Will they claw back my Carers Allowance from my hubby's benefits ?

[Isabell_1511]

Hoping you can help with this, I have just been awarded a Carers allowance for looking after my Husband, it was backdated and I received a lump sum of £1100.

On reflection I think I've been foolish and a little selfish, I have paid for a holiday for myself and my Daughter (my first in 9 years) and arranged for care for my Husband while were gone so most of the money is spent. Now I've been told that the Council will have to be informed about my CA and will probably reduce our HB even more. I'm also worried that my new allowance will be deducted from my Husbands Benefits.

My Husband receives ESA (support group), we live in a Council house and receive Housing Benefit (minus the bedroom tax). Neither of us can work now so there's no other income. I think the ESA is for both of us.

I'll be contacting both our Council and the DWP on Monday to inform them but I have a horrible feeling its all going to turn sour.

Do you think I'll have to pay this money back ? will we have the CA deducted from the ESA we receive ? why is nothing ever easy

[susieq]

I suggest that you contact the Carers UK Adviceline team as they are the experts on all matters related to caring and benefits.

Need expert advice? You can talk to the Carers UK Adviceline five days a week, no matter where you are in the UK or how complex your query is. We do benefits checks and advise on financial and practical matters related to caring.

Freephone: 0808 808 7777
email: advice@carersuk.org
Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm

The Carers UK Adviceline also includes a listening service, there for you to talk through your caring situation with a trained volunteer who understands what you are going through. Available Mondays and Tuesdays, from 9am to 7pm.

If you can’t get through on the phones (lines are often oversubscribed) then send them an email, they’ll usually get back to you within 3-5 working days.

[bowlingbun]

Don't panic, IF there has been an overpayment it will be spread over a reasonable period.

[Colin_1705]

You could offer to pay back , If it comes to that , at say £5.00 per week for example

[bowlingbun]

I forgot to tell DWP that mum was in hospital over 28 days, so there was an overpayment. However there are rules about what benefits they can, and can't, deduct money from. Sorry, I can't remember them exactly, 3 years later, but it was a very low weekly rate. So don't worry.

[Colin_1705]

The council, if it proves that there really has been a so called overpayments will send you a letter. Then you will have he opportunity to offer to refund an amount each week or each month

[Isabell_1511]

Thanks, it's the Council that worries me most, they seem to be a Law unto themselves, a little while back my Husband started getting a small pension, £17 per week, so the Council reduced our housing benefit by £14 even though he had asked them in advance if it would affect anything. If we had known what they would do he would never have taken the pension, so not only do we lose out in the long term, we also get no benefit from it now. The other thing is it takes them months to sort anything out, God knows how much we'll owe by the time they get round to it.

[Susan_17071234]

Thanks, it's the Council that worries me most, they seem to be a Law unto themselves, a little while back my Husband started getting a small pension, £17 per week, so the Council reduced our housing benefit by £14 even though he had asked them in advance if it would affect anything. If we had known what they would do he would never have taken the pension, so not only do we lose out in the long term, we also get no benefit from it now. The other thing is it takes them months to sort anything out, God knows how much we'll owe by the time they get round to it.

But you are still £3 better off with the pension in payment..
I would add that when I claimed a means tested benefit some years ago, they specifically asked if I could draw on a pension and if so how much would I get. I had two choices, don't draw it and the Council would treat me as actually receiving it anyhow or take it and be slightly better off.
It was a no win situation so I claimed my pensions.
Claimants are required to fund their living costs out of their own resources first before expecting anything from the state or council to be awarded.

My claim was for Council Tax benefit at the time and yes you are right it can take months and even then you are not guaranteed to get the correct result. I ended up at the point of having bailiffs being instructed to come round and remove goods before it was eventually sorted.

[Isabell_1511]

Looks like I didnt explain properly when I mentioned the pension, when my Husband took the pension we were really struggling just to keep our house, he took an early pension (he was 57) at a reduced rate, so now we'll never get the full amount. He phoned the DWP, his old Union, and the Council, all of them said it would have no effect on anything we received, the Council either lied or were incompetent, they took nearly all of it.

If they had told the truth he wouldn't have touched it.

[Isabell_1511]

I just got back from the Council Offices, they are reducing our housing benefit by £32 per week (we will now be paying £73 in rent out of our benefits), and they have reduced our Council Tax benefits by £6 per week.
Which means I will get £24 a week from my Carers Allowance.
I also have to pay back £340 of the lump sum I got for backdated carers allowance.