Hi all, I've applied for ESA and UC a year ago due to spinal injury. I was, awarded both but ESA was backdated three months and UC wasn't. Then I waited a year for a health assessment under ESA and after that one year ESA claim was closed and I was transfered to UC and even though in the meantime just before ESA ended I had my health assessment done, the outcome came back 1 week after ESA got closed. UC decided to accept health assessment and award me disability component (the higher rate) but they only backdated it to the date I started receiving UC, not ESA (minus those first few months they apparently don't pay). In result I'm 3 months short of payments which I would have received if ESA didn't close my claim and if they didn't delay the assessment for over a year. UC claim they cannot backdate it according to ESA because I'm on UC. Is there a way to appeal or try and get that money back? Is it even possible to resolve this so I get that backdated or not?
You can apply for a MR via your journal, the process can be quite complex and I would advise you to seek help from your local Welfare Rights Organisation who can take all your circumstances into account.
You can find your local Welfare Rights Organisation to help you with advice by clicking on the link below and putting in your post code, it will then come up with a MAP with a list of agencies. advicelocal.uk
Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems