Good morning all. I was receiving esa , pip etc when I had an inheritance which took me over savings limit. DWP notified and all good etc, received letter to say when saving below limit to ask for claim to be looked at again. This I did in the beginning of April, sent bank statements etc. Asked for more information beginning of May as they said some bank statements missing so sent off along with print out of everything I had spent money on down to coffee in local shop. Just received a letter back stating even though my claim was live I need to make a new claim and as new claims are not allowed I have to claim UC. Does anyone know if this is correct as I have come up with different answers when I try to google it? If I have to claim UC I will lose all my SD payments even though my conditions have got worse. I did read somewhere that if I was entitled to SDP I won’t be able to claim UC, not sure if this is correct or there is a time limit on that.
If your savings exceeded the £16,000 limit for Income Related ESA then your eligibility for ESA(IR) was terminated, unless you were/are also receiving Contribution Based ESA (not New Style ESA) then you cannot make a new claim for what is no called legacy ESA and your only option is to claim Universal Credit.
As you do not have an ESA(IR) claim you are not entitled to the SD Premium and therefore you are not barred from claiming UC.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
