I delayed any longer it could mean I would lose transitional protection and my ESA would end. Forcing me to make a new UC Claim.

I explained to him the problems in getting a new bank account sorted owing to the delays in getting valid ID. He told me its best I start the application on Monday

I had been planning to start it Wednesday as im due a payment on that day.

If I did start the claim on Monday would that mean that payment on Wednesday would not go ahead? Im trying to distance myself from the instant fear I have about them but his entire attitude was so pushy very stern. The questions I asked he just brushed over.

he just kept saying how late I have left it. I am dreading this

Kimi87

You can start your application now, after each section you'll have the chance to save and come back later. If you need to edit anything this can only be done after you've filled out all the sections.

Once you've started you have 28 days to actually submit the form.

Our usual advice is to apply for UC the day after an ESA payment, this helps ensure the final ESA payment (known as the run on payment) is for the full amount.

So if you start now, everything would then be ready to submit the claim Thursday after your ESA payment, and in time for your migration deadline on the 2nd.

Vulcress

Kimi thank you so much,

The local charity were going to send someone out to help me but she's been off ill for 2 weeks, they know the situation with me if I get even a minor infection it turns into sepsis.

I will always fall apart when dealing with the DWP, I was just taken aback by how pushy this gentleman was, I have all the documents proving the huge delay was getting the ID and bank account sorted it took nearly 8 weeks there in total but that side is all now sorted and up and running. thank you so much.

Vulcress

Hello.

So the process started, it went a bit quiet for a bit then seven journal entries very close together, then the phone went and it was the local job centre, My sister asked was it to confirm my ID, the person said no. They have booked a 30 minute call next week to go through my commitments, even though this was checked during the application.

My sister asked the person was there a problem and they said no its the law, But my brother never had this, but the person also said "the large proportion of the claim is the new style ESA", so she wanted to confirm they did know it was a migration from ESA/Support group to UC, they said yes. I have no savings literally apart from about 75 pounds. Been open about everything because I know they know everything.

I just wonder please are these calls normal? the person seemed quite shocked my brother never had one. Dealing with them owing to historical incidents has been horrendous to be honest, Not slept in 4 days and not eating either sorry to sound OTT.

I did have another full ESA payment this week, think what's worried me more UC has barely been mentioned its all about this new style ESA. But I started off on SDA as a teenager then moved onto ESA support group when that came into being.

Again thank you for the replies, take care.

OverlyAnxious

Hi,

New Style ESA does add a bit of complexity to the migration. Perhaps your brother doesn't get NS ESA?

You do need to accept commitments for both separately, and moving forward will need to inform both UC and NS ESA of any changes as they are separate benefits managed by separate teams within the DWP.

Your initial UC entitlement is calculated based on your old ESA. But then New Style will pay you around £600 a month. That £600 gets deducted from UC, so your UC payment ends up being just £200 or so. So it will appear that NS ESA is the majority in your case, but you would get exactly the same money on UC without NS ESA, so it's a lot of hassle for no actual gain in reality.

Vulcress

Again thank you,

apparently he is also on New Style ESA/UC.

one thing we've noticed they processed his migration via the regional centre

mine seems to being done a the local job centre.

thank you for breaking down those numbers at the moment I get 489, every 2 weeks.

it does seem daft to move you off ESA to put you back on ESA when the entire point of UC was to put all the payment into one place. Thank you for explaining the need to make 2 commitments. Tomorrow I find out if something more sinister is going on in my throat and bowel so the past week has just been the worst since Dad died. when he was alive i miss him so much because on issues like this he was utterly amazing.

Vulcress

The phone call was good the person was actually lovely,

within seconds put me at ease explained everything, she went to check right back and from the start of the ESA it was always contribution/income related even though she saw I had never been able to work, Today the hell started my sister noticed an entry in the journal no email it was from a different center, they asked for proof of the tenancy and saw my brother was on it and mum so they asked if we could change the non dependents on the claim form (remove them) as they were listed twice, she did this and within 5 minutes the center that's been dealing with it send a very stern message saying why was wrong information submitted in the 1st place, they wanted to know what the situation was with me sister, she pointed out in the original claim she made sure the setup was put in the journal. It became clear this person had not read it or the message from the other center to remove the duplicate. The wait for the CAB/UC helpline was huge so she sent another message to this person if things were still incorrect could they please at least tell us has it been sorted now if not could they help us, that was 5 hours ago and nothing.

The health news is not good to be honest and after this week I just broke down crying, I rarely do that I know if Dad was around he would have been on the phone and got answers within one call. I cannot believe the difference between the local center and this regional one. It really just started with then requesting we remove the duplicate and the JPEG of the agreement was enough. My sister does not live her she stays over 3 nights a week like last night I was awake till 5am owing to the bleeding. Without her I would have to go into care.

the consultant just rung now and he's furious after all the letters about what stress does to the vessels around the heart its just not registering with them. So tonight we are just a bag of nerves wondering has it been corrected, etc

Vulcress

So another email at 18:30 they wanted me to readd the names of the people (mum and my brother) they asked me to remove earlier.

If this triggers another request to remove them I think I better escalade to a higher level.

At least the person who replied was a lot less severe. Sorry for rambling. when they said about me having 4 more courses of a more severe chemotherapy "just to try it" I told them I had to think about it, the lack of any encouragement or optimism was so noticeable