Hello, I'm 7 months into my wait to have my first ESA assessment to decide which group I should be in, before I can move up from the basic rate. Atos's latest gem of information when I chased them about getting an appointment was that now they have lost the contract, they aren't bound by any time constraints or guidelines, so they can take as long as they want. I meanwhile have have to find Physio costs and psychologist costs out of my own £73 per week, as the waiting list on the NHS is so long, and Bipolar doesn't really hang around for 8 months without any intervention.
My question is whether it's possible to get the ball rolling on PIP application now to save time later and try and get more money now, or can they not assess PIP without first doing ESA medical? Thanks x
Hi jigawcat Sorry carnt help much but its a long waiting and stressful time for a lot of us on this site I had to fight for months but got into support group last month but I did fill in form for PIP in January and has been told I have still got a long wait for a medical as for the back logs with ATOS Hope your hear good news soon
Hi its very stressful both the ESA and the PIP payments,i like you got into support group last month but it was a long fight ,also found out today iv got PIP payment Enhanced rate ,I applied 8th Jan all I can say is keep phoneing them ,I know it adds stress but paid off for me 21 weeks in total.
Hello fibro10,Yes you can apply for pip now. ESA is atotaly seperate benifit. Any one who has disability problems can claim PIP and with the long wait for medicals the sooner you claim the better, God luck and hugs sue xx
Hi - Yes you should definately claim for PIP now as it is not related to work but a payment to help with disability needs and as the others say there seems to be a long backlog so the sooner you apply the better. So sorry you have had to wait so long for a judgement about your ESA, my husband and I have both been there so can sympathise with youx
I genuinely hope that you are feeling well today? Yes you can apply and you can also have both at the same time, as PIP is a non-taxable benefit. I have pasted you a link to the ATOS website which can explain everything to you:
Hello, please can you tell me why they deduct PIP from ESA on the information on benefits sheets that send out to you once a year, they made a mess of mine by using an unknown figure of £95.17as what i was meant to be getting when in real life i am only getting £54.45 in DLA, have you come across this problem with others. Let me explain the figures, Living expenses £72.40 plus, Limited capability for work addition £28.75 (extra money because you are in the work related activity group). This equals £101.15, then income and benefits DLA mobiloty £95.17, is not counted towards ESA, other income, DLA care comp £95.17, this is not counted towards ESA. So then they deduct the DLA from the total £101.15 _£95.17 = £7.53,(which is what i get sent paid fortnightly in arrears) then there is the £1.55 top-up payment, but still only get £7.53. the ESA is taxable, but the DLA is not, so when I got Income support it was not involved in any calculation, now it is deducted, what the hell is going on, and i had a budgeting loan and they wanted £12.something per week, but now they have had to change the amout to £7.50 per week as I dont get enough money to pay it back, now no ESA fortnightly, what a total mess.
So when i write to them and point all this out, and use the actual figure i get, will they owe me money back? or will they go fagin on me and come up with some excuse or other to sort this mess out, before my head explodes, ttfn
Hi there. As far as I am aware as the ESA and Income Support are both taxable benefits. However I am unsure as to how they arrived at your figures? I have not come across your problem before but it really is worth questionning this with them. It could be that your supplement is also taxable? But this still wouldnt arrive at the £95 level. I would get professional advice either from the CAB or disability direct etc as they may be able to the calculations for you.
Hello Ken, thanks for replying so fast, night owl as well?. Income Support was not a taxable benefit, and neither is DLA, the new unwanted ESA is, I have got a Tax Notice of Coding through the door, I don't think PIP is taxable as it is meant (LOL) to replace DLA, do you think the tories just wanted a laugh when unleashed all this terrible distress on so many sick and disables people? not fair i say, well for noe ttfn
Sorry I meant to say Income Support is means tested so you will loose part or all if you earn any monies. At least DLA and PIP are not included in this. I do not have these benefits but I know somebody who is disabled and they receive rent and council tax rebates, so if they went to work the would loose an awful lot of money so they would really have to earn some just to draw even?
I do not know if this will be of any use to you? But I have pasted the CAB website link below. I really would discuss with them about your issue as they will know a lot more than me:
Hello Ken, my stomach turns over when I think of all the stress of getting to the bottom of the mess my money is in. The nearest CAB is in the next town and I will have to do a bit of research before I go to them. The DWP just cannot get anything right, never mind take two pain killers and wear dark glasses, ttfn
I hope that you are well today? I have pasted the benefit calculator below. There are several links on the page so that you can look at the different benefits and what you need to know about them.
I hope that it is useful for you? And good luck with your claim.
The information that you will receive from PIP does state that you can apply for this before an ESA decision is made however PIP will not make a decision until ESA hasv theirs. This is not fair and something that they will not disclose. As the other post state there is a long waiting list for PIP and this is just to have the application looked at not even the medical. Advice would be put the claim in and see what happens. Approx waiting time for PIP is anything up to 13months - they assure workers like me that this will improve.
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