Advice on when to inform UC child has left FT education?

Nelumbo

I'm in a bit of a pickle here, I was unsure of when to let UC know when my child left FT education, she was doing A Levels, but finished exams at the end of June. I could not find an answer and I did not want them to call me 2yrs down the line (like they had recently) to confirm dates with me which I may not remember and they say A level exams would have been finished before end of term and you should have told us, cos everyone knows they won't be there till the end of term.

T

Nelumbo

Sorry, posted accidently before finishing, I'll start again

I'm in a bit of a pickle here, I was unsure of when to let UC know when my child left FT education, she was doing A Levels, but finished exams at the end of June. I could not find an answer and I did not want them to call me 2yrs down the line (like they had recently) to confirm dates with me which I may not remember and then they say A level exams would have been finished before end of term and you should have told us, cos everyone knows they won't be there till the end of term.

So I made a change to say she had finished her last exam and therefore no longer in education, this has turned out to be a disaster and I feel physically sick and very stressed as now they want over £550 back.

As the date of the change was just before the end of the assessment period I lose the child element and the work allowance for the whole of that assessment period, which I was not aware of!!

I've called and they just say we will leave a message for your 'caseworker' I've asked for an explanation as to why it is so much, with vague replies and honestly pretty unhelpful on phone and journal, its only today they have confirmed clearly, doesn't matter of the date of change, even if its 3 days before the end of the ax period you lose the lot.

This seems really unfair.

When trying to search online some people say you should tell them when they finish exams, some say end of term and some say end of Aug, so which one is it?
I've looked on how to manage the claim and there is no info there about this.

I've asked for the date to be reverted to the end of term, but I don't hold out much hope they will change it

Is there anything I can do/argue? Can citizens advice help?

This is a lot of money to lose when I was already going to struggle on my own and my daughter being unable to get a job, its now happened sooner that I thought, and I feel so stressed about this.

NedS

The date they are no longer entitled is the day after the course officially ends (you would need to get that from the college). Do you know what date the course officially ended?

Nelumbo said:

When trying to search online some people say you should tell them when they finish exams, some say end of term and some say end of Aug, so which one is it?
I've looked on how to manage the claim and there is no info there about this.

It is not necessarily any of these (although it may be the end of term).

If you have mistakenly reported the change earlier than the actual course end date, then UC will seek to recover any overpayment. You would need to speak with them to see if they can fix it by declaring the correct course end date.

They are correct that the only thing that is relevant is the circumstances on the last day of the AP. If the course end date is a couple days before then end of the AP, then you will not be entitled to the child element for that AP. That is how UC works.

Northern_Wanderer

There is an official date when her course ends, that is the date that must be told to UC (assuming she didn't leave without finishing course). Yes you lose entitlement in the assessment period the change happens. You will lose child element, possibly work allowance. Your entitlement will be recalculated.

If the date you reported is incorrect, try to make a journal entry with the correct date. You could do a Mandatory Reconsideration if they don't amend the date. 

The loss of child element in the assessment period the change happens is not unfair, it's just the rules.

If you get any other benefits/ reductions due to the UC, you'll have to inform those departments of the change also.