Thanks, of course they are not supporting me as my HB pays my share of the rent and my ESA (was JSA) is my amount for weekly living costs so no support at all apart from obviously meals my parents cook but nothing financially. I just wanted to ensure their as well as my benefits were safe

Ah great thank you, and yes, we are joint tenants. Our tenancy agreement has all of our signatures on it which is why my councilwhen I applied for HB were very helpful as I got more than I thought (thought I could only claim shared rate) but they said as it is 2 bedrooms and you are a joint tenant you are entitled to 50% of the money for the rent. Our rent is £725.00p/m and each month my Father gets £362.50 as do I. He pays the rent by DD and I just give him the cash via bank transfer when paid as a monthly standing order. To clarify, in this case my parents benefits no matter how high does not affect anything with my ESA and HB and will not affect their benefits at all? I only ask as on the ESA form then why does it ask about other people in the household and their income?

Thanks. To clarify we live in a 2 bed place. 50% of HB is paid to me for my room 50% of HB is paid to my Father for himself and my Mother for their room Both elements cover the full rent - I still pay a nominal sum of £6.60p/m for CT (this is after pensioner/disabled discounts) My Father gets Pension and Pension credit and DLA (C+M) high rate My Mother gets Pension and middle rate DLA plus carers for my Father So, I presume even though we are in the same household their benefits are NOTHING to do with mine? I noticed on the form I had to declare amounts they received and to be honest I am worried that as my parents between them with HB, Pension, CA, DLA etc get around £2,500p/m DWP will think my parents can support me. Surely I can still claim my 50% HB safely and ESA with no problem?

Hi. I am in a state of panic and hope you can all help. I recently started on ESA and when I done the form I obviously had to let DWP know about other people I live with. In my case it is my parents who get housing benefit as I do (50% of rent and I get the other 50%), pension and pension credit and DLA(both elements) at higher rate for Father and middle for Mother (including carers allowance) My Father now says, although I have heard nothing, that as I let them know about his income from benefits he could now get a cut in benefits as I informed them I am on ESA instead of JSA. Surely as the rate is still £72.40pw their benefits are not even called in to question as this is my money to live off and the same as JSA? He is worried that DWP will say he is getting enough to support me from his money! Surely although living in the same property I am a separate entity on my own as in ESA payments and my 50% of housing benefit and nothing should change at all? Am I worrying over nothing?

I have checked with my Father and my Mother gets CA for him so that is now a defunct area to explore

A few months back I would have said 'hung parliament' and another coalition but I think Cameron is starting to do all the pre-election stuff that stupid gullible people buy and he will get a majority. Put it this way, I am not happy with it but Milliband has no chance IMHO, far too weak and offers nothing

Although it may seem an intrusion I see no problem with this - as many have said they are not intrerested in what your spending habits are. I had to do similar on a 3 monthly basis when in my IVA (now cleared) and that was tougher as I could not use my account for gambling and high cost purchases as that would be ssen as disposable income I could have been paying off my debt so had to be careful. DWP are only interested in seeing if there are any credits to your account that should be there i.e. £500p/m from another source etc.

My guess is firms in the area are there to get some free summer slave labour. Cynical? Moi? (bet I am right though)

More blood on IDS hands. I never wish ill on anyone but in IDS case I do, the man is not human, he is a parasite

Hi. My Father is on DLA highest rate for care and mobility and Mother is on lower rate. I have never thought about claiming for care as I did not think it was an entitlement whilst looking for work or even on ESA. To be honest, altough I am not 100% sure I think part of my Mother's allowance is a care component for my Father so as we are in the samehousehold I doubt I would be eligible.

Thanks. To date I have medical certificates from GP, a historical letter from GP from past problems that have resurfaced and also consultants letters about on going treatment and possible surgery in the near future. Also, not sure how much weight it holds as I live with parents and they are on DLA but I am not an official carer although I do a lot for them daily i.e. shopping, financial sruff etc

I totally agree and that is the action I am taking - it is being used as insurance rather than maliciously should I ever need to used them in the future.. In fact the more evidence that is built up the better the impact, again, should I need to use it

Being new to this process when do you do the ATOS form/questionnaire? When they send you notification or do you do it in advance?

