Won ESA appeal. But on UC

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Liam_Alumni

Hi @Thistle,

Sorry to hear about the problems you've been having.

@BenefitsTrainingCo, would you be able to help?

BenefitsTrainingCo

Thistle,

I"m sorry but I don't think there is anything you can do about this. You could have gone back onto ESA once you lodged the appeal (before the appeal decision) but this would probably still have involved you having to wait a long time without money. If you want to complain about the advice that said you had to wait until the appeal decision, then you should do so (I'm not sure who gave you that advice), because perhaps if you knew you only had to wait until you lodged the appeal, you would have gone back onto ESA once you had your mandatory reconsideration notice.

However, once you won the appeal, because the tribunal put you into the LCW group (not the support group), you would NOT have got the extra money you get in the support group. There's no way you could have gone into the support group, whether on ESA or UC, because the tribunal must have decided you did not have limited capability for work-related activity.

 If you think that's wrong, then you should start by asking the tribunal written reasons for their decision. I'd do this quickly, because you are already late, and they might not send it out now. If they do, then you could consider whether there is an error of law to allow you to appeal further, but you would probably need help with this from a local advice agency.

If you think you've got worse since the decision which took away your ESA, then you should tell UC - it is possible for you to move to the LCWRA group but there would have to be a new decision based on the evidence (and possibly a new assessment). 

What you are right about is the loss of the SDP - not connected to being in the support group, but connected to being on certain levels of PIP/DLA, living alone & not having a carer. Unfortunately the SDP doesn't exist in UC. Your move to UC is definitely the result of the bad medical & yes, you have lost out because of this.

The good news is that the government have recognised that this is unacceptable and they are introducing a transitional SDP payment. Unfortunately, we don't know when they will start to pay this. The government have produced draft regulations which are out for consultation now. But the consultation runs until 20th August so I don't expect there will be any payments until the autumn at the earliest.

My best advice for the time being is to contact your MP. Tell them that you have lost your extra SDP money as the result of a bad medical and bad DWP decision making. You may have worries about when you will get the transitional payment and whether this will be enough. Your MP could ask questions to get the process speeded up and/or improved.

Meanwhile, getting into the support group is a separate issue. If you feel that you have got worse, and that you shouldn't have to do any work preparation in UC, then tell them and provide any evidence you have. 

Will
 

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WeepingWillow

@Thistle Any admissions you say DWP  have admitted to have to be in writing as they aren't worth a light otherwise.

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poppy123456

Complaints department or not there's nothing they can do because you'll never ever be able to go back onto ESA.

The issue that you think you have is that you were put onto UC in error, when in fact you weren't. Your area was a full UC area which meant you had no choice unless you waited for the Tribunal to accept your appeal and then gone back onto assessment rate for ESA.

The rule changes for those claiming SDP have not changed yet, which means they didn't apply at the time. There's no error in anything expect that you were wrongly advised BUT you should have checked the advice given to you before claiming UC and you failed to do that. Good luck with this.

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poppy123456

I'll be very interested to hear the outcome of this. Are you 100% surethat you've been told you can go back onto ESA and do you have that in writing? Once you claim UC doen't matter the reasons why then you can't go back onto the legacy benefits like ESA.

If you claim Housing benefit with your UC then you won't be able to change back for this either. This is because your area is now a full UC area and the legacy benefits don't exist anymore for your area.

This seems to have happened very quickly...2 days from posting your question and you've put the complaint in and received a reply back saying you can go back onto ESA? hmm. Extremely quick and very unlike the DWP to act this quickly.

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poppy123456

I find that very strange that you've been told the opposite on here to else where, as the benefitsTrainingCo told you the same as i did.

I'm sorry but you've gone from saying you've been told you can go back onto ESA to might not go back onto ESA, i'm completely confused. For this reason, i'll leave you to it and won't post any further replies.

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Ripples

i wish you luck whatever the outcome.

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @Thistle, if you'd like us to delete your account, just let us know by emailing [email protected]