Carer's allowance: claim rejected due to last year's income but can't work now! Help!

cashferret

My sister cares more than 35 hours a week for our dad, who needs round the clock care; he is often up all night (so she is as well).

I helped her prepare a claim for carer's allowance. She is self-employed and so had to provide her profit/loss accounts for the 2009/10 tax year as evidence of her income. Even though her income last year was extremely low, her claim was rejected because her income was too high to get carer's allowance. She is married and her husband works, so that will have affected her claim.

However, it's since the end of the last tax year that she started caring for our dad. She has been able to do hardly any work and I'd be amazed if she has managed to turn a profit in the three months she's been looking after him.

Is it possible to ask for her claim for carer's allowance to be based on her current income? She produces craftwork so her income is somewhat seasonal - she generally earns more in the winter due to Xmas so the summer is a lower paying period. I don't know if that complicates matters.

We'd be very grateful for any advice!

Oldernotwiser

Does your father claim DLA Care (middle/higher rate) or AA? Your BIL's income wouldn't affect a claim.

ellie101

hello,

When I was trying to deal with queries re. carer's allowance before I rung the advice line at carer's uk:

http://www.carersuk.org/Contactus

Only open certain hours. I was trying to get carer's and income support top-up sorted out. At the time, I had some capital so didn't get the full top-up... the DWP didn't seem to be able to answer questions that I had, but carer's uk did seem more knowledgeable.

Good luck with getting it sorted.

cashferret

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Does your father claim DLA Care (middle/higher rate) or AA? Your BIL's income wouldn't affect a claim.

Hi Older - my dad is too old to get DLA but he gets attendance allowance (paid to him, of course). You're right that it's unaffected by my BIL or sister's income.

cashferret

ellie101 wrote: »

hello,

When I was trying to deal with queries re. carer's allowance before I rung the advice line at carer's uk:

http://www.carersuk.org/Contactus

Only open certain hours. I was trying to get carer's and income support top-up sorted out. At the time, I had some capital so didn't get the full top-up... the DWP didn't seem to be able to answer questions that I had, but carer's uk did seem more knowledgeable.

Good luck with getting it sorted.

Thanks Ellie - that's a useful contact. I get told a different thing every time I phone the DWP carer's allowance line (haven't asked them about this yet - wanted some advice from the board before I got twelve conflicting opinions from DWP!).

When I've phoned the DWP CA line previously and told them I had "several questions" about how to fill in the claim form, they told me I could ask two questions and then would have to call back to ask the rest! What's that all about?! :eek:

Tehya

Hi,

I claimed Carer's Allowance earlier this year.

The most reliable information I was able to get was from the benefit enquiry line, it's a freephone number run by the DWP but only for those who are disabled or their carers. The information I got from them actually turned out to be factual unlike the CA departments made up versions.

The number is 0800 882 200 and here's a link to information about the line from directgov
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/DG_10011165

Hope this helps, Tehya

They will also do a benefits check with you for both the caree and carer. They will also go through all the forms with you if you are having trouble filling any of them in.

cashferret

Thank, Tehya - I've been so unimpressed by the CA line I haven't wanted to call them back. They've caused me more problems by giving me contradictory info than they've solved.

ellie101

I also forgot to mention... depending upon what is wrong with your father/his needs, some charities do grants.

My mother had cancer, and we had to spend a lot of money on taxis to travel to have treatment at various clinics, and at the end one of the charities offered us costs towards taxis as I didn't drive. She really wasn't well enough to be waiting around for hospital transport, maybe an extreme case in the amount of back and forth she had from clinic to clinic. But the next door neighbour also got a grant for other things when she was seriously ill.

You might not get anything, and obviously in the long term charity may not be what your sister wants but thought I'd mention.