star cannibal
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Income Related ESA and a pension lump sum
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
Thanks for the link, I'll talk to them but I guess I'll have to keep in mind that they work for the government. -
Income Related ESA and a pension lump sum
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
I'm only 55,state pension age is 67 for me. Pension advisors appear to cost a lot of money to talk to so that's not going to be possible. I tried Citizen Advice,was on hold for over an hour before speaking to a call handler,they were supposed to call me back within a couple of days but didn't. I could ask the DWP for advice,but I doubt they'd be sympathetic. I'll get in touch with the pension people and see if there are other options that don't lead to my pension payments being seized by the state. -
Income Related ESA and a pension lump sum
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
I guess I need to try and get this pension paid out on yearly lump sums if that's even possible,and skip the monthly payments. -
Income Related ESA and a pension lump sum
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
I thought that the ignored £85 per week pension income was for contribution based ESA? -
Hi, I'm on income related ESA and I have been offered a pension lump sum of just over £7k and then about £1k a year pension payments, if I choose to accept it yet,from an ancient Serps pension. My thinking is that if I spent it down to £6k by replacing worn out white goods and keep the receipts I'd not lose any benefits due to the size of the lump sum? I'm guessing that if the pension was paid to me £1k a year that the DWP would reduce my ESA by the same amount and I'd not see any of it due to it being classed as 'income' and the possible lump sum somehow not being income? Will I be punished when (if) I reach pension age for 'deprivation of capital' or something like that? I don't understand any of it and the DWP guidance is buried in about a million pages of Decision Makers Guides,and is hard to digest. Any input would be much appreciated.
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ESA compared to Incapacity Benefit / Income Support
star cannibal replied to Foebane72's topic in Benefits and HMRC
The DWP won't send out any information,or a form to claim Income Related ESA - if you don't request the form they'll most likely just stop paying your benefit after the 365 days. It's worth upgrading to Recorded Delivery too. -
Contributory ESA ends - what now?
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
Many thanks for your advice Margaret,I took this to a CAB advisor today and he agrees with your assessment of the situation,and that I should be the one to claim Income Based ESA to get a bit more money. -
Contributory ESA ends - what now?
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
It seems that our being on ESA (me in the ESA 'Support Group') makes no difference to our income at all then,that we just get the basic £112.55 a week between us,the same as we'd have got on Jobseekers if we'd been found to be fit for work? -
Having been 'migrated' from Incapacity Benefit to ESA I found myself in the Support Group,but my wife was placed in the WRAG group. My wife's Contributory ESA has now expired after 12 months,and we were led to believe she'd qualify for Income Based ESA and got the form filled in and sent off,but now there seems to be a problem. Having spoken to the DWP it seems that I carry on receiving my Support Group £110.85 p.w. but my wife's Income Based ESA is now only worth £1.70 p.w. to a total of £112.55 (which doesn't seem like much for 2 people to live on?) The DWP advisor said that we should have been told that if I'd have claimed Income Based ESA instead of my wife that it would have been worth an extra £15 a week due to my Support Group status - some sort of 'support component'. Why would it matter which of us claims Income Based ESA? Shouldn't the DWP have told us who should claim what when we requested the form a month ago? None of this seems to make any sense to me,the DWP have been suspiciously vague about it all - is there some way to check what we're entitled to that doesn't involve asking the DWP?
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Ok then,thanks folks,I'll tell him to get it in the post pronto.
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Hi, A friend has recently posted his ESA50 form (3 weeks ago),but now has a letter of support from his CPN - is there some way to send this in and have it added to the form he's sent,or should he wait for the dreaded Work Capability Assessment and produce it then? What happens if ATOS decide to not pull in my friend for an assessment - how could he then produce his letter of support for the attention of the decision maker to hopefully get him into the Support Group instead of the Work-Related Activity Group?
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ESA - second reconsideration done..
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
I questioned the lack of formal written confirmation that a 2nd reconsideration had been done,and the lack of a written report & package of my further information which should have been sent simultaneously to both myself and the Tribunal Service. I was told that a fresh (third) reconsideration would be done immediately and I'd be notified within the next couple of days of the result. Couple of days later I was told they'd overturned the decision to disallow my ESA. I'm thinking that they did this because it was looking fairly obvious at this point that the DWP decision makers are crooks,that my appeal was most likely going to be successful,and that a formal complaint was becoming an ever more likely prospect. -
ESA - second reconsideration done..
