ESA to Universal Credit. Threatened with sanctions

Gordon wrote:

brainbiter wrote: I get Support Group ESA and DLA [mental and physical health problems]. Yesterday I had a phone call from a local authority welfare advice unit saying I'd be contacted in March about a move to UC. She didn't say [or I can't remember owing to panic] whether this would be by letter or telephone. I cannot deal with telephone calls and ignore numbers I don't recognise anyway. How do I avoid Bob's fate? Universal credit horror stories are themselves becoming universal.

No claimants are being migrated to UC at this time, the only reason your claims would be moved would be if you were in a full service area and had to make a new claim for a benefit that comes under the UC umbrella, for example a new claim for Housing Benefit.

If you are not making a new claim for anything then you should question why they are trying to move you and should certainly not agree to any such move without getting face to face advice first.

Gordon

According to the CAB eligibility checker I 'live in a live service area'. Not that is doesn't say 'full service'. I don't know whether there's a difference. The only thing UC seems likely to replace with me is Housing Benefit, but I've an active and long-standing claim to that all ready so I see no need to renew it.

Thing is I still haven't had my DLA-to-PIPS letter and am naturally concerned about the knock-on effects for other claims if things go badly with that. I'm agoraphobic and can't get out to a Welfare Rights or CAB. My local Welfare Rights has closed and my CPN won't hear the word 'Benefits'. She and her social services team confine themselves to their work remit since trying to involve themselves with helping claimants and getting their fingers burnt, which leaves me wondering who's there to advise me when the form finally comes through the letter box?

Brainbiter.

Sorry to post again but I've just found that the 'full digital service' will be rolled out in my areas on 7th March. This explains the phone call. It seems it's only a change of circumstance that will see people asked to apply for UC, but they've apparently identified several thousand potential 'customers' according to my Housing Association, and if my HA contacted me at home by phone it's at least possible I'm among them - and that they'll do the same, especially as it's an system to remove the need for a paper trail. I'll wait and see but with no source of advice it could get tricky.