UC overpayment due to Carer Allowance

CassoCastle

Hi, new to all of this. 

I’m looking for anyone that may have been in a similar situation. 

So I received a message on my UC journal to say that I have been over paid £1300 since Dec 2023 due to claiming carers allowance. I only applied for CA in March 2024 due to making a new disability Claim for my child. And being made redundant from my job. Before this I did not know I was actually entitled to any CA for my child. I did not know any of my entitlements until I was forced to look into my finances. 

Anyway, today, I have received my first payment from CA and it was £240. This first payment from carers allowance is a long way off the £1300 UC say I have been over paid. 

Do any of you have any information or guidance on this for me? Are UC wrong for saying I now owe them £1300 if I have only received £240 from CA? 

Thanks in advance for any help. 

poppy123456

Carers allowance is deducted in full from any UC entitlement so there's no financial gain to claiming both at the same time. You can claim carers element of UC without claiming Carers allowance. (unless you're also claiming the LCWRA element of UC for yourself because both elements can be paid to the same person)

When you claimed carers allowance did you ask for it to be backdated at all? It can be backdated to the start of the disability benefit award, providing you claimed CA within 3 months of the decision being made for the disability benefit. The reason I'm asking is because it maybe possible that CA owe you some more money. 

Just to check, does your UC include the carers element? (not related to the overpayment)

CassoCastle

Hi, thanks for replying. I’m going to apologise for this long message in advance but I hope it will explain my situation a bit clearer. 

My daughter has been on DLA since 2022 so in my application for CA I said I started caring for her in 2022 but did not specifically ask for a back payment. 

I never claimed carers allowance as I was working and to be honest I did not know what benefits I was entitled to. 

After being made redundant in March 2024 I looked into finances to see what money I have coming in and if there were any entitlements I was not currently getting. That’s when found out about Carers allowance and Carers element of UC.

First I applied for CA and told them as mentioned told them I began Caring from 2022. At this point I didn’t know they would deduct it from my UC until a friend told me. They told me to apply for the carer element on UC and I did 3 days after first applying for CA. 

That’s about all I done and then waited for my applications to kick in. 

Yesterday my UC statement was ready and they had awarded the Carer element onto my claim. 

Later in the day, I had a letter informing me that I had been overpaid UC by more than £1300 for the period between Dec 2023 and April 2024 due to claiming carers allowance. I checked my bank but there was nothing from CA so, I waited for a payment from carers allowance. 

The first payment from CA come into my bank today and the payment was £240 so I am completely confused as to how UC have come up with over £1300 as overpayment. 

Even if I work out CA as £76.75 a week. Times that by 52 weeks, then divide it by 12 Months it adds up to £332.58 a month. So 3 months back payment from CA would have been £997.75. So this still works out hundreds less than the £1300 UC are saying. 

Does it seem like there is something wrong here with UC’s overpayment calculation? 

poppy123456

Have you received a letter from carers allowance yet? If not then the first thing you should do is ring them to ask what date you're award from. The payment you received from them may not be all the money they owe you. 

It can only be backdated for a maximum of 3 months, providing you weren't earnings more than £139/week at that time. 

Once you know exactly when the carers allowance is awarded from then you can put a message onto your UC journal and tell them about the overpayment letter being incorrect. 

The reason I'm advising ringing CA first is because you won't know exactly when you've been awarded from without doing this first.