ESA Claim Started But No Payment

[LifeIsAMess]

Hi all,

 

Was wondering if anyone can put my mind at rest about this if possible?

 

My ESA claim started on Dec 10th...I was usually paid IB on a friday which means with their "no breaks in payment" policy I should have gotten a payment yesterday as normal but I didn't. The last payment I got was on the 6th.

 

Does anyone know if they shift payments to accommodate the new claim date or am I likely to be facing some kind of other problem here? The woman that phoned me about my claim did specifically say nothing would change so that's why I'm worried and also the time of year is not the best. I could kick myself for not checking yesterday then I could have phoned...now I have to wait til Monday but if anyone could put my mind at ease til then it would be much appreciate.

 

Thanks x

[45002]

Do ring them 1st thing Monday morning, especially festive season up us

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?413170-Benefits-over-the-Festive-Season-2013-14-Courtesy-of-poster-45002&p=4423107&viewfull=1#post4423107

 

Can you check your bank account at a cash point, on line banking or ring your bank up to check for incoming payments !

[LifeIsAMess]

Do ring them 1st thing Monday morning, especially festive season up us

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?413170-Benefits-over-the-Festive-Season-2013-14-Courtesy-of-poster-45002&p=4423107&viewfull=1#post4423107

 

Can you check your bank account at a cash point, on line banking or ring your bank up to check for incoming payments !

 

I do plan to phone first thing on Monday...I have bad anxiety so was looking for some peace of mind before then. I have online banking but it doesn't show incoming payments.

 

Thanks for the link

[antone]

It is possible that your actual payment day will have changed, as ESA payments are based on your NI number.

 

It's worked out like this:

 

Take the last two digits (ignoring the final letter) of your NI. If they are

 

• 00-19 your payment date is Monday
  
• 20-39, Tuesday
  
• 40-59, Wednesday
  
• 60-79, Thursday
  
• 80-99, Friday
  

Because ESA is paid fortnightly, they then need to decide which of the two weeks you'll be paid - this is known as the "cycle". If the two digits are even, you're in cycle P. If they're odd, it's cycle R. That sounds more confusing than it is, so as an example, the last two digits of my NI number are 86. That would make my pay day Friday. And 86 is an even number, so I'm in cycle P. Next week is a P week, so my next payment would be due Friday 27th December. For those in cycle R, it will be Friday 3rd January.

 

Over the holiday period, any payment due on a day the banks are closed (25th, 26th Dec, 1st Jan, 2nd Jan in Scotland) will be advanced to the last working day before the closure.

[LifeIsAMess]

Thanks antone, in that case mine would fall on a Monday so that has put my mind at rest some thanks for that

 

Just when she emphesised how nothing would change and no breaks in payment etc that's why I started to worry. I also did a google search and it seems the problem is quite problem especially with the first payment.

[antone]

It is possible that there could be a delay with your first payment, so I would still make the call on Monday, especially if nothing appears in your bank account. Just bear in mind that it will be a very busy day for the JCP office, so call early (they open at 8am) and preferably from a landline if possible (to keep costs down) since you might find yourself on hold listening to Vivaldi music for a while.

 

When I processed ESA we did make a push to clear as many outstanding claims before Xmas as we could.