Carers allowance

duzzydoris

Hi all I'm new here, so hoping I'm on the right section, my  son made a claim for carers 16 wks and still hasn't heard anything, he called after 8 weeks and they told him he'd have to wait another 6 wks, how is this fair

Albus_Scope

Heya @duzzydoris and welcome to the community.

I'm sorry to hear your son has been kept waiting. Had they given any reason for the wait? 

duzzydoris

No nothing, he's not claiming any other benifits, he's not earning, he's been out of work himself since December. 

Albus_Scope

That's very curious.  What did they say other than to wait? Any reasoning behind it? 

duzzydoris

No nothing, so unhelpful, frightened to call bk incase they say same thing

poppy123456

Has he used a benefits calculator to check entitlement to Universal Credit? He will be excluded if he has capital of more than £16,000. If he lives with a partner he will need to claim as a couple and their joint circumstances will be taken into consideration. 

If the calculator shows entitlement he will need to make sure he reports being a carer and his UC will include the carers element. Once the carers allowance is awarded this will be deducted in full from any UC entitlement. 

duzzydoris

Hes not on universal credit and lives at home with me

poppy123456

duzzydoris said:

Hes not on universal credit and lives at home with me

Yes, I know because you said he's not claiming any benefits or isn't working. That's why I advised he use a benefits calculator to check entitlement. However, if he has no earnings and no partner there's no reason why he shouldn't qualify. He can claim online here. https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/how-to-claim

As a carer he will have no work commitments. If he claims now then his first payment will be 1 month and 6 days later. He can ask for an advance payment but this will need to be repaid back and future payments will be reduced. 

duzzydoris

OK thankyou very much