Careers allowance rejected because they thought I was getting CB ESA

1spursuk

Hi I applied for careers allowance but got rejected they said I was getting esa contribution based but I called esa they confirmed I'm getting income based esa 

This is what I currently get 

calcotti

When saying that they cannot pay you Carer's Allowance I assume they have said that you have an 'underlying entitlement' to CA. If so you should tell ESA who should then add the carer premium to your ESA (an extra £37.70/week).

Whether or not you are paid CA will then make no difference to how much money you get in total because if the CA is paid it will be deducted from the ESA anyway.

You can nonetheless persist in trying to get CA and ESA to sort out whether or not CA should be paying you. What were your circumstances prior to getting ESA?

1spursuk

I have been on esa for over 10 years I'm not sure where they're getting contribution based esa from

Correct but ca said they would backdated my claim back to April 
If I was on income based esa 

I would get less backpay with just esa premium of £37.70

calcotti

1spursuk said:I would get less backpay with just esa premium of £37.70

Even if CA is paid you will still only get arrears of £37.70/week because the arrears of CA have to be deducted from the ESA you have already received.

Whether or not ESA is paid makes no difference to you total money as long as the carer premium is added to the ESA.

1spursuk said: I have been on esa for over 10 years I'm not sure where they're getting contribution based ESA from

Whether or not you are entitled to some contribution based ESA depends on your circumstances prior to claiming ESA and whether you have been in the Support Group thoughout.

You can of course go back to CA and say that ESA have told you that your ESA is income based. ESA can be a mix of contribution based and income based (in which case CA would not be payable) however I agree that the letter you quote does appear to be entirely income based (but ESA letters are notoriously badly written).

1spursuk

I get what you're saying but ca 67 a week  backpay is around 1k 

Just Esa 37 a week wouldn't  add up to that total 

Or do you mean if CA pay a big backpack I would have to pay that back in esa arrears?

calcotti

1spursuk said:

I get what you're saying but ca 67 a week  backpay is around 1k 

Just Esa 37 a week wouldn't  add up to that total 

Or do you mean if CA pay a big backpack I would have to pay that back in esa arrears?

Exactly, you would receive £1000 of CA. That then has to be deducted from the ESA from the same period, so you get an extra £37.70/week of ESA minus the £1000 of CA. The CA arrears and the resulting ESA overpayment cancel each other out. You actually get arrears of £37.70/week, so the result is the same either way.

1spursuk

Okay now i will get onto esa to just add the £37.70 they should back date that right?

Because the lady checked and said you were underlying entitlement from April 

I asked when the premium will be added she said when CA pay you lol

Maybe I need to get someone else from esa 

calcotti

They will backdate to when CA starts from regardless of whether this is actual payments or underlying entitlement.

1spursuk

calcotti said:

They will backdate to when CA starts from regardless of whether this is actual payments or underlying entitlement.

Thanks calcotti I'll get onto them tomorrow

1spursuk

calcotti said:

They will backdate to when CA starts from regardless of whether this is actual payments or underlying entitlement.

I called esa today they said they need to email carer's to check if I'm entitled underlying benefit

Said they have a backlog so could be a few weeks ?‍♂️such a pain 

All they have to do Is call them I have already been told by CA over the phone