Carers' Allowance - £10,000 Overpayment Demand

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guy

Hi - anyone have any experience of this or advice on how to deal with it. We've contacted loads of people/charities/agencies, but not getting any real practical support.

Claimed Carers' Allowance for several years for looking after our autistic son (I am also autistic), but it seems we inadvertently went very slightly over the earning limit for much of that time - in one year by an average of only 48p per week - but it means they claim back EVERYTHING.

We now have a bill for over £10,000. They've done a mandatory reconsideration but basically dismissed all our arguments and stand by their figure. When we called, they suggested that as it was more than one job and variable hours, it was more like a self-employed situation (even though it wasn't strictly self-employed) and that they should calculate it annually rather than weekly, but they couldn't guarantee this wouldn't raise the amount. We agreed anyway, and then later calculated that it should knock £2-3,000 off the bill, but they didn't recalculate it annually after all when the verdict came through (could it be because they saw they'd be able to claim less that way??)

Any idea how we can get real, hands-on, practical support with this???

anisty

What a nightmare situation - and one a lot of people are finding themselves in, if media reports are anything to go by.

Not a situation i am in myself but it sounds like one where professional legal advice might be worth a try. Many lawyers offer a small portion of time for free - enough time to see if you have any chance of fighting this and to see if legal aid might be available.

And it might be worth linking up with others in a similar position - there is bound to be an online group of some sort as so many carers are caught up in this earnings fiasco.

Best of luck.

Ps when you say we went over the income limit - it is only the carer's income taken into account for carer's allowance - not the household income.

I noticed you had your apostrophe as plural too so have you had your claim worked out on a joint income? Only one person can claim carer's, even if you both care for your son.