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ESA 3 form, recent CBESA migration error

Rosehearty

Hi, I just received a form from DWP, requesting me to give info since Sept. 2012.

This request was photocopied one side correctly, and reverse side upside down.

I had an anxiety attack as it scared me, and took me most of the day to calm down, and a family member helped me a bit.

We tried to find some more info and found the BBC news article from November re CBESA being incorrect. Now just need to find some help to complete the form correctly. I always wondered why I was on less money than relatives on IRESA, when I had worked for almost 30 years and was on lowest benefit of them all and thought was just typical. So much hardship over the years, and now this worry and now thinking will have to do another medical.

This form was sent automatically to me and not requested, but would appreciate being pointed in right direction to get assistance to complete it please.

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Comments

poppy123456

Your husbands pension will be classed as income £1 for £1 for any income related top up you could receive on top of the CB ESA. It really depends how long he's been receiving the pension.

Tommyowens85

Hi guys hope this is the right place and any help much appreciated.
Just heard back from esa on underpayment issue and have been told that although I was placed in the contribution based esa which was wrong I will receive no backdated pay as they gave me a top up to ensure I saw no loss when changing from incapacity benefit. May times I could have used the help of a budgeting loan over this period and several times I have applied but been rejected due to being on contribution based.
So in essence was told although you wasn’t getting your premiums you got the money in another way but that doesn’t help wen I can’t recieve the help I need in desperate times due to their error of putting me in contribution based instead of income based. Now they have changed it to income based but with no back pay. The top up was to ensure I saw no reduction in incapacity Ben not premiums.
I think it’s unfair. am unsure what to do about it. Any advice on if you think this is right or what I can do about it I would love to hear it.
Many thanks guys

TeddyB22

Tommyowens85 said:

Hi guys hope this is the right place and any help much appreciated.
Just heard back from esa on underpayment issue and have been told that although I was placed in the contribution based esa which was wrong I will receive no backdated pay as they gave me a top up to ensure I saw no loss when changing from incapacity benefit. May times I could have used the help of a budgeting loan over this period and several times I have applied but been rejected due to being on contribution based.
So in essence was told although you wasn’t getting your premiums you got the money in another way but that doesn’t help wen I can’t recieve the help I need in desperate times due to their error of putting me in contribution based instead of income based. Now they have changed it to income based but with no back pay. The top up was to ensure I saw no reduction in incapacity Ben not premiums.
I think it’s unfair. am unsure what to do about it. Any advice on if you think this is right or what I can do about it I would love to hear it.
Many thanks guys

Hi Tommy. This is confusing and I'm sure they're are more qualified people to offer you advise but I wanted to echoe your sentiments on the loans. I was humiliated at a meeting at the job centre when I found myself homeless. I had to borrow from a loan shark to get a place to live then found myself without a stitch of furniture, no electricity and no food or heat.
I was desperate and they told me I didn't qualify and could I not sleep on a friends floor?
The fact they had me on the wrong benefit and the psychological stress they put me through and the just general lack of decency still rankles with me (is that a word?).
They should have to pay back that money too. I knew people who got loans at Christmas and spent them on presents and holidays I got nothing. Didn't even have heating on Christmas day.

poppy123456

Tommyowens85 said:

Hi guys hope this is the right place and any help much appreciated.
Just heard back from esa on underpayment issue and have been told that although I was placed in the contribution based esa which was wrong I will receive no backdated pay as they gave me a top up to ensure I saw no loss when changing from incapacity benefit. May times I could have used the help of a budgeting loan over this period and several times I have applied but been rejected due to being on contribution based.
So in essence was told although you wasn’t getting your premiums you got the money in another way but that doesn’t help wen I can’t recieve the help I need in desperate times due to their error of putting me in contribution based instead of income based. Now they have changed it to income based but with no back pay. The top up was to ensure I saw no reduction in incapacity Ben not premiums.
I think it’s unfair. am unsure what to do about it. Any advice on if you think this is right or what I can do about it I would love to hear it.
Many thanks guys

The DWP are correct in what they say, i'm afraid. The transitional protection you received when transferring to ESA was because the amount you would have received on ESA was less than what you were claiming on IB. If that amount adds up to more than the ESA Income related amount then you won't be owed any backdated payments.

Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about it.

I found this CPAG link from 2011 that should explain it to you.

http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/incapacity-esa-transfer-and-reassessment

Lastly, may i ask how much ESA you receive per week?

Tommyowens85

Thanks poppy unfortunately that’s what I assumed just annoying as I would have been entitled to the help I needed when needed most of I wasn’t put on contribution based as opposed to income related.

belgiumbun

Sheilamoose said:

Received large brown envelope today (ESA3 IBR). DWP are asking me for all income details from 7 May 2013 (Migration to Support Group) to 5 November 2016 (State Pension start date).
Am wondering whether it really is worth the effort of filling in the form in my circumstances? My CB ESA was frozen at around £120pw, my husband is my carer but receives a yearly HM Forces military pension of around £8k - won't this take us over any money limit for IB ESA?
Can anyone advise on money limit for IR ESA as I really do not want to plod through a 44 page form for nothing, lol?

I recieved the same form but it did not ask for all income details though mine is slightly different in that the money owed is for my wife who passed in 2017 the just asked who payed for her funeral where she died what date why did i think i should receive the money owed and to provide bank details for payment ... i phoned yesterday too check if they had got the form back was told yes and it had been passed to the second checking team before decision and that at that point i would be told a sum if any was to be paid , was told it had to checked twice as there are large amounts of cash involved.... the limit by the way if you have not been told is best to be taken from £5500 not £6000 then it is staggered to £16,000 where there is cut off . That applies only too income based not contribution .

poppy123456

belgiumbun said:

Sheilamoose said:

Received large brown envelope today (ESA3 IBR). DWP are asking me for all income details from 7 May 2013 (Migration to Support Group) to 5 November 2016 (State Pension start date).
Am wondering whether it really is worth the effort of filling in the form in my circumstances? My CB ESA was frozen at around £120pw, my husband is my carer but receives a yearly HM Forces military pension of around £8k - won't this take us over any money limit for IB ESA?
Can anyone advise on money limit for IR ESA as I really do not want to plod through a 44 page form for nothing, lol?

I recieved the same form but it did not ask for all income details though mine is slightly different in that the money owed is for my wife who passed in 2017 the just asked who payed for her funeral where she died what date why did i think i should receive the money owed and to provide bank details for payment ... i phoned yesterday too check if they had got the form back was told yes and it had been passed to the second checking team before decision and that at that point i would be told a sum if any was to be paid , was told it had to checked twice as there are large amounts of cash involved.... the limit by the way if you have not been told is best to be taken from £5500 not £6000 then it is staggered to £16,000 where there is cut off . That applies only too income based not contribution .

The limit that sheilamoose is talking about is a pension that her husband claims and not the savings limit. Also any backdated money is disregarded for 52 weeks for means tested benefits.

Terry_Mc

I received the ESA3(IBRD) 11/18 on 13/04/2019. The letter with it says I was paid contribution-based ESA from 24/01/2012 to 04/02/2013 which replaced Incapacity Benefit I was getting. I might also be eligible for income-related ESA for that period. If I am I may be eligible to extra payments called premiums. They ask me to read what to do next and fill the 44 page form in if i think i may be eligible. It has to be returned by 01/05/2019.

I have read all through this thread which was started a year ago and understand that they are only paying claims back to 2014 so in that case why are they only asking for this one year from 2012? It wasn't for another three years at least I managed to claim income related also. I thought you could receive one or the other but not both.

So years after the migration I received a letter stating I may be able to claim income related ESA and to apply if I wanted to. I tried to find out what the difference meant but wasn't told anything I could understand other than one is based on income and the other is based on contributions, which means nothing to me. I remember being told that I had not paid the full national insurance contributions for the year I was migrated so wouldn't be entitled unless I made payments to correct them. I was only living off benefits all year,as well as ESA I got DLA. I had to write to NI contributions about it. They awarded some but still not all even though I should have received them automatically. I now receive both income and contribution based ESA. I am confused about it all and wonder if it's worth filling in. I do have my bank statements from that year which prove I was under the savings limit. I was and still am living on my own.

