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Hi,I am new to the Forum and looking for advice regarding several issues I have with the DWP and possibly also my local Council Benefit Office.Even the DWP are claiming that my case is unique and complicated,however I wonder if this is really the case or is it just an excuse not to help.I will try and simplify my situation and be as concise as possible.
I missed a work capability assessment on the 21st feb this year due to having marked the appointment in my diary as the 28th,as a result my ESA (support group) was stopped from the 21st Feb.I was advised to claim temporary JSA whilst mandatory reconsideration was taking place.After being passed from pillar to post I was eventually informed I could not claim JSA and would have to claim Universal Credit whilst awaiting mandatory reconsideration.I was informed that if my ESA was reinstated that I would simply revert to that benefit.
My ESA was reinstated but the DWP (ESA) stated that as I had claimed UC I would have to stick with that claim as I would no longer be entitled to Housing Benefit.Universal Credit then advised I would receive ESA which would be deducted from my UC claim.As you can see completely contradictory information and despite many hours of phone calls and a formal complaint I am none the wiser.All attempts to clarify my situation have met with conflicting and contradictory information.UC have even published an apology on my online UC journal acknowledging this and at the same time advising that I would still receive ESA.Not so say the ESA,as you can gather I am completely baffled and the complaints resolution team appear to be ignoring me completely.
There are a number of other issues that have come to light in that according to a local disability charity I should have been receiving an income related supplement to my Contributory ESA and possibly a disability premium.This in turn has shown that I should have been receiving full housing benefit and council tax reduction which was not the case.
My two main questions are,has anyone experienced similar and how do I address the issue further with the DWP regarding which benefits should I legally be claiming and is there a way to claim backpayment of the additions I should have been receiving? Just to add that I was moved onto ESA from Incapacity Benefit and was placed in the support group of Contributory ESA.I had no idea that I could or should have claimed for the income related element which is/was about £24 per week,likewise the disablement element,although I have been told there was no need to claim for the disability element as this was automatically added if entitled.
To conclude for the moment I received a payment of £121 for my first UC payment as they had paid my local council £283 for a Housing Benefit overpayment caused by an overlap.This is all I have been paid since my ESA was stopped and my next UC payment is not due until the 19th of this month.The Housing Element has not been processed despite the fact that they have had all the information for more than 5 weeks and despite questioning UC and the Council as to why the £283 was taken from my UC payment no answer has been forthcoming.
My apologies if this seems complicated and convoluted but I just wonder if anyone has similar experience or advice that they think could help?
Many thanks in advance.
I missed a work capability assessment on the 21st feb this year due to having marked the appointment in my diary as the 28th,as a result my ESA (support group) was stopped from the 21st Feb.I was advised to claim temporary JSA whilst mandatory reconsideration was taking place.After being passed from pillar to post I was eventually informed I could not claim JSA and would have to claim Universal Credit whilst awaiting mandatory reconsideration.I was informed that if my ESA was reinstated that I would simply revert to that benefit.
My ESA was reinstated but the DWP (ESA) stated that as I had claimed UC I would have to stick with that claim as I would no longer be entitled to Housing Benefit.Universal Credit then advised I would receive ESA which would be deducted from my UC claim.As you can see completely contradictory information and despite many hours of phone calls and a formal complaint I am none the wiser.All attempts to clarify my situation have met with conflicting and contradictory information.UC have even published an apology on my online UC journal acknowledging this and at the same time advising that I would still receive ESA.Not so say the ESA,as you can gather I am completely baffled and the complaints resolution team appear to be ignoring me completely.
There are a number of other issues that have come to light in that according to a local disability charity I should have been receiving an income related supplement to my Contributory ESA and possibly a disability premium.This in turn has shown that I should have been receiving full housing benefit and council tax reduction which was not the case.
My two main questions are,has anyone experienced similar and how do I address the issue further with the DWP regarding which benefits should I legally be claiming and is there a way to claim backpayment of the additions I should have been receiving? Just to add that I was moved onto ESA from Incapacity Benefit and was placed in the support group of Contributory ESA.I had no idea that I could or should have claimed for the income related element which is/was about £24 per week,likewise the disablement element,although I have been told there was no need to claim for the disability element as this was automatically added if entitled.
To conclude for the moment I received a payment of £121 for my first UC payment as they had paid my local council £283 for a Housing Benefit overpayment caused by an overlap.This is all I have been paid since my ESA was stopped and my next UC payment is not due until the 19th of this month.The Housing Element has not been processed despite the fact that they have had all the information for more than 5 weeks and despite questioning UC and the Council as to why the £283 was taken from my UC payment no answer has been forthcoming.
My apologies if this seems complicated and convoluted but I just wonder if anyone has similar experience or advice that they think could help?
Many thanks in advance.
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