Anyone else having a delay with ESA?

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: Backdated ESA payments.

deerp

I think the ESA backpayments are going to be seriously delayed from now on. I got the paperwork back in June, filled and sent it back promptly. Just came off the phone to them for them to inform me it may take up to March 2020 for it to be processed. I asked why it is taking so long and they said they have 500,000 to process and have had to take on a lot of new staff. They told me to call up once a month. 

Very frustrating. Anyone else going through the same?

Adrian_Scope

Hello @deerp and welcome to the community.
I have heard they were taking close to 20 weeks but June 2019 - March 2020 is a long time to wait! Please let us know when you hear and fingers crossed for you. 

deerp

Hi Adrian,

Thanks for welcome! Yes it is a long time to wait. I was told the reason why is dwp have to check everyone's financial status which for me would not take long as I told them I had no savings at all! 

They must be seriously behind to take up to 9 months to make decisions. I will of course update as and when I hear anything. My advice - don't hold your breath waiting!

jenny_ann

Ive I’ve been waiting 24 weeks now since it went to processing, they told me they had requested from another department bex.bi.docs from the archives but I have no clue what this is or what purpose it’s for

deerp

Hi @jenny_ann

I can help you there. BeX is a computer program called Business Explorer. It can analyze data amongst other things. 

This link may clarify things better for you - 
https://www.google.com/amp/s/searchsap.techtarget.com/definition/BEx?amp=1

In particular there is a sentence that mentions that BeX can be used to analyze financial data between fiscal years. Basically the DWP are checking your financial history on the dates when you are wanting a back payment and just want to confirm that what you have told the on the form they originally sent to you is matching their records on BeX. 

I believe this checking is causing a lot of delays with everyone as it is not a fast process. When you have 500,000 people to check and limited staff to cope, it is leading to extreme delays like for me and you. 

If you hear any good news please let us know. The more positive news regarding back payments is most definitely needed!

jenny_ann

Thank you @deerp I had no clue what it meant.

I think they have processed a lot of the 500,000 I check the government website for updates if this link helps:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esa-underpayments-progress-on-checking-october-2019/october-2019-esa-underpayments-forecast-numbers-affected-forecast-expenditure-and-progress-on-checking


I will update you if I hear anything 

deerp

Thank you very much for that link @jenny_ann that is most informative. That is more information than I've ever been told by dwp when I called them. 

I don't even understand this process to be honest. Looking at what the requirements are, it looks like you need to be seriously disabled or be entitled to other premiums yet the form I had originally was mainly just asking me what savings I had. I fail to see how they can make decisions based just on that form. Doesn't look like many people are getting any back payment now, maybe 10% of all people who have been checked recently. 

I will of course let you know if I hear any good news. I wouldn't worry about the BeX busibess. As I say, they will just be checking your form and see if it corroborates with what you said originally when you were on Sickness Benefit/ESA. Then an arbitrary check with your bank to see if you had a secret stash of savings!

poppy123456

The premiums are not about being seriously disabled.

For ESA there's 2 premiums available, the first one is Enhanced disability premium (EDP) this one is £16.80 per week (single person) and is automatically paid when claiming Income Related ESA, in the Support Group. For those in the WRAG or assessment rate ESA then you need to be claiming Enhanced daily living PIP or high rate care DLA to be able to claim it.

Then there's Severe disability premium, this one isn't automatically paid and to claim it you must be claiming either DLA mid/high rate care, PIP daily living or Attendance Allowance. You must also live alone or be classed as living alone and no one must be claiming carers allowance or the carers element of Universal credit for looking after you. It's also only paid with Income Related ESA. SDP is £65.85 per week single person ( £131.70) per week for couples. Information in this link.

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/severe-disability-premium

jenny_ann

@deerp I don’t have a secret stash of savings I wish I did though hehe

jenny_ann

@poppy123456 thank you. I was single and put onto contributory ESA from IB with mid rate care on DLA and in the support group from July 2012-July 2014 before I moved to pip from DLA then suddenly I was given more money on my ESA a severe disability amount. Not sure if I will get anything but it would help as now im on UC and it’s absolutely terrible to survive 

deerp

Good morning @poppy123456

Looking at the gov.uk site, to get income-related ESA, it looks to me you need more than the basic sickness benefit and need to be on extra premiums or at the very least be eligible for them. I do recall for a brief time I was on disability living allowance (low component) but pretty sure I was always on contributory sickness/esa. 
 Below is from gov.uk. That's why I'm confused with the form they sent to me originally when they mainly concentrated on savings. Apart from a few questions about who I was living with and rent/mortgage arrangements, none of the questions were related to how disabled you are to possibly qualify for premiums or income based ESA.

1. Extra payments, called premiums, are available only to qualifying customers who are eligible for income-related benefits. These include the Enhanced Disability, Severe Disability, Carer, and Pensioner Premiums.

2. Largely between January 2011 and October 2014 some people receiving Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance had their claims converted to contributory ESA. However, the possibility of whether they may also have been entitled to income-related ESA was not considered for all cases. This means they may have missed out on the payment of premiums, such as the Enhanced Disability Premium.

deerp

@jenny_ann I might advise the dwp the next time I call that they will have better luck trying to find a needle in a haystack than finding any savings for me! If they do happen to find any, they can send the details to me so I can access the savings myself haha! 

