Just had an interesting discussion with DWP who had suspended my Mother's pension credits and hadn't notified me. If you have POA watch them atm very odd practice. They are reinstating it now since I have made enquiries. Oddly the payments stopped at the end of March just when Coronavirus lockdown happened. Of course Mum is in a care home so maybe they wanted to avoid paying this in case she succumbed to the virus and I would have been too upset to check!
DWP
- Thread starter Beth24
- Start date
Why did they suspend the benefit - did you ask @Beth24 ? The end of March is when the benefits are all re-calculated/increased so I doubt very much that the timing had anything to do with lockdown or the virus. Mum gets pension credit and every year they send out a form prior to the end of March to check if her circumstances are still the same, advising that payment will be suspended if a response isn't received by a certain date. I've always found them really helpful, and they always send written notification of any changes to the benefit.
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Are you your mums DWP appointee? If not, they wont automatically send you any correspondance. Could the notifications have gone to your mums care home and got mislaid?
Hi yes I am her POA and dwp appointee. They hadn't written to me to ask about change of circumstances but when I pressed them on it they said it was due to her change of address. She moved to her care home in October 2018 and they were notified immediately of this in October 2018. I thought I would mention it to warn others.
That's a good idea. I will check with the Care Home. But I visit every couple of days and stand outside her window so the staff see me very often and hadn't mentioned it.
CAn you be an appointee for the DWP without having POA. I don’t have the latter for my SIL but I am the point of contact for social work etc. I have been collecting her documents to return to the Finance dept of the LA but I can’t figure out how her personal
Expenses will be dealt with. I don’t want to be a deputy or guardian but if I refuse what happens next?
Expenses will be dealt with. I don’t want to be a deputy or guardian but if I refuse what happens next?
Yes you can. I didnt have POA and was in the process of applying for deputyship when I became mums DWP appointee. I applied online and someone came out to assess mum.
https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits
Its not intended to replace POA @marionq . It worked for me because while mum still had capacity she allowed me to have third party mandate on her bank accounts. I tried to get her to give me POA, but she refused and then once she lost capacity I applied for deputyship and it was during that eime that applied to be her DWP appointee. The two things are separate.
Just to add that I dont actually recommend that path. I didnt realise that mum was developing dementia when she made me third party - although with the benefit of hindsight and greater knowledge the signs were there - and yes, once mum lost capacity and before the deputyship came through the bank could quite reasonably have frozen her accounts. I can only say that this was the position I found myself in and the question you asked was - is it possible?
I think but may well be wrong that it is possible to have an appointee bank account without POA/deputyship(is it guardianship in Scotland?) - I'm sure I've seen it on the forum - but many things work differently in Scotland
Maybe ask the LA/SW or carehome - they must have come across this before - I think they take control if a relative doesn't.
Maybe ask the LA/SW or carehome - they must have come across this before - I think they take control if a relative doesn't.
It is possible to be a DWP appointee without having POA/Deputyship
An appointee can open a special bank account in their own name to solely handle DWP money, sometimes a blind eye is turned to other small income.
For somebody who does not own a property and has no investments this free to set up account is ideal, just an interview by social services of the person and proposed appointee is all that is needed.
An appointee can open a special bank account in their own name to solely handle DWP money, sometimes a blind eye is turned to other small income.
For somebody who does not own a property and has no investments this free to set up account is ideal, just an interview by social services of the person and proposed appointee is all that is needed.
Thanks all that may be the way to go. The big problem to overcome is her inability to communicate. Officials don’t seem to have encountered a situation quite the same. I would really like to totally step back but there isn’t anyone else who knows her background and can figure out what she wants. I am hoping that social services will deal with the care home fees and organise that side of it. She has a modest sum in her bank account which would easily cover anything she might ever need. I know she is supposed to be left with twenty odd pounds a week/month to cover her minor expenses and so money by itself is not an issue just how to manage it.
Assuming Scotland is the same as England your best bet would be to see if her bank would convert the existing account to a BF 57 account (or open a new account and transfer balance) on production of a BF56
Problem is that appointeeship only gives you control of DWP funds, as I said before this is sometimes waived for small amounts.
https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits .
@marionq
EDIT
Looking at the BF56 form it looks as if you have the opportunity to insert the existing account details
https://assets.publishing.service.g...26776/Appendix-01_An_example_of_form_BF56.pdf .
Problem is that appointeeship only gives you control of DWP funds, as I said before this is sometimes waived for small amounts.
https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits .
@marionq
EDIT
Looking at the BF56 form it looks as if you have the opportunity to insert the existing account details
https://assets.publishing.service.g...26776/Appendix-01_An_example_of_form_BF56.pdf .
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