Hi, my name is Dunc! DWP have closed our ESA claim, is this right?

Dunc
Dunc Online Community Member Posts: 2 Listener
edited 1:39PM in Benefits and income

My wife and I have both been moved from old style ESA to New style ESA and UC(we both receive PiP ) DWP have sent me a letter stating they will no longer be paying the income related part ,we have never received a single payment or the transitional payment from UC and they closed our claim ,having spoken to both departments I think we have to make a new claim for the income related portion of UC ,is this right ?can anyone help us I am 60 yrs old with heart failure and other bad ailments my wife is 58 and has many health problems,help us please ..,

Comments

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 8,557 Championing
    edited March 29

    When you claim UC the income related ESA ends and is replaced by UC, the CB ESA converts into New Style ESA.

    The letter you refer to is the standard annual uprating letter for New Style ESA.

    What reason did UC give for closing your claim?

    You can seek help locally from a trained benefits advisor

    https://advicefinder.turn2us.org.uk/

  • Dunc
    Dunc Online Community Member Posts: 2 Listener

    Many thanks for your response,UC stated we received enough from ESA so we never received anything from UC and closed our claim we are just so confused,do UC automatically add any money if ESA remove money ??

  • Kimi87
    Kimi87 Online Community Member Posts: 8,557 Championing
    edited 8:48AM

    Universal Credit works by adding up entitlements, then making deductions.

    New Style ESA is treated as unearned income & deducted in full from your UC award.

    It's likely that your Universal Credit entitlement is zero after the ESA deductions, resulting in a zero award. Zero award claims are usually closed after six consecutive months of no UC entitlement.

    Once the claim is closed you would need to apply again, but if UC are correct (a local welfare rights organisation can help with a calculation if you aren't confident using one of the calculators) https://www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators

    then the same will happen again if you have no entitlement to Universal Credit due to excess income.

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