Backdating housing benefit

MarkH73

Hi to all hope everyone is havinv a good start to the year.....Well im trying to find out if any of you have had housing benofit backdated oved a year ( well 94 weeks tbh) as dwp recently put me back on my old style esa however i have to repay UC for my issue is that over half of it was on my rent ( but i still have to pay uc back this ) wolud leave me in essance paying the whole of my own rent myself eventhough i am entitled to the 74.15 ( it was march 2019 when i was wronlgy taken off esa)  so if they are  reinstating my esa will they reinstate my housing from march 2019 as its some 6.5 to 7 k  ( and again i am/was entilted to it but its not been my fault ive been messed around by dwp for last 21 months ) as its me thats physically out of pocket by that amount at mo ....if anyone of you wonderful people could point me in right direction or advice will be more than gratefully received.....thank you 

woodbine

ok why was you taken off ESA? and how have the DWP messed you around for 21 months? Have you spoken to the DWP about this?

MarkH73

Got assessed no points what so ever so they could kick me onto UC  ( won esa tribunal june 2020)  shouldmt been on UC as getting SDP then week before xmas was offered go bk where i was on old style esa ....so 15000 i owe UC but over half of that is rent ....hope this explains it better for you woodbine

woodbine

Personally I think you need to speak to either cab or welfare rights.

MarkH73

Aye waiting on phone appointment with cab thanks 

janer1967

Hi and welcome 

This is a bit complex for anyone to answer tho one of our benefits experts may help 

Will you be entitled to any back pay from esa to pay the UC payment ? 

MarkH73

Any help or guidance wolud be appreciated 

MarkH73

And yes by my working about 2 to 3 k  mre esa so covers UC  but again its this 6.5 to 7k in rent entitlement  of 74.15 pw that im.having to pay which leaves me well out of pocket for something that's not my fault 

poppy123456

HI,

I remember trying to help you on a previous thread. My advice is still the same and you should get some expert advice because it's very complex. Although my opinion is that your rent has been paid through UC so i don't understand why you need to pay that back to only have to reclaim it all back again through housing benefit. It seems a rather pointless exercise to me.

MarkH73

I know exactly what you are saying as ive not complaints paying anything i actually owe back but paying back something im entitled too and tryimg to reclaim off another government body just putting  unnecessary  obstacles infront of poelpe like me that need help on a daily basis generally 

poppy123456

I just can't see the logic in paying back your housing element to DWP to have to backdate a housing benefit claim for the same length of time.

Just the same as having to pay back your other elements of UC and then to backdate the ESA claim because ESA and UC are both part of DWP

MarkH73

Yeh confusing me too but may have ask esa to with hold housing entitlement part untill its been sorted out ( cant see them doing that keeping bk monies another government agency tbh but cant hurt asking as i feel like im going to have to fight that now on top of everything else lol) 

poppy123456

There's no housing element part to ESA.

MarkH73

Yes i know as i wss claiming housing benefit at 74.15 pw when i was on esa last time hence the 94 weeks now im out of pocket unless housing back date it....but tganx any way poppy

poppy123456

How can you be out of pocket when you were claiming the housing element of UC. They have very similar rules, the only difference is the non dependent deduction rules are different. For you, the housing element and housing benefit pay the same amount. 

MarkH73

I have to pay a total of 15000 back to UC as thats total amount ( housing and uc benifit payments)  so im paying back all housing hence why im out if pocket as ive actually paid the whole rent myself now as ive got to pay bk uc (:full amount including housing element ) so im entitled to 74.15 pw housing benifit any way no matter on uc or esa so  since tgey put me bk on esa i am owed that entitlement of 74.15 pw as i would have got and recieved whilst on esa so some 94 weeks at mo ....can you see what im saying now poppy..??   Hope this helps you understand better thanx

woodbine

@MarkH73 were you claiming HB through the council? as poppy says there is no housing element to ESA.
But to go back a few post it looks complicated and either CAB or welfare rights might be best. 

