Mum with Alzheimers and council tax overpayament

[D CARTER]

Hi ,
Am new to this forum, Mum was diagnosed in January. Am helping her with her finances/correspondence, and see that shes been overpaid approx £1000 Housing Benefit. The council are pursuing her for repayment, which they say they will take a large sum , possibly 30% directly from her state pension if we don't set up a repayment plan. Is this legal? She had no idea what she was entitled to or getting and surely that's their problem?

Grateful for any advice.

Thank you.

 

[jennifer1967]

i think that the onus is on the person to claim what they are entitled to. age uk are good with benefit advice as are CAB and you could ask their advice as to what your mum is entitled to. does she get attendance allowance? you were be better speaking to them or the dementia support line to check out everything

 

[MartinWL]

I don't know anything about housing benefits so you will need someone who does to look closely at all the figures. Assuming that she has in fact been paid too much I have three bits of advice:
1) Negotiate
2) Negotiate
3) Negotiate

 

[Jessbow]

Housing benefit will have been paid based on what the applicant told them, so if an over payment has been made it will have to be paid back.

Look at how much has been over paid and in what space of time.

Set up an arrangement to repay the same amount over the same time frame

( so if she was over paid by 1000 over 10 months, see if they will accept an arrangenet to pay back 100 a month.)

 

[Shedrech]

Hello @D CARTER
welcome to DTP

sounds as though the developing dementia has unfortunately affected how your mum has been dealing with her finances

unfortunately, the overpayment can be claimed back ... so maybe let them know about the recent diagnosis, explain that your mum and you are organising her finances, ask for their understanding and suggest a regular payment that your mum can afford

if you haven't already, it would be helpful for your mum to complete LPAs so that her Attorney has the legal authority to help her manage her affairs

Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney

How to make a lasting power of attorney (LPA): starting an application online, choosing an attorney, certifying a copy, changing an LPA.

www.gov.uk

and look into whether there are any other benefits your mum can claim .... in time you'll be able to apply for Attendance Allowance and a disregard of Council Tax

you might call the Support line too

Dementia Support Line

If you need dementia support, we’re here for you. Get personalised information, support and advice by calling us on 0333 150 3456.

www.alzheimers.org.uk