ESA to Universal Credit. Threatened with sanctions

Bob

Based on your post this was poor advice by the CAB, at the very least they should have explained the problems that could result from this to you. For example, if you have received payment on your UC claim then you are now stuck on it, you cannot go back to just your ESA!

Anyway it is what it is. Your problems stem from the fact that your UC claim takes no account of your ESA appeal, you are considered as being Fit for Work.

What you need to do is to ask to be assessed for Limited Capability for Work or Limited Capability for Work Related Activity as part of your UC claim, this should remove the requirement for you to Job Search. The only upside of your UC claim is that you can do this without the requirement for a new condition of deterioration in your original conditions, that would have been required under ESA.

Ideally you need to speak to an advisor, but will first need to raise it as an issue ofn your Journal.

Gordon

brainbiter wrote: I get Support Group ESA and DLA [mental and physical health problems]. Yesterday I had a phone call from a local authority welfare advice unit saying I'd be contacted in March about a move to UC. She didn't say [or I can't remember owing to panic] whether this would be by letter or telephone. I cannot deal with telephone calls and ignore numbers I don't recognise anyway. How do I avoid Bob's fate? Universal credit horror stories are themselves becoming universal.

No claimants are being migrated to UC at this time, the only reason your claims would be moved would be if you were in a full service area and had to make a new claim for a benefit that comes under the UC umbrella, for example a new claim for Housing Benefit.

If you are not making a new claim for anything then you should question why they are trying to move you and should certainly not agree to any such move without getting face to face advice first.

Gordon