Yes, thank you, useful for me too although I guess I maynot be on ESA long. I know full well I will get ZERO on an ATOS assessment but how long averagely doe sit take for me to be asked to attend one? At the moment I have a month rolling sick note from GP

I am not stupid, I have screen shot everything I have seen and pasted it in to my own document. My relationship with her isn't bad but is not good either - just see each other, do what is asked and gone. She isn't nasty or vindictive and as I am not malicious I am finding it harder to report her. I guess I am waiting for her to be nasty to me or do something I do not agree with but I also think she needs to be told. To be honest, I am not sure what to do at the moment particularly as I am now on ESA and trying to get better myself

I honestly couldn't care less how people percieve what I am looking at, she has stupidly left her profile as public, it is not stalking and is not breaking any laws. Today's offering: "So glad I have Monday off need a break from seeing idiots" Charming person eh?! Disclaimer: Of course she could mean colleagues not claimants but I doubt it

But surely the point is, whatever your stance on the subject matter, if a profile is PUBLIC and out there for all to be seen then that is sheer stupidity and they obviously have no worries about the profile being open for all to see (or are too stupid to restrict access) My GB profile is friends only and last year I also got rid of loads of people who I no longer see or hear from or were simply aquaintances - I now have 22 people as friends on my profile not 597 or whatever like some people. The fact is, I am not malicious, unless something she said was totally inappropriate or against a specific person I would not take it further. It is good to have ammunition if needed though.

I will ignore a certain comment - not worth the aggro. How do I see her posts? Easy, she has a FB profile and it is FULLY PUBLIC i.e. not protected to friends only. I looked her up as a metter of curiousity - no crime in that. If they are going to play with people's lives and are stupid enough to have a public profile then they are asking for trouble. How can clients feel confident in their ability to help people when behind their backs they are being belittled? No, it IS NOT stalking, a public profile means it is public and open for all to see - just need to type name in - not sure why I looked it was just curiousity.

Latest Facebook post from my so called adviser: "Wish I was down the beach rather than being stuck in an office, where none of my clients are turning up cause there at the bloody beach!!!!" Charming attitude, also, for someone that is supposed to help people with CV's etc she really should sort her spelling out!

If this is true that WP can raise a doubt when on ESA surely that contradicts being on ESA and SICK? That is like being signed off of work and your boss emailing/calling you daily to ask for stuff etc? Surely this would amount to harrassment while on sick 'leave'?

Eh? If I am on Assessment rate ESA (same rate as JSA) How can a WP provider sanction me?!

Thanks both, As mine is anxiety and depression (reoccurred from a few years back) I am expecting nothing extra - to be honest extra money is always a bonus but this was not the purpose of my claim - it was to help ME feel better and get some flexibility. Luckily my GP is donw the road from me and very sympathetic. I have a case history so nothing at all to hide either. ATOS, waste of time, expecting NOTHING so not bothered by those parasites either and lets be honest, when I do fill this in I am VERY UNLIKELY to get enough points to get additional help.

Advisers are NOT advisers, many are far less qualified or have less work experience than a lot of people - they are robots for the DWP and care as much about you as a lump of sh*t stuck to the bottom of your show. Never think they are there to help you, they are not

Sorry to hear that, one of the pitfalls of this unempathetic, heartless, cold and darn right disgusting government. Could be anything from litter picking, shop work etc - I feel for you, I really do. Of course if your old injury was to play up and you had to see your GP and get signed off that would be terrible as you would not have to do this slave labour and wouldn't it be terrible if it flared up before your next appointment? Just saying

Hi, I said a few weeks ago that I was thinking about ESA from JSA. I have now done it, enough was enough. With the stress of feeling unwell with my anxiety and depression as well as another medical condition where I have had a few hours here and there at doctors, consultants and having various medical tests done the DWP/adviser at INGEUS got funny with me and said I was 'not actively seeking work for some periods of time' and therefore my claim was at risk. I called central office and explained that I was going through a few things and had a few hours here and there at medical appointments and apparantly I 'should have done a JSA28' (again as already done one for my back a few weeks back) I explained it was NOT a period of sickness, it was on going tests and medical care whilst I aim to get this sorted but they didn't want to know. So, angered by this I made a GP appointment that day (got one luckily) explained to GP my situation with my problems - got meds changed for my A&D and he signed me off and said "it is disgusting behaviour for the government to treat genuine people like this - here is a note for a month and if we need to continue it please come and see me for another note after the month is up and I am happy with your past history to issue one for you" A genuine person has been sh*t on by rules and regulations that offer no flexibility for medical reasons and there is ZERO empathy even though I have all the notes and official letters showing my appointments, dates and times etc. I am so angry with it I have not even contacted INGEUS about this they were the last of my problems but I guess I now should. What is the position with me now being on ESA and job searches/mandatory booked workshops and INGEUS appointments? Should they automatically know I am on ESA via DWP/JCP or do I need to inform them as I have pre-booked appointments and workshops next week that I obviouslydo not want to go to given my sickness/being signed off. The whole system stinks. All I asked for whilst looking for work was some empathy and flexibility whilst I was having some medical procedures done and seeing consultants for this condition - I got NOTHING so I was left with little choice. Thanks