Process For Going Back Onto ESA Due to £16,000?

Gordon, you wrote, “Historically, before UC, someone in your situation would have been able to reclaim ESA(IR) seamlessly, now you can only do this if you were also entitled to ESA(CB) as this does keep your ESA claim live but you have not mentioned this.” I was told right at the beginning by a couple benefits advisers that my ESA was (IR) so I never read up on (CB). Would my inheritance have then changed my status to (IR) AS WELL AS (CB)?

“there are dates when this would have been no longer possible.” – could you please tell me what date(s) this would be?

I appreciate your trying to help, Gordon.

Because I’ll obviously try fight to go back onto ESA, I’ll definitely keep you informed as to my progress.

However, if the worst case scenario (for my brain) arrived:
You wrote in a previous message “In this situation you continued to have your Limited Capability for Work and so should not need to be reassessed if you claim UC” – could you please explain to me more about how you know this for definite? Although ESA will be able to see that I have an indefinite PIP award at the highest rates (and there is some cross-over eg mobility component), you didn’t know this when you wrote that sentence so there must be another way you know this? It would be a HUMONGOUS relief if I didn’t have to be reassessed by Atos, if my brain only had to cope with completing the UC form (for HB and CTB too). I was planning on sending in early Nov when I send in my bank statements and copy of their letter that my claim remains ‘live’, a recent report from my NHS GP; another practitioner; and a person who supports me with a lot of ‘care’ help…to try pre-empt/avoid any unnecessary gruelling cognitive work on my part.

Still no update to give you yet...

But I have 2 questions, please, re the 'duration' for the following:

1) You know how all welfare rights workers say that DLA/PIP is not means-tested...a couple years ago a senior housing benefit officer wrote the following in a letter to me re my DLA, "Income you do not spend becomes capital. A payment of income remains income for the period in which it is paid. Any surplus at the end of that period metamorphoses into capital." However, he failed to state in his letter what the actual specific duration is that "the period in which it is paid" equates to. So for DLA/PIP, would this "period"/duration be the 4 weeks from the date it was paid? This seems ludicrous to me that the DLA/PIP payment has to be spent in the following 4 weeks, after which it is then categorised as capital. Surely claimants are allowed to let DLA/PIP payments accumulate in case we need to save for a large expense (and don't want to pay by credit card), without it being considered capital after 4 weeks? Was this info he gave me correct?

2) Would an overpayment of ESA that I may or may not have to pay back to the DWP be categorised as capital? I will likely not have to pay it back for legitimate reasons which I will spare you the details of, and haven't yet been asked to pay it back, but I had purposely not spent it in case despite all legal arguments and possible appealing I did have to eventually pay it back. When a claimant does not know whether the ESA overpayment is definitely theirs yet or not, can this amount be categorised as capital? Is there a duration/expiry date (similar to DLA/PIP) by when this 'overpayment' should or should not be categorised as capital?

Thanks very much for any help.