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Carers Allowance - possible fraud

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nevip
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Welfare rights adviser - Sefton Council, Liverpool

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I also need to know two other things with sufficient degree of certainty

1.  How long has the CA form been available online?

2.  Did that form ever have to be countersigned by the disabled person?

BC Welfare Rights
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The Brunswick Centre, Kirklees & Calderdale

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nevip
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Welfare rights adviser - Sefton Council, Liverpool

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Thank you BC.  That’s very helpful.  Furthermore, several colleagues have confirmed that it has never had to be countersigned by the disabled person.  And, if that requirement was only relaxed in April 2020 then I have everything I need to finish off my submission.

A big thank you to everyone who replied to my post.

[ Edited: 23 Sep 2021 at 09:49 pm by nevip ]
Tracey D
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Welfare benefits advisor - Peterborough City Council

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The issues of the disabled person not needing to consent to the CA claim led to a fraudulent CA claim for one of my clients this summer and she lost her ESA SDP, it was very distressing for her.  The claim was made by her former cleaner, who’d she not seen in ages because she’d moved away.

I reported it as fraud to CA/ESA and I must say the matter was sorted out very quickly to get the CA stopped and the SDP back.

The fraud investigation into the CA claimant is still ongoing, but I was shocked how easy it was for the claim to be made, without any proper verification, because as far as we know the former cleaner had moved over 160 miles away ....

Pete at CAB
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Welfare Benefits Adviser’ for Citizens Advice Cornwall

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nevip - 23 September 2021 09:44 PM

Thank you BC.  That’s very helpful.  Furthermore, several colleagues have confirmed that it has never had to be countersigned by the disabled person.  And, if that requirement was only relaxed in April 2020 then I have everything I need to finish off my submission.

A big thank you to everyone who replied to my post.

Although its beside the point for this case as it was an online claim there was a period when the paper form had to be signed by the ‘cared for’ person and by signing they confirmed that they knew that the CA claim was being made and that it might affect their benefits.
Prior to this new version of the form we had a steady trickle of older people who had lost their SDP because someone had claimed CA (usually a relative) and this stopped as soon as the new form came out. I can’t remember exactly when the form changed, (about 2005/6 but I could be wrong?) but it seems a shame that it has gone backwards- I wonder if there was an impact assessment before they changed it?

Edited to add- sorry, I should have read the first page before replying!

[ Edited: 24 Sep 2021 at 11:55 am by Pete at CAB ]
CA Adviser
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Citizens Advice Calderdale, West Yorkshire

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I am jumping in on an old thread, hoping for inspiration.

We are working with a couple who are both profoundly deaf, with no speech. The wife has learning difficulties and sight issues too and the husband cannot read in English. They can only communicate via sign language interpreter. The husband came to the UK in 2019 and claimed Carer’s allowance in respect of his wife in 2021 (after two years in the UK). CA was finally awarded in 2022 but not backdated to the date of claim on the basis that the wife’s mother was being paid CA in respect of her. However the wife is extremely vulnerable and it is apparent that there has been financial abuse by her family. She was not in regular contact with her mother during the period the mother was receiving CA and her husband was the full time carer.

We have not been able to obtain a copy of the decision letter awarding the husband from 2022. CA have ignored our request and appear to consider the matter closed, saying that CA was being to someone else so could not be paid to him for 2021-2022. A social worker is finally involved and a Financial Exploitation and Abuse team is investigating the wider situation. It feels wrong. Can continuing to try to challenge the awarding decision result in backdating for our client or would this require the DWP to first make a decision that the mother had not been entitled for the period?

Stainsby
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Welfare rights adviser - Plumstead Community Law Centre

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The Tribunal stands in the shoes of the decision maker and could make any decision that the DM could have made

That being the case I would not spend too long arguing with the DWP but take the first oppportunity to go straight to appeal and argue the case there

For what its worth I would also argue that endorsment of the CA claim by the person receiving care was required until 2020 when the DWP changed the claim form thus effectively inviting fraudulent claims

[ Edited: 7 Nov 2022 at 04:58 pm by Stainsby ]
CA Adviser
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Citizens Advice Calderdale, West Yorkshire

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Thank you Stainsby, I appreciate your help.