Following a diagnosis of advanced dementia, Zara* could no longer live independently.
Client profile
Following a diagnosis of advanced dementia, Zara* could no longer live independently. After being admitted to hospital, medical professionals advised that she required 24-hour nursing care and was moved into a nursing home for palliative care.
Zara's daughters, who held Power of Attorney, were suddenly faced with the emotional and practical responsibility of managing their mother's affairs while coming to terms with the prospect of losing her.
Although Zara was initially expected to have only a short time left, she lived for a further 11 months before sadly passing away.
From the moment Zara entered residential care, her daughters acted responsibly and promptly. Knowing that Attendance Allowance (AA) should stop once their mother became a permanent nursing home resident, they contacted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to report the change in circumstances.
However, despite repeated notifications, the payments continued.
Month after month, the family checked Zara's bank account and saw the benefit still being paid. Concerned that this would eventually create problems, they repeatedly contacted the DWP, carefully recording the dates of their calls and keeping notes of each conversation.
Each time they were reassured that the matter would be dealt with.
Instead, while they were caring for their mother during the final months of her life, they received a letter informing them that money was owed and warning that a penalty could be imposed.
The impact was devastating.
Already coping with the emotional strain of watching their mother's health decline, the family were left feeling frightened, frustrated and unfairly blamed for a situation they had tried repeatedly to prevent.
How Citizens Advice Harlow helped
Citizens Advice Harlow reviewed the family's circumstances and the history of their communications with the DWP.
Our adviser explained that where a change of circumstances has been reported correctly, an overpayment may not necessarily be recoverable. The family had taken all reasonable steps to notify the DWP and appeared to have fulfilled their responsibilities as attorneys.
We provided detailed advice about:
The rules governing benefit overpayments after a person's death.
The circumstances in which the DWP can and cannot recover overpaid benefits.
The rights and responsibilities of those administering an estate.
The process for requesting a Mandatory Reconsideration if the DWP decided to pursue recovery.
The DWP complaints process regarding poor administration and service failures.
Importantly, we reassured the family that they should not feel pressured into repaying money immediately while the matter remained disputed.
Outcome
Armed with a clearer understanding of their rights, the family were able to challenge the situation with confidence.
The advice provided helped them understand that they had acted correctly throughout and that the distressing debt demand was not the result of any wrongdoing on their part.
At a time when they should have been able to focus on supporting their mother and grieving her loss, the family instead found themselves battling an avoidable administrative problem.
By providing expert guidance and reassurance, Citizens Advice Harlow helped lift some of that burden and empowered the family to pursue a fair resolution.
NOTE: * All client stories have had certain details changed or omitted to preserve the clients’ anonymity.