MarkH73

Yes  i was claiming 74.15 off housing ie local council when on esa hence when i pay back total uc aprox 15k  i would have in essance payed my whole rent  myself for last 94 wks eventhough i am eligible for the 74.15 pw due to being put back on esa im out of pocket 6970.10 at mo...dunno how else to explain it  as if i take housing entitlement of 74.15 (6970.10) off total uc payments then its only 7953.61 i owe uc not the 14.9 k  its not my fault theyve actually put me back  on esa so the housing in an honest world should accept that and pay me what im entitled too for the same time period as if i wasnt kicked off esa 2019 id have still been claiming local authority housing benefit  anyhoo hope this explains better thank you for your comment and advice

poppy123456

I understand you perfectly well. I just don’t see the logic in having to pay back all the UC, including the housing element and then try to get your housing benefit backdated almost 2 years. 

MarkH73

Like i said its baffling me and my mental health condition dnt help as i think the worse at times and see them more trying to trip me and others up rather than actually help them n make things easy ....and these days its owt to save a few quid i will see what cab has to say n how this week plays out as answers week supposedly according to esa

MarkH73

Im hoong to phone dwp debt management too to see if i can dispute this and if so how ...will let you all know how it goes as new territory for me as ive not heard anyone being put bk on esa from uc so no previous path  to follow 

Ross_Scope

Hi @MarkH73

Just wanted to wish you all the best with this. You have our full support and let us know how you get on. I hope the advice above has helped you.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @MarkH73. 
I was involved with a very similar case to yours (and know of one other). Sadly as illogical as it seems they each had to pay back the full amount of UC (including housing element) and then claim backpay from Housing Benefit and ESA etc.
Could you confirm that your ESA claim has been reinstated, with SDP on top and your UC claim closed? 

I definitely agree that specialist advice is needed here. Have you managed to get support from CAB or Welfare Rights? 

MarkH73

Still waiting on an appointment with cab and this week supposedly get confirmation of esa n sdp then i can put in housing benefit forms then see what happens from there but i will keep you updated thanks 

Adrian_Scope

I know you claimed UC in March 2019 when you lost ESA, but if you had SDP before that, it's my understanding that it still should have applied to your Housing Benefit so they should never have let you claim UC at all @MarkH73.
It might be worth you challenging the decision for your Housing Benefit to end - obviously it ended because you claimed UC, but the argument is that you shouldn't have been able to claim UC, so your HB shouldn't have ended.
Point 3 here may be of use to you: Changes to the Severe Disability Premium Process. 

Best of luck and please let us know how you get on. 

MarkH73

Yes its basicly taken them over a yr n haf to come up with this offer as i was supposed to be still getting sdp and yes they shouldn't have put me on uc but they should have put me on old style  jc ( as ive found out recently) then id still have claimed local authority housing but im going to phone dwp up and ask them if i can dispute housing part uc and put thst psrt on hold until it has been sorted out ( wnt hold my breath for an agreement lol ) but no harm in asking i suppose but thank you and all on here fir your advice and guidance....very much appreciated 

MissA83

Hi,
Don't know if you have sorted out your benefit situation yet.
It is worth noting that all Government agencies are suppost to have 'due regard' or look into how their decision is going to affect you. This is because the Public Sector Equality Duty says they must. This is under the Equality Act 2010. If they can't show that they have done this then they have broken the law. You are entitled to compensation for this.
I don't know if this is helpful to you but it might help them hurry things along.

MarkH73

Oh right thanx for info and no ive got to phone esa back up o  friday as ive asked them for paper work to add to housing application so will update once i know what's going on...but thank you again knowledge is power as they say 

MissA83

Ask them if they can send you a copy of your conversations just in case you need to prove what was said. I always write down the date and time I called them to prove that I have called so they can't say you haven't.
I have speech difficulties and cognitive difficulties so I can't always remember what was said. It's good to have something written down so you can refer back to it. I email if I can as I can't call them anymore due to my disability getting worse. If you have something written down you can't be taken advantage of either.

MarkH73

Yes o keep a record of calls and what was discussed and with whom but its always good to remember keep a record thsnk you

MissA83

Sorry if I sound patronising.
I have been taken advantage of in the past. I don't want it to happen to anyone else.

MarkH73

No no youre not so dnt worry ....its good to keep info out there n fresh in people's minds...😀