ESA3 - Worth Trying For

[Breeze]

Hello,

I had never heard of an ESA3 form until looking on this site.  It is about a 50 pages long (groan) form which is for people who are on Contribution Based ESA (i'm in the Support Group) and this form can put you on Income Based ESA also which can help you get other benefits.  I filled it in at the end of September but didn't hear anything and was told a couple of weeks ago that it had been lost by the DWP and they sent me another to fill in   >doh<  I've not had the chance or the inclination to bother which was just as well as i got one of the dreaded brown envelopes through the door on Saturday morning which turned out to be good news.  It would seem they had received the form after all and i have been given the extra Enhanced Disablity Payment of £14-50 a week which has also been back dated to when i was first put into the Support Group in August.

I have contacted my fuel supplier who have a warm home discount scheme which takes £130 off the electric bill once a year.  They are sending me an application form.

Just thought this was worth bringing up again for anyone who doesn't know about it as it may be of help to someone.

Take care

Breeze.

[Sunshine Meadows]

Breeze,

Thank you for posting this  >thumbsup<

A lot of people who get contributions based ESA are on low incomes and so are also entitled to a portion of Income Based ESA.

Knowing the name of the form and also being reminded that getting income based benefit entitled the claimant to other things like free prescriptions, council tax benefit, fuel discounts etc is going to help more people.

Good thread title too  >star<

[Hurtyback]

That is good news Breeze  >thumbsup< , thanks for drawing it to our attention.

[Monic1511]

Breeze
as your now receiving income related ESA as well as con based esa you may be due the council tax and rent rebates as well, if your not getting them already.
If your receiving housing or council tax benefits remember and tell the council that your now on income related esa

Glad you got some good news as well

Monic

[Breeze]

Thank you Monic, good point there.  Actually, for some odd reason the housing benefit office had already got it on their records i was now entitled to full rebate on housing payments when i checked (due to them sending me a refund on overpaid countil tax) as i had carried on paying rent and council tax as you have to do when on contribution based ESA. I also had to apply for a refund on overpaid rent but have now had that too.  I've no idea what on earth happened there but i will inform them it is official i should be entitled to full help now.  I shall also have to contact the DWP again as the form does not clearly state what benefits they are paying me, it just says "Due to a change in circumstances".  It was only the amount i would be paid on the form which i knew added up to the fact i was getting the extra each week which meant it had gone through, but i do need it clearly in writing.  The DWP are very vague indeed - that must be the understatement of the morning so far lol.

I hope more people try for it if they can despite the (as always) long from to fill in but it does just ask for basic details.   :-) 

[KizzyKazaer]

...i was now entitled to full rebate on housing payments when i checked (due to them sending me a refund on overpaid countil tax) as i had carried on paying rent and council tax as you have to do when on contribution based ESA.

I assume you were getting some Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit when you were receiving contribution-based ESA - you shouldn't have had to pay in full if that was the only money coming into the household. You could have applied for help with NHS costs under the Low Income Scheme as well - just to clarify that not receiving income-based ESA doesn't necessarily mean no extra benefits! 

[Breeze]

Hi Kizzy   :-)  Yes, i was getting some council tax and rent rebate already, wasn't paying the full amount.  I also used to have an HC2 on low income grounds for my prescriptions and that is ongoing until next spring, but wouldn't need it now anyway.

[Breeze]

Just a quick update on this.  Having phoned the DWP to ask for a clear letter stating what benefit they are actually paying me, i was told that (after filling in the ESA3 which they said they hadn't received) it seems rather than being on a combination now of both contribution based and income based ESA as i thought, apparently, after filling in this form i have been transferred from contribution based to income based.  They told me that is what they do - take you off one and put you on the other!

I didn't know that, but they said you can't be on both, it's one or the other.  Just thought i'd mention it.   :-)

[KizzyKazaer]

Actually, having given it some thought, this would be logical really (well, as far as logic goes with the DWP, anyway ;-))  The equivalent of contributory ESA - Incapacity Benefit - had no 'income-based' element.  Instead, people had to claim the entirely different benefit Income Support as a top-up.  Now we have just the one benefit, but with two elements.  So this 'one or the other' does make a kind of sense - if the DWP person informed you correctly!

[Breeze]

If they have informed me correctly is indeed the question Kizzy...   >erm<  As i said earlier, i hadn't even heard of the ESA3 form and i was thinking - is this another one of those things that people don't know about because the DWP don't want them to know?  If i hadn't read about it on here i wouldn't have had a clue!  Would anyone be refused being transferred from one benefit to the other for some reason i wonder as i can't see how they would and it seems to me very unfair that people don't know about this, but doesn't surprise me it isn't made common knowledge as that would be typical of the DWP   >steam<

[Martin]

Hello, I need help please. I have been through since March 2013 when, after a interview with atos, I lost benefits. I won my appeal on May 12th this year, and hadn't heard a thing until I rang DWP on Friday last. The woman I wasn't entitled to anything because I am placed in the work Related Group and have lost any back pay. I did recieved some money at the end of May, but nothing since, however, this girl on the phone has sent me a form ESA3, is this correct? I really, really can't keep doing this.
Many thanks for any help I may recieve.

Martin

[KizzyKazaer]

Hi Martin and welcome to OuchToo;  if I am reading your post right, your appeal concerned ESA WRAG (work-related activity group) for a year that has now passed.  For contributions-based ESA (ESA-C) only, a placement in WRAG means you are only entitled to this benefit for one year, so it sounds like entitlement has lapsed - that's where the ESA3 comes in, because there is no time limit on income-based ESA whatever group you're in.  So yes, to continue getting any money (and the attached help that comes with it like Housing and Council Tax Benefit) you do need to complete this. 

As for the back-pay, I am assuming you have been paid all this now?  Regardless of being in the WRAG, you are still entitled to that year's worth of ESA-C.  I suspect that the woman you spoke to really meant that you can't get any more ESA-C from here on in.  But you still might qualify for income-based, so do please persevere with the ESA3 and let us know how it turns out  >x-fingers<

[Sunshine Meadows]

Martin,

Kizzy has given you good advice already so I only need to add a bit which is if your are successful in getting Income Based WRAG ESA you might get some back money but I think it might be limited to three months.

It is important you keep you claim live because should you illnesses/disabilities become worse you could be entitled to Support Group ESA which has no time limits on contributions based.

If you have a partner that works they might be eligible for tax credits.