ESA stopped

dkb123

My esa has stopped on the 15th January 2018, I received no notification at all ,
On The  3rd Feb I had a letter saying I Was due a repayment of arrears ,but it would not be paid due to the fact they were checking if I was really due to it 
On the 14th March another letter saying they could pay me a slightly higher rate per week up until the 16th Jan the last line say we can't pay you the benefit anymore because the law does not allow us to, I didn't think this was strange because I get this kind of letter all the time due to my partner working casual work all the time with no fixed pattern 
On the 6th of March they sent me a work Capability assessment form which I completed and sent in on time  , I started to worry things were not right and I wrote to them on the 20 April with no response or to my 3 telephone calls which I waited over an hour but no reply,
Then I received a P45  dated 15th Jan 2018, 
I sent another letter and still nothing 
My partner when to the jobcenter and applied for JSA but was turned away ,because he was part of my ESA claim, and as an , aside they said your partner is working ,
I have been disabled for over 10 years and claim PIP standard rate for both  and a 2 Heart attacks so I was very surprised at this news 
It turns out that I was supposed to attend a compliance interview on the 10th Jan, which I knew nothing about , The CAB say go to and see a solicitor , so I have and when I could find one they wanted £250 per Hour which I have not got ,so they said legal aid is available for criminal cases but no one has said anything about this or charges ,
 so I complain to my MP who never responds, so what do I do , no one is responding ,answering calls or replying to letters ,  it's too costly to take legal action and the advice agencies in my area just say its too complicated to deal with   

steve51

Hi @dkb123

Good Evening & Welcome my Friend.

I’m very very sorry to hear about your current problems/situation.

We have got some “Benefit Advisors” here on our site.

They will be ideal for you hopefully!!!!

I will forward your post onto them straightaway.

They are extremely busy currently so I can’t give you a timescale in getting back to you.

If you need it “sooner rather than later” please please let me know ????

 Hi @BenefitsTrainingCo

Can you please help me with this tricky post???

Many Thanks.

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @dkb123, I'm so sorry to hear this. How are you doing, have you heard anything else since?

dkb123

no ,I did have an email from the MPs team asking to submit a letter I had already sent them 

Topkitten

I would suggest contacting the Citizens Advice Bureau for advice. Solicitors are very expensive and often unnecessary. However, it is likely to be difficult to prove that you haven't received paperwork if they claim to have sent it. I do not know how that situation is viewed. No matter what though I would advise you to keep a closer eye on your bank balance so that you know much sooner when things are going wrong, not that I am personally any better at that myself. It's a case of "Do as I say and not do as I do", lol!

TK

dkb123

I reply to 2] ESA50 ,nothing s been heard of it since it was sent in  
3 ]I don't know they will not tell me what it was to do with 

dkb123

I have contacted the CAB and seen a solicitor but dont have the money to pay him to send a letter 

dkb123

how can I do an MR when I don't know why the benefit has stopped and the DWP have not replied to the last letter 8 weeks ago which included a request for an MR, what is there to disagree with

Lynette1066

I would check your bank account and see which benefit has not been paid. Or call DWP and ask for the next payment dates of all benefits. This way you may see which one has been stopped. Then ask for a MR. I think I will be in the same position after Maximus medical.

dkb123

Which is fine but they haven't responded to previous letter or calls ,so why do you think they will respond to what you suggest  

Lynette1066

I would write a letter to your Member of Parliament. Stating the basic facts and lack of information regarding you cannot get a  correct response from the DWP.

dkb123

which as been done 4,weeks ago re my post of 30 June 

Lynette1066

Sorry I am new hear. Best of luck.

dkb123

OK I will fill in the form and see what happens 

annmariescantlebury

I am interested to know what is MR can you tell me please, thank you

[Deleted User]

Hello  everyone especially dkb123

Could I also suggest that you contact them 10 days to a fortnight after you have sent this letter to them, to make sure that they have received it (in my experience, it usually takes well over a week for it to get through the DWP systems, so that an operator on the phone will be able to confirm the letter has been received).

Then keep a record of the name of the person you spoke to to get this confirmed, the date, the time of day and what was said. Ask that person for an idea as to how long it will take for your letter to receive consideration.

Etc etc. Dull but necessary.

Good luck. Do keep us all informed about how you get on. 

Best wishes

Gill_Scope
Benefits and Finance Specialist
Scope Helpline
Tel: 0808 800 3333

dkb123

I sent in the MR and have not received a response , but I got a letter from my MP,she says that the reason that my benefit was stopped was because of non attendance on the 10th Jan , which I already knew , and she gives a phone number of the DWP for me to ring ,which I will tomorrow 

dkb123

rang the DWP a few days later and they agreed that the compilanene etter had gone to my old address and the system had not updated it for 3 months , The operator said he would put thing right but still no money 

[Deleted User]

Hi dkb123

I think it would be time to try to get say your MP to intervene.

You have been patient, the DWP need to get their act together now. 

Gill_Scope

dkb123

my ESA has been reinstated from 16th Jan this year  they have paid the basic NI rate of £83 plus £33 supplement, now during that time my partner was in and out of work , so do they pay more out of work and is his income taken off during the working periods  

poppy123456

dkb123 said:

 they have paid the basic NI rate of £83 plus £33 supplement,

Not sure what you mean by this. Contributions based ESA is £110.75 per week.

As you were claiming as a couple then it would have been income related ESA and yes, anything your partner earned that was over £20 per week, will be taken off your ESA £1 for £1.