ESA - decision by tel ?

I have noting to lose at this point ..... And a part of me wants to give the dwp bods some work to do 👺!!! for a change

i've submitted a request being specific to ESA and UC WCA health report which i never recvd.

If anything it will make bedtime reading when in recovery from my upcoming operation. Trying to get as much done before my big day ⛔ 🤞🏼

Hiya All ,

I requested SAR on 13 August 25. I got a ltr in response in Oct 25. No info and no call recordings avail !!!

After seeing recent posts about NS ESA and reading this post www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/kunena/10-dla-...%3A-,8,-1%20week%203 , i decide to revisit this thread and pick up where i left off.

i've had a lot on and wanted to check my understanding to see if i missed anything.

I decided to submit a new NS ESA claim for him to safeguard his NI record and potentially protect access to future bens. Lets see ..... might be complete wrong 🤔

Hi David ,

Since moving my paperwork is all over the place unfortunately. But my scrappy diary notes are - 'the SAR response was a one pager stating no calls recorded and not much else. Perhaps bec no claims existed prior to late 2024. Again its so important to record DWP calls for yourself and sanity.

However, I did get a cold call from DWP in Aug 25, prior to SAR response, regarding my query about the NS ESA claim outcome. I explained found it odd to get a call, requesting to withdraw the claim and my circumstances at the time ie i was driving and wasnt ready for call , had no info infront of me, i was put on the spot and uncertain of the impact of my decision.

The agent :-
1 -confirmed the claim was submitted and son was eligible to NS ESA based on his contributions.
2 - explained the notes state that everything was explained to me over the phone and it was noted that i agreed to a voluntary withdrawal of claim rather than DWP closing the claim. Apparently, there are two different ‘status’ markers for closure type.
3 - explained bec it was a voluntary withdrawal there would not have been a folo up letter, to explain the outcome of that call to close claim.
4 - advised we can make a new claim and ask for backdating . any esa awarded would be reconciled against UC payments
5 -re my concerns about material difference , agent advised son was not worse off monetarily , the only impact is on NI credits .
6 - agent advised NI is awarded on UC the same as ESA.
agent adv if son become a carer then the ESA would make a difference to NI credits as a different class of NI would apply .

Its all very weird and confusing.