Carers Allowance

Hi Christine,
I am sorry to hear about the circumstances thst has lead to this post. I appreciate that you are clearly having a rough time.
OK, first of all I think it is really important that you seek specialist advice from eg CAB or other benefits advice centre to ascertain what benefit entitlement you might have as a widow. (I apologise about using such a blunt term.)
If you have been involved with Macmillan Cancer Care they may also be able to assist. Have a look here for organisations near you.
advicelocal.uk/
I think you need to have ideas of what to do now when things are still relatively normal, and you are not at crisis point.You may be entitled to Widows Benefit, depending on your circumstances . Although there is normally a 4 week run-on for Carers Allowance which will continue after you no longer care for someone, after this date you will not be able to receive CA, unless you become the carer for someone else, eg your sister. (Same rules as before- 35hrs or more caring for someone with at least PIP at standard daily living rate or the equivalent under eg DLA or Attendance Allowance. Also earnings less than £128 per week.)
If you can't claim CA then unless you have private funding you may have to consider claiming Universal Credit or finding work.
This is why it is crucial to seek specialist advice as there will no doubt be different options that need to be fully considered.)
OK, let's consider the overpayment.
Things to consider
1.Is there actually an overpayment?
2.If so, what is the amount?
3.Is it repayable? (Not all Overpayments are - even if DWP demands payment!)
4.If it is repayable, would DWP agree to cancelling all or part of it, by virtue if mitigating circumstances?
5.Or worse case scenario- you have to repay, on which basis you organise a payment schedule.
Again I suggest specialist advice, but here's a few things to point you in the right direction.
1.So, is this an overpayment? If you haven't declared EARNINGS then potentially yes. There is a maximum weekly earnings rate under CA. This is currently around £128, but this goes up each year so this will be somewhat less for previous years. My understanding is that because the earnings rate is set per week, then DWP should consider an overpayment has occurred looking at each week separately, and comparing earnings in that week.
However, I am also thinking maybe this isn't actually earnings. CA can still be paid if you have non earned income so maybe a good place to start would be to consider the nature of the payment you receive presumably from social services and examine what this payment represents. If you receive no personal benefit then it may not be earnings. Or if you have little paid to yourself after all the expenses only part of it might be earnings.
(But please get all of this properly calculated/explained and verified by a specialist advisor!)
2. Next thing, is the correct amount exactly what DWP says it is? (Yes they do get it wrong, often more than they get it right!) Bear in mind that if you/your husband were entitled to another benefit which you didn't claim or get this could 'offset' against the CA overpayment to reduce this.
If the amount you are paid is not earnings or there any other possibility that the amount is wrong, or that you did declare some, if not all of whatever is earnings?
3.Additionally, by law DWP can not claim an overpayment is repayable when DWP had prior knowledge eg via a data matching service often with HMRC. If DWP had such knowledge this would restrict the overpayment. If you declared the overpayment and/or earnings, and DWP ignored what you told them from the outset or from some later date, then this would be an official error which makes an overpayment not repayable.
4. If there is an overpayment and you are certain how much is legally repayable, you could write in and explain your circumstances and ask DWP to use their discretion not to enforce repayment
5. If all else fails, ask for an affordable payment plan.
Please do not ignore the Overpayment, as it won't go away, and you don't want to be taken to court for not paying this.
I don't know how long ago the overpayment decision was made, strictly speaking you have a month to appeal the decision. The first stage is to make a Mandatory Reconsideration request. Basically this is a letter asking for DWP to reconsider their decision, if you wish you can explain why you dispute the decision, and ask for more clarification of the amount, calculations etc.
If you have already exceeded the 1 month, you can ask for a late recon request and explain that due to the extenuating circumstances that you have been facing you haven't been able to do this earlier. There is a maximum of 13mths time limit to start an appeal.
I hope this helps. Please get specialist advice about the overpayment and get a benefit forecast done ASAP. This will help you understand your options in the shorter and longer term.
I wish you all the best.
LL26