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Being taken off ESA to Univeral credit
- Grandad5
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6 years 2 months ago #205821 by Grandad5
Being taken off ESA to Univeral credit was created by Grandad5
I recently attended a reassessment medical after being on ESA for a number of years as I have suffered with anxiety and depression as well as a number of other ailments.
Had a phone call today to tell me I needed 15 points to remain on ESA and was informed that the person who I was assessed by gave me zero points, I was then advised to put a claim in for universal credit as soon as I receive the letter containing this information through the post.
Trying to get my head around this news
Had a phone call today to tell me I needed 15 points to remain on ESA and was informed that the person who I was assessed by gave me zero points, I was then advised to put a claim in for universal credit as soon as I receive the letter containing this information through the post.
Trying to get my head around this news
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6 years 2 months ago #205853 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Being taken off ESA to Univeral credit
Grandad
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
Please don't claim Universal Credit without getting face to face advice if you can, once you are on it then you cannot return to what are now called legacy benefits and it may not be in your best interest to claim UC in the mid term.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our ESA MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the ESA area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report (ESA85) if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
Please don't claim Universal Credit without getting face to face advice if you can, once you are on it then you cannot return to what are now called legacy benefits and it may not be in your best interest to claim UC in the mid term.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our ESA MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the ESA area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report (ESA85) if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: Grandad5
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- Grandad5
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6 years 2 months ago #205957 by Grandad5
Replied by Grandad5 on topic Being taken off ESA to Univeral credit
I was told on the phone that the last three days of my benefit are being paid into my bank account, therefore i am no longer going to be reciving benefit or income while awaiting a mandatory decision. I spoke to a local benefits advice worker today who said I should have been given the opportunity to request a mandatory decision during the phone call, which I wasn't, he advised me to ring them back and request one which I did and I was told by the DWP to await the paperwork, go through their decisions and ring back with what I object to and in the meantime go online and fill in my universal credit application. I said that if I apply for Universal Credit I would not be able to return to ESA but was told that depending on what area I live I would be able to keep claiming ESA if I won the reconsideration. I've been looking around the house to see what I have that can be sold to support myself during the time all this will take and quite honestly have very little.
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- Gordon
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6 years 2 months ago #206008 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Being taken off ESA to Univeral credit
Grandad
Be very careful about the UC, once you make a claim for UC and it goes into payment then you cannot return to ESA.
As you appear to have access to an advice worker, you should discuss the issues of claiming UC with them.
Gordon
Be very careful about the UC, once you make a claim for UC and it goes into payment then you cannot return to ESA.
As you appear to have access to an advice worker, you should discuss the issues of claiming UC with them.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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6 years 2 months ago #206141 by Grandad5
Replied by Grandad5 on topic Being taken off ESA to Univeral credit
I don't have access to an advice worker the person I spoke to on the phone said they couldn't help me any further as they didn't fill in my ESA form
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6 years 2 months ago #206151 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Being taken off ESA to Univeral credit
Grandad
I would contact them again, this is not about your MR but the issues associated with you claiming UC, so that you can make an informed decision about whether to do so or not.
Gordon
I would contact them again, this is not about your MR but the issues associated with you claiming UC, so that you can make an informed decision about whether to do so or not.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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