why were people on ESA ignored when people on UC got an extra £20 per week

poppy123456

Amalegra said:

With regards to the conversation about benefit entitlement, I wonder if anyone here has tried a forum called ‘Benefits to Work’? You can get quite a lot of free information from it and if you take out a subscription, which I recommend, it is about £20 pa but they have regular offers where it is discounted to £15.

You get exactly the same advice and support here on the community and it's all free. Although the cost to join benefits and work maybe a small amount for some people, for others it's quite a lot to spend when they have very little money to start with.

Amalegra

When I posted re Benefits to Work I was specifically thinking about the appeal guides, I suppose, which take you literally step by step through the appeals form and which I personally found indispensable as it explains precisely how to approach and answer each and every question and gives examples. I know that there is good advice here but I do manage to afford my subscription as the worry of it all would otherwise make me ill with worry and extra anxiety which I suffer badly from in any case. This then exacerbates my other, physical problems. I would prefer to make do with less of almost anything to afford it; obviously it’s a matter of choice! 

Lisatho11987777

I am haveing a pay  as you go smart meter it all works on the app and you top up from your bank card so I can top up any time day or night 

At the moment they are saying I am using 100 00 pound a week so I am paying 400.00 a month just on gas with a pay as you go smart meter I can see how much a day I am using my partner is going to put a small box around the thermostat with a key pad so mum can't touch it 

At night then once its off its off and I am haveing the gad fires taken out and haveing electric fires that have a bulb thst looks like the fire is on bur it's just the bulb 

It's hard when you have someone with dementia liveing with you and can't get any help or support apart from her carers so hopeing these things being put in place will help 

MarkM88

tcellmutation said:

I'll be getting £140 from She'll Energy soon as part of the Warm Home Discount scheme

Remember they have until March 2022 to pay it. 

mrpip2002uk said:

yeh,most people on low incomes should be getting it,so long as they have applied for it.

That’s not strictly true. Individuals in the core group get it automatically. 

Individuals who meet the criteria in the broader group are eligible, however companies can’t give it to everyone, so some that applied won’t get it. 

Sco76

In response to the original statement, we don't claim UC and even though my wife gets ESA we haven't considered the difference of having the £20 uplift. To some I'd imagine its a god send but you're then in the quandary of what to do with it. You know you're getting something extra and it going to be taken away sometime when you least expect it, that's how our government works.
So what do you do with it? You can't depend on it as its temporary. Its simply a **** gesture from a government that doesn't give a damn.

My wife claims PIP and ESA both as legacy payments and I used to claim CA. 3 years ago I had a break down and after that returned to work firstly part time but eventually returning to full time as NMW and CA earning allowance doesn't increase equally thus leaving me fewer hours in a week that I can work without loosing CA which provided us with housing benefit and council tax relief. 
We moved into a 1 bed bungalow in social housing in 2013 with huge debts on utilities and C/tax which have now been paid off in full and most now in credit through scrimping and scraping and mainly doing without a lot of stuff. My wife's needs have and do always come first as her benefits originally brought the most into the household income, now my earnings have surpassed hers so we pay equally. 

One thing I've learnt from my time on benefits is that its very hard to live a normal life.
Direct Debits work against you. Anyone on benefits paying utilities via Direct Debit I would advice you to consider changing to pay as you go meters (PAYG)/key/card (Smart or otherwise). These allow you to decide when the money goes out and how much you spend. There is also the problem that you're usually paying more than what you owe on Direct Debit. Monthly charges are worked out over an average for your postcode and you might be using far less than your neighbors, you will also be paying a small amount in advance and the contract you sign into may not remain at the advertised price for the full term. 
We're on PAYG for; electric, gas, rent, council tax, water, tv licence and broadband. 
My electric changes price once a year and I'm advised of this 2 months before it changes, it's literally pennies per Kwh and there's no hidden standing charge on the first Kwh, thats listed separately at 28p per day.
Taking control of your own payment structure benefits you because benefits get paid in on weekly, fortnightly or 4 weekly increments and not monthly like Direct Debits which are set up for those on a PAYE structure.
I now have to budget on both levels but I still tailor the budget towards the simple fortnightly & 4 weekly payments of my wife benefits. 

Sco76

Apologies for the naughty word.