The amount of tax payers money for this is beyond a joke. 

I also hope the dwp provides the punchline when they finally get round to finishing this debacle as I'm struggling to find anything amusing with this joke.

poppy123456

jenny_ann said:

@poppy123456 thank you. I was single and put onto contributory ESA from IB with mid rate care on DLA and in the support group from July 2012-July 2014 before I moved to pip from DLA then suddenly I was given more money on my ESA a severe disability amount. Not sure if I will get anything but it would help as now im on UC and it’s absolutely terrible to survive 

If you were claiming severe disability premium between those dates then it's very likely you were receiving the correct amount of money. The SDP is only paid on Income related so you must have been claiming the income related top up at some point to receive the premium.

What was the reason you claimed UC and when you claimed it were you claiming ESA within 1 month before you moved across? If so were you claiming severe disability premium in with your ESA when you claimed UC?

jenny_ann

@poppy123456 only got the severe disability premium once I was shifted to pip in late 2014/2015 I never got this whilst on esa but I was on mid rate care.

my son turned 18 so apparently you can’t get the severe disablement amount and my area moved me onto UC when he turned 18

poppy123456

deerp said:

Good morning @poppy123456

Looking at the gov.uk site, to get income-related ESA, it looks to me you need more than the basic sickness benefit and need to be on extra premiums or at the very least be eligible for them.

Not sure what you mean by "basic sickness benefit" If you're claiming Contributions based ESA then to claim the income related top up will depend on your circumstances between the dates stated in the letter.

Income related benefits are means tested and savings/capital, household income, pensions, partner working are all some of things that count when they calculate any entitlement to the income related top up (premiums)

poppy123456

jenny_ann said:

@poppy123456 only got the severe disability premium once I was shifted to pip in late 2014/2015 I never got this whilst on esa but I was on mid rate care.

my son turned 18 so apparently you can’t get the severe disablement amount and my area moved me onto UC when he turned 18

Sorry but now i'm confused. The SDP is paid on top of certain income related benefits, it's not paid in with your PIP payment.

If you were still claiming child benefit for your son when he reached 18 then you were still entitled to the SDP. What was the reason you were moved to UC when your son reached 18 because the transfer hasn't taken place yet. The only way you should have claimed UC is if you had a change of circumstances at that time.

Unfortunately, no premiums are paid with UC.

deerp

@poppy123456

Right I have had another in-depth look at the difference between contributory and income related. You get put on contributory if you have paid enough National Insurance stamps but I'm not sure whether that's in total or a certain period prior to receiving ESA. 

I was actually on Sickness Benefit/ESA for mental health related issues including severe depression, anxiety and one other disorder I'd like to remain private. I was on these benefits for at least 10 years. The period they are checking for me is near the end of my time on ESA. Suffice to say I wasn't doing any kind of work to pay any NI and hadn't since around 1997/1998. It's making me second guess as to whether at some point between when I was put on contributory sickness/ESA and coming off it around 2013 whether I would have been eligible for income based. It's all very confusing!

jenny_ann

Hi Poppy @poppy123456 sorry for the confusion, here are my full circs 

I tried in August 2014 to return to work. I was in the support group but wanted to try and I had suffered PTSD and mental health issues following a violent sexual attack whilst out by a stranger. It didn’t work trying to get back to work and I was put back on esa, I was on pip then not DLA and suddenly when I returned to esa in March 2015 I was given the premium that I didn’t get before trying to get back to work.

I don’t get CB for my son he is now looking for work and on UC which provoked a housing benefit change/tex credit and I was told I had to go on UC.

poppy123456

deerp said:

@poppy123456

Right I have had another in-depth look at the difference between contributory and income related. You get put on contributory if you have paid enough National Insurance stamps but I'm not sure whether that's in total or a certain period prior to receiving ESA. 

That's correct BUT all those that transferred from IB to ESA were placed onto Contributions based ESA and some weren't assessed for any Income Related top up. Whether you're entitled to any backdated money between the dates stated in the letter you received will totally depend on your circumstances at the time. Very difficult to give any further advice on an internet forum because no one knows your exact circumstances during those dates.

poppy123456

jenny_ann said:

Hi Poppy @poppy123456 sorry for the confusion, here are my full circs 

I tried in August 2014 to return to work. I was in the support group but wanted to try and I had suffered PTSD and mental health issues following a violent sexual attack whilst out by a stranger. It didn’t work trying to get back to work and I was put back on esa, I was on pip then not DLA and suddenly when I returned to esa in March 2015 I was given the premium that I didn’t get before trying to get back to work.

I don’t get CB for my son he is now looking for work and on UC which provoked a housing benefit change/tex credit and I was told I had to go on UC.

I understand now, thanks for explaining that. Whether you're entitled to any backdated money will depend on your circumstances during the dates stated. Very difficult to give any further advice on an internet forum because no one knows your exact circumstances. Once a decision's made DWP will send the decision letter too you.

I do think though that you were given incorrect advice about having to claim UC at the time because your son ending education is not classed as a change of circumstances that will prompt a move to UC. Unfortunately, it's too late for that now because you're already claiming UC and you can't go back.