Widowed in Esa support group at time,

OMR
OMR Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
edited January 2018 in Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
Sadly my husband passed away last January, very suddenly. At that time he was my sole carer and I was on Esa and in the support group on higher PIP. The DWP took me off Esa and put me on Bereavement Allowance for 52 weeks, substitution exact same amount but leaving the extra earnings component intact of £2.10p a week. Now they stopped paying the Bereavement Benefit but haven't started my main Esa component, despite the other part never being stopped. What do I do and will I have to reclaim or will they just revert it ?

Comments

  • Pippa_Alumni
    Pippa_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,761 Championing
    Hi @OMR and welcome to the community- I'm sorry that it's under such sad circumstances, and I hope you're coping as well as possible.

    Hopefully a benefits advisor will be in touch soon but just to clarify, have you tried contacting the DWP about reclaiming already? 
  • OMR
    OMR Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
    I bit the bullet today as I was getting so angst about it all. I haven't dealt with anything like this in a very long time. My husband di everything so I am very new to it all and I have short term memory problems and very bad confidence and telephone skills. I tried C.A.B. first who just directed me to new claims at DWP. I found a letter and rang the number on it and they said my claim would be reinstated to ESA when Bereavement ceases automatically. Seems I was panicking for nothing but there has been a bit of time delay. Thanks for your help.

  • disable_mable
    disable_mable Online Community Member Posts: 7 Listener
    That's terrible news! well done government for being compassionate to the needy? NOT. I suppose the government has to  get there priorities and give money away to people who really need it., like ex convicts and benefit thief's needing 10 bedroom houses and holidays every year!  Sadly this is one of thousand cases. Keeping fighting if you can OMR, Im sure there is someone sensible working at the DWP!
  • OMR
    OMR Online Community Member Posts: 4 Listener
    Hi again, I did contact the DWP helpline and they "reassured " me that it was just a technical glitch and I wasn't due to change over until 19th April and it would transfer automatically. I asked if there was anything I needed to do and they said no and I said I thought it was best to ask. They said it had been wise. 2 weeks passed and I still hadn't been paid so I rang the Breavement Benefit line and they said I had stopped being paid in January when I thought and that I should contact the DWP. I said I had rung them and they said there was no note of it but they would e mail them that afternoon... Still waiting.

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