ESA letters sent in error as system is Rebuilt

Emma52
Emma52 Online Community Member Posts: 132 Empowering
in Benefits and income

I received letters including a P45 stating my ESA was terminated. After it making my health extremely poor due to the stress and confusion I called the ESA information number. The man I spoke to explained they are rebuilding their system and that these letters were sent out before they realised the error. I was told that nothing would change , that I would receive my ESA as usual and for the day that their systems were down I would be refunded that amount. This may not be the case for everyone but please check before letting the worry make you ill.

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Comments

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 4,210 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists

    Hi @Emma52

    Thank you for sharing this with the community, I'm glad you managed to get it sorted!

  • SheffieldMan1976
    SheffieldMan1976 Posts: 632 Connected

    Ugh, just when you think the DWP Clowns couldn't get any more incompetent! Smh.

    Are these people really this stupid or do they get training for it?

  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 14,387 Online Community Programme Lead

    Good morning @SheffieldMan1976. I understand this situation is stressful and interactions with the DWP can be frustrating but calling people ‘clowns’ and 'stupid' isn't appropriate. This is unlikely to be the fault of an individual and the majority of DWP staff will be people just like you, who are trying their best to do their job.

    Hi @Emma52, I'm really glad you were able to call ESA and get this sorted, I can well imagine the level of stress and worry this would have caused you. I haven't seen any information on a system rebuild and it's worrying to think how many people may have been sent these letters incorrectly.

    I really appreciate you sharing your experience.

  • Emma52
    Emma52 Online Community Member Posts: 132 Empowering

    The stress caused by resolving this wasn't that simple. In the following 48 hours I had increasing health problems and an acute pain episode all of which are linked to stress. So as you can imagine my husband is not too happy with them as he sees me going through all this and there is nothing he or anyone else can do about it. Simple mistakes from organisations such as ESA cause ripples that have actual consequences for the very people they are supposed to be helping.

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