Hi I got ill on new years eve 2015 I am self employed and because of my illness I've not had any income since before Christmas. I've applied for esa but cannot claim. Does anyone know where I may be able to get some financial support or advice from. I live with my girlfriend and children.
Lee.
Hi Lee
Am sorry to read that you have suffered the nasty meningococcal meningitis. Am wondering whether you have been left with any long term after effects?
I note that you say you contracted meningitis a year ago and I am wondering whether you did get any benefit income during that period? Am thinking that maybe you got ESA for a year but as you were not in the 'support group' it has stopped after a year because they consider you able to resume some kind of work? Your situation sounds similar to the one I found myself in - being told I wasn't entitled to claim anything because my savings were a little over the threshold for any means tested benefits. For the first time in my life I found myself feeling very angry and resentful with the benefits system as I had worked fulltime all my life since I left school and yet when I found myself unable to work because of an illness it seemed so unjust!! As a single parent I had no other income coming into my home. After 8 months I did finally discover that I actually was entitled to Contributions based ESA because I had been paying my self employed NI for the required number of previous years. However that was a pitiful weekly amount! Is your girlfriend working or you have savings so you are excluded from means tested benefits or being able to claim child tax credits? I was told I had to use my savings and when they fell below the means tested threshold I could apply for those benefits but until then I couldn't claim anything! You need to go to Citizens Advice where they will have a benefits advisor who can go through your situation and see if there is anything you can apply for. If you have been left with a disability then you maybe eligible to apply for PIP. Problem is any benefit application take a very long time to be processed, although if successful it will be backdated to when you submitted the application, but that doesn't help you now! This financial worry is enormous isn't it and detrimental to recovery!!
Many thanks for your reply. I've only been ill for a couple of months. We can claim working tax credits which is giving us £17 per week. I've been to the CAB but have been informed that there is basically nothing we can do. I have some savings which I've been using to live off and have also paid my NI Arrears off so I can claim Esa now. But the Esa is going to leave a shortfall in income of around £300 per week I'm am already starting to worry about losing my house. As you can understand this is a big concern.
Please forgive me I'm still not thinking straight
I hope you are well now. Lee
Hi Lee
I totally understand your enormous fears because they were mine as well that I would end up in financial debt and arrears. It was the biggest worry and dominated and stressed me at the time when I should have been able to rest and recover. It was an absolute minefield and I couldn't even deal with it for months after, by which time, I had still been receiving working tax credits that I was no longer entitled too so had to pay it back. I was so angry about the absence of financial support as I had always worked fulltime since I was 18yrs old and paid my NI etc. But I had penalised myself by being sensible with money and planning for the future by having some savings. I so wished I had spent my money so that I could claim means tested benefits but I hadn't lived like that and the situation of contracting meningitis just suddenly and unexpectedly occurred accompanied by no income as I was also at that time self employed. Apart from about 8 months on at last being awarded Contributions based ESA all I could get was child benefit and child tax credits. There was nothing else I could claim.
Did you mean in your original post that contracted meningococcal meningitis on the New Year's Eve of this year 2016? You put 2015 so am sorry I got confused as I note you have said in another post that it was a couple of months? Am wondering how you are? If you had meningococcal I sincerely hope it didn't progress to any limb loss.
I sustained a frontal brain injury so have had to find strategies and ways to manage daily life. I was able to apply for and be awarded PIP benefit about a year ago.
Best wishes
No no limb loss I think I've been quite lucky with the fall out of the illness. From what you and others are saying it looks like a long road to recovery. I'll have a look into the pip to see if I can claim. I hope that things are easier for you now.
Apart from CAB I can recommend the benefitsandwork.co.uk website
I have a paid account so can access their members guides (which I can email to you if you feel it may help.) I'll be facing PIP assessment myself soon I think, so not looking forward to it.
Thanks for the link. And good luck with your health and pip assessment. Lee
Hi there havent read any other comments
But meningitisorg/meningitishelp can email you links of what and where to apply for things and also cab
Hope you get help
Ive had to move back in with family as i cant afford all the bills/stress at the minute
Take care🤗
Thank you for your reply I will look into that. I hope you have a speedy recovery
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