ESA to be income assessed as of this month..

I am looking for some advice. As of this month my ESA will be income assessed as I have had the maximum days allowed. (I do not qualify for this as my partner earns too much). I was put in the WRAG group but believe I should have been put in the support group. I did not appeal at the time as my mood was too low. I suffer from clinical depression and an anxiety disorder and have been too ill to work since 2007.

I am due to have a baby on the 10/02/14 and as a result of becoming pregnant I had to change medications. The anti depressant I am on at the moment does not give me much relieve from my symptoms. My situation has obviously changed since they made their decision. What do I do now? Put in a late appeal or reapply for ESA? I am so worried about being £400 down a month. Please help

The time limit for making appeals is 13 months from the date of the original decision.
Another possibility is to ask for a review of your claim; this may result in you being placed in the support group, remaining in the WRAG or being found fit for work.

ali wrote: I am looking for some advice. As of this month my ESA will be income assessed as I have had the maximum days allowed. (I do not qualify for this as my partner earns too much). I was put in the WRAG group but believe I should have been put in the support group. I did not appeal at the time as my mood was too low. I suffer from clinical depression and an anxiety disorder and have been too ill to work since 2007.

I am due to have a baby on the 10/02/14 and as a result of becoming pregnant I had to change medications. The anti depressant I am on at the moment does not give me much relieve from my symptoms. My situation has obviously changed since they made their decision. What do I do now? Put in a late appeal or reapply for ESA? I am so worried about being £400 down a month. Please help

Hi a,

The maximum period for making a request for a late appeal is 13 months after the date of an adverse decision.

If you were still within this time frame and the late appeal was allowed, The DWP and/or any Tribunal Panel could only re-look at how you were at the time of the adverse decision, and whether you should have been placed into The SG at that time.

They would/could not take into account any deterioration/change in your condition since that time.

If you feel that you may now qualify for the SG due to a change/deterioration in your condition, then you could request a review/supersession.

This would involve a fresh reassessment/ESA50, etc, and you would have to provide documented evidence of the change/deterioration, and show that due to this, your resulting limitations now qualify you for entry to The SG, in that you fulfill at least one of The SG descriptors.

If you were successfully reviewed and placed into The SG, payment of your CB ESA would be reinstated, and remain in payment for as long as you remained in The SG.

If you were allowed to make a late appeal, and were successful, The SG award would be backdated to the time of the adverse WRAG award, and your 365 days entitlement to CB ESA would be reset to "zero"

As the initial adverse decision was prior to 28/10/13, you could make a late appeal (if you are still within the 13 months, which is rigid) using GL24 which can be downloaded from the link on this page :

How to submit an appeal

From our : Appeals FAQ’s

See also : ESA Claims Guides

&

ESA FAQ’s

If you are out of time for a late appeal, you can write a letter to The Benefits Office dealing with your ESA informing them of the deterioration/change in your condition, and that you are requesting a review of your current WRAG award to gain entry to The SG.

Sending Documents to the DWP or ATOS

Please reply to this topic if you have further queries.

N.B. Mod Edit

Reapplying for ESA is of no benefit.

If you are not entitled to Income Related (IR) ESA, the only way that payments of CB ESA could be made to you once more, (besides the successful late appeal or review routes) would be to gain the necessary NI Contributions from employment.

As things stand, if you remain in The WRAG, you would receive NI Credits towards your State Pension only, but no monies.

This would still apply if you made a fresh claim for ESA before gaining the necessary NI Contributions from employment. :

12 Month Limit for ESA(CB)

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