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Bamboozled is not the word!!!

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4 days 6 hours ago #304566 by Sue
Bamboozled is not the word!!! was created by Sue
Hi, could someone please help with my frustration and bamboozlement.
I received my migration notice in Feb 2025 and had until May 2025 to complete the move from ESA to UC.
On the 17th April I applied for UC, I waited that long because even though I knew the move over was coming it knocked me for six when it did. I paid for the booklet on here which helped me greatly to understand the process. I then waited as benefits were going up on the 12th April and if I had claimed for UC before then I wouldn't be entitled to the uplift. Then I worked it out so that my first UC payment would arrive in time to cover my direct debits. Your assessment period is in my case the 17th April to the 16th May plus 7 days then you get your first payment. So I went ahead and filled everything in. Through my Journal I would find out on the 19th May what I would be entitled to!!!
On the 25th April I received my normal ESA payment of £323.50 which is paid two weeks in arrears covering the period I have since found out the 12th-25th April. I then received a letter stating that my Ir-ESA was ending on the 17th April and I would get my final payment in the bank. On the 9th May I received £296.25.
When I filled the UC forms in on the 17th April I somehow failed the ID process and on the 22nd April I would be doing a Biographical Test via phonecall, I passed. During that phonecall I was told that I would be entitled to the transitional protection payment!! I also asked them if they could pay my rent direct to my landlord and could I be considered for fortnightly payments (I was told it was twice monthly...to me that is the same as fortnightly but apparently not). I was accepted for both.
19th May arrives and I log on to my Journal to see what I would be getting and immediately felt very sick and started crying as the payment section said that I would get £91 on the 23rd May and £91 on the 6th June. On the payment section it said what i was entitled to like Standard Allowance, my housing costs plus stated the portion I was eligible to pay, my LCWA part but transitional protection was £0.00. Then i turned over the page where it said the total amount before deductions. They deducted off £609.05 for ESA, £31.55 for the advance payment I received and deducted my housing costs which left me £182.81 for the whole month. Automatically I thought how can anyone live on that. So trying to calm myself down as I could feel myself getting anxious I phoned UC. I couldn't quite grasp what the man was telling me and one of my questions was I thought I was entitled to a two week run on of my ESA. Also explained the dates that I got the letter and how it says my final payment would cover the period 17th April to the 30th April. He said to check my journal as he'd wrote a message which I did after the phonecall. All he had said was that he would put my questions to someone and that they have until 6pm tonight the 20th to respond, I wasn't happy so I wrote a massive long message stating everything that I had told him so that I personally had a record of it on my journal. I then phoned ESA in a queue with music kept saying we know you are waiting and will answer as soon as we can...AFTER 1hr1min I hung up. Tried again an hour later same thing again and I hung up after 57mins. I took screenshots of the two calls and how long I had waited. I then get a message on my journal where UC were saying that the £296.25 covers the period of 26/4/25 to 9/5/25 (even though i have it in b/w what dates ESA say it covers) and the payment I got on the 25th April of £323.50 (my ESA) were both in the assessment period and have been deducted correctly?? If you add those two amounts together it comes to £619.75 and they deducted £609.05 leaving a difference of £10.70!!!! So is that my two week benefits run on??? While on Income related ESA I was getting £161.75 per week...I can't work because of my health and not entitled to PIP as I have tried twice.
Am I daft in thinking a two week run on after claiming UC would be two weeks of my benefits yet that money has all been deducted off. So I got a taxi up to the local Jobcentre without an appointment to see if they could explain it all to me in person. Saw a man and for the FIRST time since I've been claiming ESA (Dec 2012) I was told that I must have signed up for both income related and contribution based ESA...not ONCE have I ever ever had any letter stating that.
So apparently the letter I received to say my ESA was ending was the income related side and that I would still be getting the contribution based and would receive on the 23rd May £281.10 ESA plus the £91 UC....he said that the transitional protection payment needed to be looked into same as the UC guy from the phonecall. The man in the Jobcentre said he would send a message to my journal to say I needed an appointment but that I was too ignore it as he was treating that talk as the appointment as it was too late for him to do anything as they were closing, he printed all my UC payment part off for me. But what he did say which I'm trying hard to figure it out and I can't is that EVERY assessment period/month when it shows my payment schedule is that I will always have -£609.05 deducted WHY!!! £281.10 x 2 = £562.20 which will be my ESA.
It is now nearly 3pm on the 20th May and that man from the Jobcentre has NOT put any message on my journal still. No message still to say if I'm entitled to transitional protection payment (when you go to fill in the UC forms and even in the booklet I paid for it states if you wait until your migration notice you WILL be entitled to transitional protection payment) and I also need to know what money is supposed to be my two week run on.
Could someone please answer any of these questions. Thankyou Susan

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23 hours 11 minutes ago #304715 by BIS
Replied by BIS on topic Bamboozled is not the word!!!
Hi Sue

I'm sorry that you're having such a frustrating time over this - but we're not in the position of being able to clarify figures in this way - it's outside the remit of this forum.

If you haven't already - I would try the UC helpline
0800 328 5644

You are supposed to get a response to your journal within 48 hours. As you are not getting the help you need, you could consider putting in a formal complaint.

BIS

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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