Problems with ESA moving over to Universal Credit

ahoppy73

Hi everyone new to this so here goes .,, 

ahoppy73

Since leaving school in 89 i have always worked , heavy job in construction , piling , long hours , this finally started taking its toll on my body in 2014 and even though i struggled on with my condition for another year (which perhaps i shouldnt of done .) all came to head and this forced my condition to go past the point of no return ... i was deemed unfit to work in 2015 / 16.. i endured all necccessary tests and asssessments and was put on PIP high rate daily living , ESA at the support ellement rate . This was the case up until Dec 2017 when due to the unfortunate break down of my marraige i had to leave my family home and get my own home . This then meant that i had to start a claim for UC for the sole purpose for me to claim housing benefit. Even though after medicals 2 years previous i needed not send anymore fit notes or visit jobcentre , i now have to do this and even my doctor is scratching his head over why this is now the case . My work coach luckily is very sympathetic and even he doesnt understand why but says his hands are tied with red tape . Now i didnt know that i should be in receipt if LCWWRA as part of my UC as im in the supprt ellement of ESA until i went to Citizens Advice over a different matter and he pointed out that my ESA and everything that goes with it should of just carried over to UC claim and i should be in receipt of LCWWRA . I contacted my work coach and he agreed but could do nothing . A Medical was arranged and again i went to this and as always the medical left me in agony for 2 days after , but even the assessor didnt understand why i was there and i wasnt even in there 8 minutes . Now these medicals are supposed to be minimum 20 mins long . UC said i had to have this medical to determined wether im entitled to LCWWRA or not ... that was a month ago now and im still waiting to hear back .. ive left messages in my journal and spoke to my work coach but they said they can do nothing until they got back report from my medical .. how long does it take to type up a medical of 8 mins ???? ....Everyone ive spoke to cant understand why im going through all this again when all i did was move house its ridiculous uf i hadnt of moved then i wouldnt of been bothered with until my next PIP assessment which isnt until Sept 2019 .. its ridiculous !!! 

CockneyRebel

hi ahoppy and welcome

It is the poor training of the DWP staff that has left you in this situation as most do not understand to transfer proccess

With an existing ESA claim it is only the IR element that comes under UC. You should retain your CB ESA SG old style with a UC top up for HB.

Unfortunately it is not that straight forward in practice as you should be paid UC with your ESA deducted from it

No wonder  they don't understand it.

ESA reassessment date is only a recommended date, ESA is an open ended award and reviews can happen at any time, many reviews are being defered 

Assessment reports can take up to 8 weeks, just keep bugging them

CR

JennysDad

Hello @ahoppy73 and a warm welcome to the community. I am glad you've found us.
You are right, so far as I can see, and it is ridiculous. Unfortunately, 'ridiculous' seems to be what our Lords and Masters do best these days.
You really need to have a word with one of our benefit advisors, I think, so I'll ask you to bear with us and one of them will get back to you as soon as possible.
Warmest best wishes to you,
Richard

ahoppy73

Thank you jennysdad . 

ahoppy73

Hi people in regards to my previous statement , this morning i had to ask on my UC journal for a number whom i could phone to chase up the results of my medical as when i phoned the jobcentre plus number they just said because i was currently  under UC that i would have to deal with them but when i phoned UC they kept saying they was waiting for them so ive had a nice game of tennis over last few weeks .. ridiculous ! No one wanted to accept the responsability and no one had the gonads to make a decission .. well ive just had a message on my journal telling me “ they got the results of my medical on the 27th of march “, and now ive got to wait for “ A deccision maker to accept and authorise “ what a joke ! Just letting people know i definately got more response by addressing my issue on my journal as ‘ A service issue ‘ rather than just a message for my work coach .

whistles

Sorry what's a journal? 

Have you gone from a live service area to a full service, that's seen as a change, but even under UC they have a limited capacity for work element.

ahoppy73

Journal is an online service from UC where you can send e mails to your work coach basically a means of talking to people you need to be talking to its mainly set up for people on UC when actively seeking work which until i get the outcome of the assessment im classed as being .. this means in reality i should b looking for employment !!! And yes the area went fully UC last year ... 

ahoppy73

Nobody including my work coach cannot understand why im there , for me to get my UC i have to be actively seeking employment and i have a two weekly interview either in person or by phone just so i can get my UC .. its ridiculous ive not been able to work for 3 yrs now and its highly likely i will never be able to again . Dont understand why im having to go through this whole process again .. i now have to provide fit notes again aswell which was stopped 2 yrs ago when i went through this process to claim ESA support ellement which i was awarded .. surely my claim for ESA and all that went with it should of just carried through to my UC claim .. my wife was my registered carer , and she helped me when needed as i struggle to do day to day tasks , we unfortunately split last nov and ive had to get my own place and set up from scratch . I now rely on my 13 yr old twin boys whom i have half a week to do my cleaning n so forth as i now dont have anybody to help me . Im in constant agony everyday ... i had a well paid job clearing £1200 pw so you can imagine how much the system has had from me but when it comes to getting some back when needed and entitled to its ridiculous !