Warning for tens of thousands on benefits being forced to repay up to £20k due to DWP error
TENS of thousands on benefits are being forced to repay up to £20,000 due to DWP errors.
Households on Carer's Allowance are having fork out huge sums after going over the benefit's weekly earnings limit.
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The limit was previously £151 but was hiked to £196 in April - the biggest rise in almost 50 years.
Anyone on the benefit that goes over this limit has to repay the amount they were overpaid.
However, historic errors have seen the DWP fail to flag when carers have breached it.
Now, new figures analysed by Carers UK and shared with The Guardian reveal at least £357million in Carer's Allowance benefit has been overpaid in error in the last six years.
Emily Holzhausen, director of policy and public affairs at Carers UK, told the publication carer's "deserve better" and that the charity had asked the government to strike off debts of those who have been forced to pay back money after breaching the earnings limit.
Tens of thousands on Carer's Allowance have unwittingly breached the earnings limit since 2019.
The year before, new technology called the verify earnings and pensions tool (VEP) was introduced by the government designed to allow the DWP to check thousands of electronic alerts of potential earnings breaches by those on Carer's Allowance each month.
However, the DWP decided to only investigate half of all VEP alerts, meaning some breaches went undetected for long periods.
This led to carers unknowingly racking up huge overpayments and having to repay thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of pounds in overpaid benefits.
One such case of someone having to pay back thousands of pounds was Vivienne Groom.
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In 2023, she was prosecuted for failing to declare her minimum wage Co-op job while caring for her mum, and forced to pay back £16,000.
Last month, ministers confirmed they will invest £800,000 to ensure 100% of VEP alerts are reviewed moving forward, meaning overpayments are flagged earlier.
A DWP spokesperson told The Guardian: "The Carer's Allowance overpayment rate is the lowest on record.
"And we are going further by increasing funding and bringing in more staff to check 100% of alerts to help prevent carers falling into debt.
'We are absolutely clear that we want to eliminate waste and ensure people get the money they are entitled to, so we can invest in our public services as part of our plan for change."
What to do if you breach the earnings limit
If you have ever breached the earnings limit, you should try and proactively report it to the DWP as it is classed as a change in circumstances.
You can report any change in circumstances online via the Government's website.
But you'll need your National Insurance (NI) number to hand, details of the person you're caring for and details of the change.
If you have been overpaid Carer's Allowance, you will have to pay it back in full or instalments via the DWP Debt Management platform.
This is also on the Government's website.
If you don't do this, the DWP can take deductions from your work salary, or even pass your case on to a debt collector.
If you don't engage with the debt collector, it may then take your case to the county courts.
You can dispute an overpayment if you don't agree with it, but you'll need evidence as to why you claim to not have overpaid.
You can do this via what's known as a "mandatory reconsideration", which you can submit to the DWP online, via phone or by letter.
The specific contact details you'll need to send any correspondence to will be on the decision letter you receive from the DWP.
Once the DWP has received your mandatory reconsideration, you will receive a "mandatory reconsideration notice" informing you whether it has changed its decision.
If you disagree with that outcome, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal.
A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us' benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto's free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data.
You can use Policy in Practice's calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
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