This can't carry on ESA

Metalmickey
Metalmickey Online Community Member Posts: 1 Listener
in Employment & Support Allowance (ESA)
Hi all this is very long winded but I'll ty my best to explain. So on January 21st I got a letter to attend a pip medical which I went to with my non paid carer just a long term friend. To our surprise it was rejected even tho I've been on the benefit for 7 years due to I'll health. Cut a long story short request mandatory reconsideration after calling endlessly and evolving my local MP they sorted it out on the 1st of June and paid me what I was oued. 

Now ESA back in January reduced my premiums because of this so I contacted them on June 8th asking them if they had sorted my back dated money and they just played completely ignorant and said your have to fill out a form I told them I had a carer and just went through a 6 months of battling with pip and I wasn't in the mood for this so she ask a few questions and filled out this forum telling me she would sort it out. I was like OK no problem.

5 days later I called up to see what had been done as she told me it should take long and the guy on the phone played ignorant again and could see I was entitled to the higher premiums he said I'll get a call back today which never happend and today was my pay day low and behold they haven't paid me a single penny today my carer can't even go shopping for me so now I'm left with no money this is criminal and really stressful... 

Comments

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Online Community Member Posts: 5,742 Championing
    edited June 2020
    June 8th was only a week ago, you will probably have to wait longer for SDP to go through.  It's not automatically added even if you had it before which is why you had to fill in the form over the phone.  

    You say you told them you had a carer - did you make clear that they do not get paid carers allowance for you?  You can't get SDP if they do which may have caused confusion.

    Are you saying that you got no ESA at all today, not even the standard rate?  My ESA day changed after SDP was added, I'm not sure if that was a coincidence or not but could explain it.  I think you'll just have to phone up and ask again unfortunately.
  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 14,295 Online Community Programme Lead
    Hello @Metalmickey and welcome to the community. It must be really stressful to not receive your money when it's due. Have you managed to call them again to find out what's happening? Sometimes while they look at a change they pause payments so it could be the case this time.
    As @OverlyAnxious mentioned, you saying you have a carer may have confused things. Does anyone claim Carer's Allowance (or the carer element of Universal Credit) for caring for you? If so, then unfortunately you won't be entitled to the Severe Disability Premium. When you said you have a carer they might have paused things to look into that.

    I hope you manage to get this sorted quickly. 

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