Spent parents Attendace Allowance

sjw11

I have a single friend whos parents have always helped him out with his small (unprofitable) business
They are well over 80, on housing benefit and sometime this year have both gone into hospital
I have helped him locate paperwork, and discovered that they are both on max Attendance allowance. He of course has dipped into their accounts (which when they were 'with it' they quite accepted)
Now if he tells AA that they are in hospital, then AA will want it paying back we suspect, money that he nor his parents simply havent got now.
My friend did not get them into AA we suspect social services did that. Do they not bear some responsiblility for getting them out of AA
Where does he stand, can AA demand he pays it back ??

Dunroamin

sjw11 wrote: »

I have a single friend whos parents have always helped him out with his small (unprofitable) business
They are well over 80, on housing benefit and sometime this year have both gone into hospital
I have helped him locate paperwork, and discovered that they are both on max Attendance allowance. He of course has dipped into their accounts (which when they were 'with it' they quite accepted)
Now if he tells AA that they are in hospital, then AA will want it paying back we suspect, money that he nor his parents simply havent got now.
My friend did not get them into AA we suspect social services did that. Do they not bear some responsiblility for getting them out of AA
Where does he stand, can AA demand he pays it back ??

Of course?

Sounds as if he's done more than "dip in" if there's no money left - personally, I hope they throw the book at him!

tanith

The quicker he contacts them less the money owing will be ... tell him to do it..

sjw11

Well he hasnt spent it ALL, and to be fair, he didnt know what benefits they were getting nor the rules arround them.
He isnt good with any paperwork or forms, but for now he needs to understand if there is any way of not paying it all back
Clearly he wont be spending any more of the AA,
What if he hadnt have me come along ?
At some point if he burried his head in the sand for long enough, and they died, wouldnt the debt die with them ?

skintandscared_2

Maybe its time your friend reviewed his "small unprofitable business" and either made it profitable or got a job instead so he doesn't have to keep taking money off his parents!

bestpud

sjw11 wrote: »

Well he hasnt spent it ALL, and to be fair, he didnt know what benefits they were getting nor the rules arround them.
He isnt good with any paperwork or forms, but for now he needs to understand if there is any way of not paying it all back
Clearly he wont be spending any more of the AA,
What if he hadnt have me come along ?
At some point if he burried his head in the sand for long enough, and they died, wouldnt the debt die with them ?

That's an awful attitude!

When they pass away, it is likely to be picked up that they were wrongly claiming benefits and they will try and recoup it from the estate.

Questions will be asked as they will obviously assume the money is in their bank accounts if they've been laid up in hospital for a long time.

Your friend needs to man up, inform the relevant agencies and start repaying the money asap.

If he's lucky, he may avoid prosecution. Ignorance is no defence - they hear that one all the time, I'm sure!

Dunroamin

sjw11 wrote: »

Well he hasnt spent it ALL, and to be fair, he didnt know what benefits they were getting nor the rules arround them.

Regardless of the benefit angle, your friend has been stealing money from his parents' account and this seems to me to be the most important point.

Mojisola

How long have they been in hospital? It's not just AA that will be affected by a stay of over 28 days.

The longer he leaves telling the DWP, the more money will need to be paid back.

sjw11

Well maybe tanith and skintandscared are both right, but he is Skint and Scared, and I dont think suggesting they 'thow the book at him' is in the spirit of the MSE Forum
Not everyone on here has disposable income, savings and an ability to deal with the bureaucracy of our benefits system
Jobs are few and far between and his business is a shop with him living above it

Mojisola

sjw11 wrote: »

Well maybe tanith and skintandscared are both right, but he is Skint and Scared, and I dont think suggesting they 'thow the book at him' is in the spirit of the MSE Forum

Not everyone on here has disposable income, savings and an ability to deal with the bureaucracy of our benefits system

Jobs are few and far between and his business is a shop with him living above it

But continually taking money from elderly parents to prop up a failing business isn't a sustainable proposition. He must have realised that they only had pensions and benefits as income.

The DWP will chase for the overpayments to be paid back.

sleepless_saver

sjw11 wrote: »

My friend did not get them into AA we suspect social services did that. Do they not bear some responsiblility for getting them out of AA
Where does he stand, can AA demand he pays it back ??

No, social services have no responsibility for this. It's the responsibility of the person receiving the benefit, or whoever is acting for them in this case the son to notify any changes.

As others have said, he should not leave this. There are lots of potential complications ( including theft/fraud if he is raiding their bank account without proper authority).

He should phone the Disability Benefits Helpline 08457 123 456 and let them know that his parents are in hospital.