Spent parents Attendace Allowance

bestpud

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

Most of us don't resort to stealing from our parents though!

In fact, the majority would have stopped short of expecting their parents to keeping a hopeless business afloat!

sjw11

Dunroamin wrote: »

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.

I dont believe he is 'stealing'
When they were both ok, they knowingly allowed this to happen

One has been in for around 6 months, the other 2 months.
At 77.45 per week each, that is a considerable sum for someone on benefits themselves

sjw11

Gotta go out now but I would welcome any constructive suggestions

Mojisola

sjw11 wrote: »

I dont believe he is 'stealing'
When they were both ok, they knowingly allowed this to happen

As soon as they were no longer "ok", he had no right to take money from their accounts for anything other than their own needs.

One has been in for around 6 months, the other 2 months.
At 77.45 per week each, that is a considerable sum for someone on benefits themselves

That's because they were considered in need of help. It should have been used to get them the care they needed.

There may be other benefits that need to be repaid, depending on what they were on -
https://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp1029.pdf

Dunroamin

sjw11 wrote: »

I dont believe he is 'stealing'
When they were both ok, they knowingly allowed this to happen

You may not believe it but, unless he has POA for his parents, he is taking money from their account without their permission ie. stealing.

sleepless_saver

sjw11 wrote: »

Gotta go out now but I would welcome any constructive suggestions

Constructive suggestion: When you're in a hole, stop digging! He should phone the Disability Benefits Helpline 08457 123 456 and let them know that his parents are in hospital.

rogerblack

Is he an official appointee, who is authorised to make benefit decisions for them.

If he is, then the overpayment can be recovered directly from him.

If he is not, then the overpayment can only be recovered from the parents, and the parents would then have to (if they chose) recover the money from him, or contact the police.
There may be arguments for DWP not recovering in this case, but they do not affect the liability.

skintandscared_2

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

Well I don't have much disposable income, I have no savings and I know hardly anything about the bureaucracy of our benefits system but with parents 20 years younger than your friend I'm also of an age old enough not to be dipping into my parent's bank accounts! I'm quite relieved they ARE in hospital ... what on earth would they live on if they weren't!

sjw11

rogerblack wrote: »

Is he an official appointee, who is authorised to make benefit decisions for them.

I have never heard of an 'official appointee'
Dont know what one is, but I assume he isnt
He does not have POA He sees that as creating a link that he is responsible for their affairs.
I know this all sounds like 'head in the sand' but I know his position and was just wanting to see if anyone had suggestions for avoiding payback

rogerblack

sjw11 wrote: »

I have never heard of an 'official appointee'
Dont know what one is, but I assume he isnt
He does not have POA He sees that as creating a link that he is responsible for their affairs.
I know this all sounds like 'head in the sand' but I know his position and was just wanting to see if anyone had suggestions for avoiding payback

https://www.gov.uk/become-appointee-for-someone-claiming-benefits

If he's not, then it's straightforwardly the parents problem as to any recovered overpayment.

Plus a largely unrelated possible theft.

However, there are good arguments why recovery should not be done, if there is an overpayment - you need to have had the ability and capacity to report the change to the DWP.
If you are not, then they should not recover.