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
Their mess up was not taking into account my further information - they thought it'd be ok to pretend they'd not received it even though they'd signed for it. They've not sent me anything about the second reconsideration,apart from a letter confirming that it took place,no statement of reasons and no package of information that would also have been forwarded to the appeal tribunal service - nothing. I'd previously had my medical report etc and they'd found me 6 more points at the first reconsideration than they gave me at the initial decision. On the phone the DWP robot read out from his screen that none of the further information made any difference to the previous decision,and that they were not under any obligation to put anything in writing. -
ESA - second reconsideration done..
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
I guess nobody else has experienced the mysterious and unicorn-like "second reconsideration" then,which makes me even more suspicious. I'll have a prod at the DWP about the lack of information and see what happens... -
After a monumental cock up by the DWP,the decision to refuse me ESA has now been allegedly confirmed a second time,but they've sent me none of the paperwork that was sent to me the first time - which makes me suspicious. What documents can I demand from the DWP to show they actually did a 2nd reconsideration?
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Thanks guys,I'll get the sick note two weeks early and send it in Recorded Delivery,then ring em up a week after they've signed for it,and if they still can't find it they can make me an appointment to take photocopy to my local Benefit Delivery Office.
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Hi,I'm on ESA at the assessment rate (waiting for appeal),and the time is approaching for me to send in another sick note,but I'm unsure of how best to go about it. 1. I could send it by post,but the DWP have an annoying habit of pretending that my mail does not exist,which could be a problem with a sick note. 2. I've read that I could telephone DWP for an appointment to have it scanned onto the system, but the people manning the call centres have no clue whatsoever what they're doing, and tend to tell me whatever they think I'd like to hear - even if it means making stuff up. If I choose option 1 I'd need to get a sick note nearly 2 weeks before the old one expires ,because the mail is routed to a PO box in Birmingham before making it to my local DWP office. This would mean I'd only get 2 weeks worth of sick note if the Doctor gave me a month,which isn't ideal. Is there a period of grace built into the system for sending in sick notes? I could choose option 2, but what happens if I get to my local DWP office and the call centre dude didn't bother to make me an appointment? Could I just walk into a JobcentrePlus and hand in a sick note without an appointment? Am I overthinking it? I know I'm probably paranoid and delusional ,but how does everyone else deal with handing in their sick notes on time?
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ESA means tested when appealing?
star cannibal replied to star cannibal's topic in Benefits and HMRC
Thanks for your reply,it'll be grim,but not as bad as it could have been. -
Hi,I failed my ATOS medical assessment with 0 points,and have sent in an appeal along with a sick note from my GP. My understanding is that they should pay me ESA at the Assessment Rate but when I asked them if this would be means tested they declined to answer,which seems odd. I've been on Incapacity Benefit for years,so I've paid enough NI contributions,and if I'd scored 15 points I'd have been paid Contribution Based ESA for 365 days. Does the Assessment Rate come in two types,or is it all means tested?
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So why then do the letters come from Morses Club,but the CCA is from London Scottish if they are no longer connected?
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So where does Morses Club fit into this picture,and why the dodgy address if they're not up to something shifty?
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Thanks for the link,but how do I know it's not all just a con to keep people paying? I understand that Morses were purchased by RCapital earlier this year,it all seems a bit shifty to me.I guess my friend should write a letter asking for some information about who this money is actually owed to,who is actually cashing the cheques,and what their real address actually is...
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They stopped charging interest on this a few years ago at my friend's request,so I guess there isn't much point demanding to see the other side of the agreement. The original loan was taken out with London Scottish Finance Ltd,then they changed their letterheads to "Morses Club",but my friend's cheques were still made out to London Scottish Finance,and when the CCA request letter was sent to the Morses Club address,there was a message with the recorded delivery confirmation that this mail was redirected to another address - don't know where. I now understand that London Scottish Finance went bust,and that Morses Club were just a part of London Scottish,so bust as well then. Who the heck's been cashing the cheques?
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They've been paying it off in bits and pieces for about 8 years now,still plenty left to pay though.
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A friend of mine received a copy of a CCA from London Scottish Finance today,I'm guessing that with the signatures etc that it looks enforcable,but any opinions are more than welcome. Having looked at the figures it seems that my friend was conned into re-borrowing a previous outstanding amount,and having extra interest etc added on - is this even legal?
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