Warning 365 days on ESA your money will be stopped. Are you all aware of this

[Fed-up]

Hi I passed my ESA medical which I was shocked. I was going to get my Xmas bonus which I hadn't had before. I was thrilled to have the pressure lifted. Then I got a phone call from benefits office my money was stopping end of April. I cannot claim income support as my husband works full time. I could sign on but I would be expected to work. I am not well enough to work I have fibro and osteo in knees hands and feet plus elbows and shoulders are no playing up. I was also told that I would only be allowed to be on jobseekers for 6 months then it would be means tested and again it will be stopped because hubby works. So I cannot get any money and I'm not well enough to work at moment I've no voice! I'm a kept woman and it's awful. My husband is warm and very generous and always shared money. But now i feel gulity spending money as I no money of my own

Hope this is warning to other people it has also happento friend who is single but she has a pension of 300£ a month and the government says she can live on that so she gets nothing else

[julieevh]

Surely you just keep reapplying every year as per IB and DLA.

Julie x

[penny41]

Contributory ESA for the Work Related group will be time limited to one year, at the end of this you will either :

Stop recieving ESA altogether if you fail a means test.

Get switched over to ESA(Income Related) if you pass the means test.

[Hidden]

If in any doubt at all, pop along to your local CAB (Citizens' Advice Bureau) - they can advise you what action to take and what to apply for.

[rosehip]

no its true it stops after a year its true . its not like ib . xx

[Hidden in reply to rosehip]

I understand that Rosehip, I was just advising members if they are in any doubt as to what to do just before it stops, then seek advice as to what to do next.

Thank you for pointing that out though

[julieevh]

direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAn...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Julie x

[Tendo]

I was very lucky, and was put in the ESA Support Group, which means that my money doesn't get stopped. I do have to re-apply when the DWP send me out the ESA50 again though.

[katherine107 in reply to Tendo]

i was put in esa support group as well in december last year and have just recieved an esa50 form again, just 6 months later. do you know if this is normal after such a short time. all this stress of filling in forms again is giving me stress and making fibro worse.

[Suzyindahouse in reply to katherine107]

Have they sent it out well ahead of time to prevent your money being stopped unnecessarily as you get your form to re-apply for DLA 5 months before it is due to run out if you have a date for it to be rechecked. I have mine indefinitely now but I will still have it changed to PIP when they change to that and no idea how that will alter it. It is awful all this constant form filling. It must cost more in staffing costs than it saves in fraud the way things are going with all the appeals.

[Tendo in reply to katherine107]

Unfortunately, getting another ESA50 so soon is common. Remember, this government want all us "scroungers" back to work. Were you told back in December, how long you would be in the Support Group for?

If your condition hasn't got any worse, fill in the form exactly as you did before. If your condition is worse, then put those details in the form too. Send any supporting evidence with the form, even if it's the same as your previous claim, and you should be put back in the Support Group. If you don't, then appeal it on the grounds that you were put in the SG before. 60% of appeals win.

You can fill the form in on-line, save it and print it out, here direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAn...

Good luck!

[JOHN_D in reply to Tendo]

Can you let us know if and when you received it. thanks

[LadyRobben]

I was on IB for years before they switched me to ESA and because of what a GP I didn't know from my regular surgery I got thrown into the work group. After a sarky letter from several of my consultants stating I could not work due to over 5 diagnosis I was switched to the support group. But because of DWP putting me in work group to begin with my DLA was then questioned and I had to deal with an Indian Doctor coming to my home and assessing me only to have them re award the same levels as I was getting. Talk about a waste of government money and the doctor didn't speak English well enough to even fill out the forms properly. Makes one wonder what is going on with this country we live in.