Housing Benefit suspended (ESA)

Hi Peter,

I have merged your question with the previous topic about your ESA claim. It helps us enormously if everything relating to one claim is kept in the same place - and I hope you will find it useful too. You will find it easily in future if you bookmark/favourite it on your web browser now

DWP notify the housing benefit people as soon as your ESA claim ends - but yours hasn't, so I don't know what has happened there! Either way, you should be able to reclaim immediately on the grounds of low income and this is usually a straightforward process.

I suspect you might be on income-related ESA already as you are also in receipt of housing benefit. If this is the case, your ESA will continue to be paid at the WRAG rate.(If you are on contributory ESA you will be paid the WRAG amount during the MR and appeal process - unless that takes you over 365 days total of a contributory claim, in which case you would be re-assessed for income-related ESA.) Potential reductions to this rate will not affect you, so don't worry about that.

You will also be obliged to attend Work Related Interviews, if asked to do so.You may be able to get these held over the phone, or even suspended, when you tell them you are appealing against the decision.

Don't forget to make full use of our ESA guides when going through the MR process

ESA claims and appeals

ESA mandatory reconsiderations and appeals

Thank you for your advice. I have been worried all weekend, typical bad luck that I receive a letter on a Saturday so I cannot call anyone at the council. I just re-read the letter and it says that the council have suspended my Housing Benefit claim due to my ESA being cancelled. I have not yet sent a Mandatory Reconsideration letter or appeal letter and have a DWP letter saying I am now in WRAG. I'll wait for tomorrows post in case I receive a letter stating I am in receipt of WRAG and my Housing Benefit is ok, otherwise I will call them. I spoke to my ESA Jobcentre advisor over the phone rather than go there. Strangely within a couple of days of being moved to WRAG I had a letter and appointment a few days after already booked by them. They can move fast when they want to!

I am about to send off my Mandatory Reconsideration letter to the address on the DWP decision letter (Basildon Benefits Centre, Post Handling Site B, Wolverhampton, WV99 1EG)
I am not sure who to address it to if anyone and if that address is 'safe' to to send it to. Any advive will be very appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you Gordon

DWP regularly make these errors with regard to the wording they use when advising housing benefit offices about ESA. My MP has been investigating this for me. Mine was reinstated because they said it was stopped although this was a mistake they made. Meg Hillier has asked them how many people are affected by their incorrect wording and they have said they will look again at this .