× Search rightsnet
Search options

Where

Benefit

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

From

to

Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

UC helpline - just saying

Mairi
forum member

Welfare rights officer - Dunedin Canmore Housing Association

Send message

Total Posts: 271

Joined: 25 June 2010

Just spoken to someone at the UC helpline to chase up a claim for new-style ESA that we’d had to submit by post because we couldn’t previously get through on the phone, and the one time we did the systems weren’t working.  Told that although their number is given as point of contact, all they could do was give me an email address.

Flipping ‘eck - 52 minutes on hold for that!!

Mairi
forum member

Welfare rights officer - Dunedin Canmore Housing Association

Send message

Total Posts: 271

Joined: 25 June 2010

Sent an email and this is the reply I got - thought it might be useful to put out there because as far as I know the DWP were taking applications over the phone a month ago.  Also bearing in mind that this is claimant who was told by her local Jobcentre that there was nothing she could claim when she was refused UC!


We have received your correspondence and will look at it in due course. If you have sent a new style ESA claim it will be processed within 10 working days. If this is the case please ensure you have completed the important steps from the ALP, laid out below:
• Ensure the customer has completed a customer commitment and provided I.D documents either at their local jobcentre or via home visit. Claims are not payable until these steps have been completed

• Ensure you have provided bank account details/Medical Evidence for the customer.**DO NOT REDACT ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION SUCH AS BANK DETAILS OR NINO’S AS PER ALP INSTRUCTIONS AND INCLUDE ALL DOCUMENTS IN ONE EMAIL RATHER THAN SPREAD ACROSS SEVERAL. **

• You must send the claim form as one uploaded document and not as multiple pages to make upload to DRS possible post processing.

• **ESA NEW STYLE CLAIMS SHOULD ONLY BE SENT VIA THIS SHARED MAILBOX. ANY CLAIMS SENT IN THE POST OR UPLOADED TO DRS OR THROUGH ANY OTHER PROCESS WILL EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT DELAYS.**

• Med certs or any further evidence relating to a new style claim which is already live should be directed to the owning BC via business as usual process and not to this inbox which is for new claims only.
If you are from a third party organisation or are a Claimant you should not send any correspondence to this inbox, please contact UC phone line on 0800 328 5644 (choose option 2 & 6) immediately to make an appointment and complete the ESA new style process. Failure to do this may lead to significant delays in your claim being processed

Hattie S
forum member

Macmillanbenefits - Croydon CAB

Send message

Total Posts: 15

Joined: 8 December 2015

What email address did they give you? I have never encountered this before, whenever I call to order new style ESA forms they will ask for the claimant’s email address to send them the forms, but I have never been told I had to email to request the forms be sent. Having an email address to do this might actually avoid the long phone waiting times!

Dan_Manville
forum member

Mental health & welfare rights service - Wolverhampton City Council

Send message

Total Posts: 2262

Joined: 15 October 2012

That email reply speaks to me that they expect it to be used by internal users; that NSESA claims are being submitted by appointment over a desk. Being as they used to demand an appointment at JCP to accept the claim form that doesn’t surprise me but all the same there’s something a bit skew whiff about it.

Mairi
forum member

Welfare rights officer - Dunedin Canmore Housing Association

Send message

Total Posts: 271

Joined: 25 June 2010

The email address I was given was .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

It definitely works as I’ve already received a reply - allbeit that there’s no record of the application…..