Is there anything else I can claim besides crisis loans?

[Morpheus82]

Hi all,

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible,

 

I made my new claim for ESA in December and am still waiting for it to go through.

 

Been getting crisis loans to live on but was told yesterday that my social fund debt has now reached the £1500 limit so I can't get any more.

 

Can't get an interim payment of ESA because they need to arrange a visit to make sure me and the friend I live with are not a couple.

 

Is there anything else I can claim or are there any special circumstances where the social fund might continue to help me?

 

Thanks in advance.

[flumps1976]

You can call to request an interim payment, the processing team aren't keen on these as they are clercical assessments and although not guaranteed it is something you can request.

[Morpheus82]

You can call to request an interim payment, the processing team aren't keen on these as they are clercical assessments and although not guaranteed it is something you can request.

 

Thanx for the response, I have asked for an interim payment but was told that I can't get 1 because I have 2 have a home visit before the claim can go any further.

[Morpheus82]

So is there any other help I can get other than an interim payment or a crisis loan?

[flumps1976]

Not as far as I know sorry

 

What protection is there for customers who are in financial distress?

An interim payment of ESA can be considered pending determination of entitlement.

Customers can apply for a crisis loan from the Social Fund.

This was in the following like http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/ssa/ssa-projects-and-initiatives/ssani-esa/esa-advisers-customer-reps/esa-faq-for-advisers.htm

The idea of an interim payment is tat it is not an assessment of benefit and if you can receive a payment then you sign a declaration stating that in the vent of not having any entitlement to receive the benefits you have applied for you agree to repay in full and also any interim payment is repaid in full at the start of any award that is made.

You need to call again on Monday and request a callback from the ESA processing team leader to discuss your request for an interim payment or fior them to request an urgent home visit to be able to make a determination of your benefit claim.

Edited January 26, 2013 by flumps1976

[Morpheus82]

Not as far as I know sorry

 

What protection is there for customers who are in financial distress?

An interim payment of ESA can be considered pending determination of entitlement.

Customers can apply for a crisis loan from the Social Fund.

This was in the following like http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/ssa/ssa-projects-and-initiatives/ssani-esa/esa-advisers-customer-reps/esa-faq-for-advisers.htm

The idea of an interim payment is tat it is not an assessment of benefit and if you can receive a payment then you sign a declaration stating that in the vent of not having any entitlement to receive the benefits you have applied for you agree to repay in full and also any interim payment is repaid in full at the start of any award that is made.

You need to call again on Monday and request a callback from the ESA processing team leader to discuss your request for an interim payment or fior them to request an urgent home visit to be able to make a determination of your benefit claim.

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. I will definitely get onto them first thing on Monday to try get this sorted out. It's been almost 9 weeks that I haven't been paid now. Really getting sick of it now but, oh well.

 

Once again thanks for the advice.

[Morpheus82]

*update*

Got a letter on Monday morning for the home visit, set for Thursday, but phoned them and got it changed to Tuesday. The guy came out and saw me and my friend, took all the info and told me he was going to fax over the info to the decision maker that afternoon. Phoned ESA and got told I'd get a callback which only came on Wednesday morning. Got told, "yeah it's with the decision maker now so we should have it sorted by lunchtime" lunchtime came and went and once again I phoned ESA only to be told that I had to wait for another callback. Long story short, after chasing them up all day yesterday, I was then told that the compliance officer has to come out and see me again before anything can be processed. He's suposed to be coming out this afternoon which means I'm probably not gonna get this sorted till Monday.

This is soooo stressfull, can't believe that they can treat people like this. It's 9 weeks since I've last had any sort of payment so what do they expect people to do?