I would love some advice on this. Thank you

CockneyRebel

Hi @Terry_Mc and welcome

Initially the DWP were only backdating to 2014 but this was overturned and now do backdate to 2011/2012

You have nothing to lose by filling in and returning the form ( other than a couple of hours )

TeddyB22

So they are now backdating the payment from 2011? That's big news. I'm surprised it was never mentioned on the news. Probably wanted to keep it quite incase people like me who were paid from 2014 didn't reclaim.
If this is the case will the DWP get in touch with claimants already paid from 2014?
When I queried my case with then on the phone they told me I had migrated to ESA on July 2013 but I had been on sickness benefit from at lease 2011. They really do confuse sometimes.
Take care,
TeddyB.

Missy2167

Hi all, I have completed the ESA B form for my friend who will be entitled to the income related component from 2012. Can I ask those of you who actually got the backdated payments...how long did it take from them receiving your form to them actually paying you your back pay? Will be have to wait a long time? Many thanks x

poppy123456

Missy2167 said:

Hi all, I have completed the ESA B form for my friend who will be entitled to the income related component from 2012. Can I ask those of you who actually got the backdated payments...how long did it take from them receiving your form to them actually paying you your back pay? Will be have to wait a long time? Many thanks x

Waiting times are currently 12-20 weeks from the time they receive the form.

Terry_Mc

I called yesterday around 5.00 pm and waited half an hour to speak with someone. They confirmed they had received my form back but it has to go to be assessed. He then told me if there are questions they need to ask or I have not included enough evidence they should get back to me within two weeks to ask them. Once they are satisfied they have everything they need to make the assessment it will take up to 12 weeks to be actioned if you are due anything. So, be aware it can take a long time, months even before a payment can be released. I am not expecting anything if at all before the end of Summer 2019. Regarding the missing NI credits, he said the assessment should find any failings such as that and correct them at the same time. I am not holding my breath after such a long time and trying to correct my NI credits myself years ago unsuccessfully, because I was on CB ESA instead of IR ESA. I wonder what other failings there are to be discovered and put right. I know the benefit system today is now worse than it was back then because of medlings by Tory ministers.

poppy123456

@Terry_Mc not sure what you mean by the missing NI credits, CB ESA and Income Related ESA both pay NI credits towards your state pension. https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility

Terry_Mc

Terry_Mc said:

I remember being told that I had not paid the full national insurance contributions for the year I was migrated so wouldn't be entitled unless I made payments to correct them. I was only living off benefits all year,as well as ESA I got DLA. I had to write to NI contributions about it. They awarded some but still not all even though I should have received them automatically.

This is what I posted earlier. I did not get my full NI credits when I got put on CB ESA after being migrated over from IB. I tried to get it sorted out years ago, they awarded some when I informed them there was missing credits but they did not award the full year. They had told me they should have been credited automatically, but obviously they weren't as I was not credited the full year, the year in question when migrated to CB ESA instead of IR ESA. I can only imagine that had some bearing on the migration.

poppy123456

tomm said:

Not Sure if the ESA3QR(IBRD) letter with a questionnaire type booklet , is part of this, my letter says that i was paid ESA cont based from feb 2013 to Jan 2015( I had been claiming IB at the long term rate prior to this) Thing is I was not paid Cont based ESA , Because When i had the 1st WCA after they brought in ESA to replace IB i was found FFW So regardless of it is made a new claim for ESA or Appealed that result, i would have only been paid ESA Assessment rate, i have retained some of my benefit award letters from part of this period all are INCOME based ESA or JSA ,so why are they writing to me,? I only got put in the support group in November 2017

Hi,

They are contacting everyone that transferred from IB to ESA, regardless of whether you're entitled to any backdated money or not. Some people won't be entitled to anything. If you think you're not entitled to anything then there's no need to fill out the form.