UC still deducted my Carer's Allowance

Sofia123

Hi,

I need a little help with understanding what's happening with my monthly UC statement this month. I currently get both Standard allowance + LCWRA plus transitional protection, which has naturally eroded over time. Because I claim a separate Carer's allowance £334/month which carried on after my ESA stopped, UC has roughly been deducting £374. I decided to end my CA claim on the 5th June to ensure I retain the maximum amount and streamline my benefits.

The last CA I recieved was on 11thbJune for £86. I immediately notified UC journal that my claim ended on 5th June and I recieved my last payment before my assessment date ended. I asked them to update their records and stop deducting for CA. But today I got my statement and I only got paid £591 - they said I was still in receipt of CA and deducted around £295 so that makes me over £200 short this month.

What do I do now?

Kimi87

You need to add a Journal note (using the payment option) disputing the deduction.

If you don't get a reply, ring the UC helpline asking the agent to flag your query directly with the case manager.

Adrian_Scope

Hello @Sofia123

Remember UC is paid in arrears, from what you've shared it sounds as though you were still receiving Carer's Allowance until the 11th of June, so it does make sense that there would be a deduction in your statement as you were receiving Carer's Allowance during the assessment period.

They can sometimes make mistakes with calculating this, and sometimes Carer's Allowance only suspends instead of ending a claim which results in deductions continuing. If you disagree with the amount deducted, Kimi's advice above is great.

Sofia123

I normally get £345 per month for Carer's allowance which is paid as a monthly sum towards the end of the month. When I called Carer's Allowance unit, I specifically asked them to end my claim on the 5th and she said a letter would arrive in the post to support this action (never came). However, I got paid £86 only on 11th June. It seems to me this was a trailing payment and UC counted it as a full term payment by deducting £295.

I have been communicating with UC Journal and updating them about my Carer's allowance all throughout the way, so this surprised me. I left a Journal note challenging my statement but won't get a reply until Monday!

Sofia123

Hi, I got a reply today from the UC journal team and they said :

"You are paid in arrears. You have been paid for caring up to 7.6.26. Your statement and payment is correct"

What does that mean when I'm short of cash?

I also rang UC and asked them to forward my query to the case manager and they will call back. I need to know if this is correct coming from them?

Mr_Shoes_Tied

It looks correct to me, you got paid carer's allowance so they deducted it as they should. I don't understand why you think it's wrong? Next month they shouldn't deduct any