My elderly client's now on u/e CA. I considered she should have been on this for a while as she's had tons of dealings with DWP over family circs, benefits etc etc and noone had ever advised her to claim CA. I've contacted DWP about this and they're currently looking into it.

All of a sudden she's been sent a covering letter enc a cheque from PS for >£2k. No explanation so she assumed it must be arrears of cp.

They've just rang us to say she's been paid this in error and they are to urgently contact her (I assume to recover before she spends it). They say their system showed she'd been allowed from Feb 2004 but in fact she was disallowed from this date. I don't know where the date came from but could have been what we'd put on the claim form but don't have a copy of this in front of me.
Is she obliged to repay this?

The DWP can make a common law claim in court to recover any money wrongly paid, under the doctrine of unjust enrichment. However, a claim can be defeated if the recipient of the money can show that they genuinely believed they were entitled and have spent it. Or the claim can be partially defeated if they have spent part of it.

Hence, their rush to get to her before she spends it.

Thanks - is it Paul? - I can never remember real names when nicknames are used.

Bet I get to her before they do