ESA situation

[ANDYANDFLO]

Success!

 

Just got a phone call from the people who deal with the meoney (the processing people) who had just rung the surgery to confirm that note was valid. Money will be paid, in full, to my account by 5pm (fingers crossed - not counted the unhatched chickens and all that!).

 

I'm very grateful to them and this is another instance of where the wretched ESA telephone people wilfully mislead me. Be warned! I was told explicitly yesterday that wasn't possible after the CAB suggested I request this. Turns out it was.

 

Thanks for everyone's responses (on both threads) and could the mods please either delete the Desperate thread or merge it with this one.

 

I hope everything has worked out for you.

 

I must admit to being really shocked that they can work that fast!!

 

Maybe it's because you have your ESA paid into a bank account.

 

When I had your same problem it took over a week to receive my giro, after being told that the renewal 'sick note' had been entered onto the computer system!!

 

Maybe there is something in this direct payment system after all. My normal 2 weekly payments are always at least 2 if not 4 days (if there is a weekend involved) overdue every time. Currently, I should have had a payment yesterday (1/7/10) but unless it comes tomorrow, it will be Monday.

[Brown-Clegg-Cameron2010]

I hope everything has worked out for you.

 

I must admit to being really shocked that they can work that fast!!

 

Maybe it's because you have your ESA paid into a bank account.

 

When I had your same problem it took over a week to receive my giro, after being told that the renewal 'sick note' had been entered onto the computer system!!

 

Maybe there is something in this direct payment system after all. My normal 2 weekly payments are always at least 2 if not 4 days (if there is a weekend involved) overdue every time. Currently, I should have had a payment yesterday (1/7/10) but unless it comes tomorrow, it will be Monday.

 

Hi Andy- wishface. (sounds as if you will get your money)

 

it is the true fact the only way to get payment the same day is by a giro at the job c plus.

3 days ish to your bank, i had the same trouble as wishface at xmas, the payment people were realy good and told me to collect at you JCP.

hope this helps

[wishface]

The direct payment seems to be an option they reserve when things go tits up. Don't really know why they can't use it by default. But that part of the system is fine. It's the useless contact centre staff that seem to be the problem.

Edited July 2, 2010 by wishface

[cerberusalert]

Two threads merged

[RaeUK]

So glad things were finally resolved for you, wishface. Some happy news to end the week with.

Best wishes

Rae

[wishface]

Thanks for the help.

[antone]

So you are saying that, because the note ended on the day before the payment was due (13 days out of that cycle), I should have been paid? That hasn't happened, and I bet if I say this to them I'll just get nowhere and told I'm wrong. This is part of the problem they don't listen and the telephony staff just won't be told, right or wrong.

 

Every time i've asked to speak to a different manager or anyone in the processing department - anyone that's not a telephone manager (she always always enveigles herself into the call and is as you say worse), i'm told they can't do that and they have to 'make a request' to get someone to call back, which never happens. It's always that wretched telephone manager who I could happily swing for.

 

Yes, basically. The procedure for entering a medical certificate goes something like this:

 

 

• Check the cert is valid - that it is signed by the doctor, stamped by the surgery, specifies an incapacity, and a period of unfitness to work
  
• Check the customer's pay date and cycle (cycle=pay week)
  
• Check the start date of the cert. If this is more than 10 days after the end date of the last cert, take "gap action", which varies from one BDC to another
  
• Check the end date of the cert. If the customer's pay day is 10 days or less after that end date, accept the cert to the pay day
  
• Enter the appropriate date on the computer
  
• Proceed through the "evidence-decision-award" cycle to issue any payment due. This is kinda technical, but I can explain if anyone cares.
  

There are a few exceptions to the 10 day rule, but going into them would make for a long and tedious post

 

As far as telephony supervisors go, many of them are not benefit-trained. Their job is simply to manage the telephony teams, and processors at my old grade (AO) will often know more about benefit rules than the managers at the higher (EO) grade. The real benefit experts are the Decision Makers, but you don't generally get to speak to them on the phone.

 

Anyhow, glad you got it sorted in the end.

[antone]

The direct payment seems to be an option they reserve when things go tits up. Don't really know why they can't use it by default. But that part of the system is fine. It's the useless contact centre staff that seem to be the problem.

 

Instant bank account payments are more work and also more of a fraud risk (mainly internal fraud by staff, not so much fraud by customers) than regular system-issued payments. The only thing that's more hassle is a counter giro paid at a Jobcentre same day. Boy did I hate issuing those. Here's how they tended to go:

 

 

• "Evidence-decision-award" cycle, remembering to specify a temporary change to method of payment.
  
• Collect the automatically printed FF100 payment panel from a printer, generally realising that you've forgotten to select the correct printer and sent the job to the other end of the office
  
• Sign the payment panel. Find a manager to authorise it. Good luck with that, they're probably all in a meeting
  
• Enter the payment to be issued on the Local Payment System, which is probably down.
  
• Assuming it's working, find a manager to authorise that. They're still in that damn meeting
  
• Fax FF100 to the Jobcentre.
  
• Wait for inevitable phone call from the Jobcentre stating that they didn't get the fax and that the customer has arrived and is raising hell in the waiting area
  
• Fax it again
  
• Jobcentre calls to say thanks, they got the fax, but your manager hasn't properly authorised the payment in LPS and the customer is now apopleptic and is threatening to call 999 and demand the immediate presence of their MP, Darra Singh and the SAS
  
• Find your manager and tell them they screwed up, always fun to do
  
• Payment issued. Return to the start of the list. Repeat 20 times per day for a week
  

[RaeUK]

Antone, you make it sound such fun!

Bureacracy never seems to change...

Best wishes

Rae