rsa

hi all. just put a claim in for esa after being off sick for over 1 year,was self employed before.i ticked the contribution box as i had worked the previous 2 years.i called them as i felt unsure that i had ticked the correct box,a very rude lady said to me no you cant claim contribution esa you need a different form.i asked her what about my certificate and form i have sent in,her reply was i dont no i cant stay on the phone for more than 5 mins,quickly took my address and got off the phone.am confused now as not sure as to which 1 i can claim.i do have a partner who works 25 hours.does anyone no if my previous years of working is counted towards it.thanks.

Hi Mary
I have asked a similar question, so no help I know, sorry. I do remember then saying that if I HAD been self employed I might have been able to apply as the rules are more 'elastic'.
Hope you get an answer, it's SO confusing.
Helen

mary wrote:

hi all. just put a claim in for esa after being off sick for over 1 year,was self employed before.i ticked the contribution box as i had worked the previous 2 years.i called them as i felt unsure that i had ticked the correct box,a very rude lady said to me no you cant claim contribution esa you need a different form.i asked her what about my certificate and form i have sent in,her reply was i dont no i cant stay on the phone for more than 5 mins,quickly took my address and got off the phone.am confused now as not sure as to which 1 i can claim.i do have a partner who works 25 hours.does anyone no if my previous years of working is counted towards it.thanks.

It appears that you have become a victim of the widespread call centre regime, whereby the operators are time-limited when dealing with a person's enquiry. If they don't comply with this instruction, they can be disciplined or even sacked!

The ESA1 claim form is the same for claimants whether they be entitled to either contribution-based ESA or income-based ESA. The ESA decision maker will decide what category of ESA is payable based upon the information submitted on the form, and on an individual's NI contribution record. If the DWP do require any further information as regards your self-employment and/or contributions record, they would write to you separately (usually by issuing form B16 inter alia) following the receipt of the ESA1.

Hi,

My husband is self employed, he was entitles to cont. based esa. He completed the same form as anyone else.

Maybe the person you spoke to got out of the wrong side of the bed, or maybe the tea trolley was late.

Kathy

Crazydiamond wrote:

mary wrote:

hi all. just put a claim in for esa after being off sick for over 1 year,was self employed before.i ticked the contribution box as i had worked the previous 2 years.i called them as i felt unsure that i had ticked the correct box,a very rude lady said to me no you cant claim contribution esa you need a different form.i asked her what about my certificate and form i have sent in,her reply was i dont no i cant stay on the phone for more than 5 mins,quickly took my address and got off the phone.am confused now as not sure as to which 1 i can claim.i do have a partner who works 25 hours.does anyone no if my previous years of working is counted towards it.thanks.

It appears that you have become a victim of the widespread call centre regime, whereby the operators are time-limited when dealing with a person's enquiry. If they don't comply with this instruction, they can be disciplined or even sacked!

The ESA1 claim form is the same for claimants whether they be entitled to either contribution-based ESA or income-based ESA. The ESA decision maker will decide what category of ESA is payable based upon the information submitted on the form, and on an individual's NI contribution record. If the DWP do require any further information as regards your self-employment and/or contributions record, they would write to you separately (usually by issuing form B16 inter alia) following the receipt of the ESA1.

Can you not ask to be put through to a decision maker? I would think that as you have submitted a claim, it will be on a section with a DM handling it, the call centre staff in my opinion are hopeless as they are rushed and basically do not rec much training in anything above basic rules.
Its easy to get put off when you get answers like that and it feels like that is the final word, I dont even go into anything detailed with call staff as they implode if you ask them anything!
Callisto x

Mary really just needs to be put through to somebody who can speak for more than five minutes!