There are some days when I feel that I have not a brain cell to rub together and am filled with uncertainty and on these days it would be really great if the benefit system was easy to understand. Oh yes this is not likely but at the very least it would be good if there was somewhere to turn to ask these questions without having to ring a call centre. (In fact the website is very good)
I find the dissemination of information and the incomplete way that it is handled on the web and by people means that you can get several different answers to the same question from the different.
And in case you’re wondering yes there is a difference, pretty much in the same way that some people could get Incapacity benefit and some couldn’t.
I don’t know but having gone through rounds of asking different people, such as MIND, Job Centre staff, a call centre for benefits and looking online at the website it seems odd that I didn’t have a better idea about what I was receiving.
Maybe it was buried in that 5 page letter that explained what level I was receiving and what I needed to do if my circumstances changed but somehow I haven’t quite found it. And the fact that I was up for reassessment in Feb this year and still haven’t heard a dickie bird from them about my ESA entitlement isn’t helping either.
I think the fun part for me is that most people don’t even know that because neither the job centre or the call seemed to grasp why I might be asking and when I point out that I am trying to get reimbursed for transport costs to appointments and the Dentist they said ‘well that’s the NHS and we don’t have anything to do with that’
Right because we are not supposed to send the forms through your office at all are we?
I might add that you can get housing benefit forms from the job centre too and that’s dealt with by your local council and at one point although I don’t know if it’s still the same they gave out different forms!
Honestly all I can say is this that whether you know anything about these other benefits or not that fact that we are supposed to return forms to you or can get them from you implies that you might know something about the benefits themselves and handing out information when you don’t know the answers because you’ve not been trained may seem like a good idea but it isn’t and secondly it’s damned frustrating that I have to go to 3 different places to get answers if about my claims. Not least because of being anxious about asking questions and getting my benefits stopped. If I want general information then the website is the best place but it won’t tell me about my claims.
Oh and for the record when I asked the job centre about my ESA claim they told me I that I was getting both income related and contributions related which I thought was a total laugh as when I asked them what that meant they said they didn’t know! Great guys you have the information so why don’t you know what it means and you’re a manager here, speaks volumes I think. Please note she did say that they were only trained on ESA as far as it related to the Work Related Activity Group but really it would be good if you have access to this information that you know what it means.
And it means since I am in the full support group that I am eligible for contributions based ESA but I am of such a low income that it is being topped up. So I can claim my health benefits by ticking the box income related ESA at source and if my income should improve I can still claim ESA as long as I remain in the full support group at a lower rate and for a year once I enter the work related activity group.
But really I could do without this and a named person I can contact about my claim would be good and it would be even better if I didn't have to hang on the phone for 10-15 waiting to get my phone call answered.
I find the dissemination of information and the incomplete way that it is handled on the web and by people means that you can get several different answers to the same question from the different.
Not sure about you, but I have been asking the question Do I get income related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or do I not?
In fact at one point I was asking is there anything other than Income Related ESA? Because I was beginning to believe that actually regardless of whether you had made contributions or not it was all classed as income related because that’s what the people were telling me. I hadn’t really thought this was a difficult question to answer how wrong was I.And in case you’re wondering yes there is a difference, pretty much in the same way that some people could get Incapacity benefit and some couldn’t.
I don’t know but having gone through rounds of asking different people, such as MIND, Job Centre staff, a call centre for benefits and looking online at the website it seems odd that I didn’t have a better idea about what I was receiving.
Maybe it was buried in that 5 page letter that explained what level I was receiving and what I needed to do if my circumstances changed but somehow I haven’t quite found it. And the fact that I was up for reassessment in Feb this year and still haven’t heard a dickie bird from them about my ESA entitlement isn’t helping either.
So why is this important?
Well for a start if I am receiving income related ESA then I don’t need to fill in a form to get a certificate to get Health benefits I get them automatically and I can just sign a form at my Dentist, opticians and hospital to get my free health care. If I’m on contributions based than I have to fill the form in and wait for the certificate to hand over to people to prove that I am entitled.I think the fun part for me is that most people don’t even know that because neither the job centre or the call seemed to grasp why I might be asking and when I point out that I am trying to get reimbursed for transport costs to appointments and the Dentist they said ‘well that’s the NHS and we don’t have anything to do with that’
Right because we are not supposed to send the forms through your office at all are we?
I might add that you can get housing benefit forms from the job centre too and that’s dealt with by your local council and at one point although I don’t know if it’s still the same they gave out different forms!
Honestly all I can say is this that whether you know anything about these other benefits or not that fact that we are supposed to return forms to you or can get them from you implies that you might know something about the benefits themselves and handing out information when you don’t know the answers because you’ve not been trained may seem like a good idea but it isn’t and secondly it’s damned frustrating that I have to go to 3 different places to get answers if about my claims. Not least because of being anxious about asking questions and getting my benefits stopped. If I want general information then the website is the best place but it won’t tell me about my claims.
Oh and for the record when I asked the job centre about my ESA claim they told me I that I was getting both income related and contributions related which I thought was a total laugh as when I asked them what that meant they said they didn’t know! Great guys you have the information so why don’t you know what it means and you’re a manager here, speaks volumes I think. Please note she did say that they were only trained on ESA as far as it related to the Work Related Activity Group but really it would be good if you have access to this information that you know what it means.
And it means since I am in the full support group that I am eligible for contributions based ESA but I am of such a low income that it is being topped up. So I can claim my health benefits by ticking the box income related ESA at source and if my income should improve I can still claim ESA as long as I remain in the full support group at a lower rate and for a year once I enter the work related activity group.
But really I could do without this and a named person I can contact about my claim would be good and it would be even better if I didn't have to hang on the phone for 10-15 waiting to get my phone call answered.
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