Query re attendance allowance

Without the need for personal care you would not be entitled to any help, the lady was being kind knowing that you did need help with other things. If you tell them you do not need personal care you will not get help at all. If you feel guilty give the excess to charity

Needing help with gardening and cleaning does not qualify you for Attendance Allowance as it is based our your personal needs, but once awarded, you are free to spend the money on paying for a cleaner or a gardener or however you wish.

If you were not happy with what was written on your claim form, why did you sign it as correct?
Without knowing more about your health and well- being, it is impossible for us to know whether you were entitled to AA.
I would suggest having another word with AgeUk and discuss your dilemma with them, but the person who helped you should have gone through the form with you and completed it accurately and you should have checked it before signing and sending it. Sorry to sound harsh.

The people that help you fill out forms know how to answer the questions in order to get help otherwise it is declined. The amounts are set and can't be changed - you either get the basic allowance or higher if you have a lot of care needs. Agree with Elizabeth but don't query it as you will end up with nothing. My Mum gets lower rate which helps her pay for the garden and for cleaning from life care. She needs me to help a lot with finances, shopping, pads, shower etc.

The lady at AgeUk was completely right and very helpful! My late DM was insistent that she didn't need help dressing or anything else personal, but she just wanted help in the house and garden like you. Having the heavier housework and gardening taken care off was beneficial to her health, and her safety, and was the right thing for her, as it is for you.

I think you should speak to the DWP about this straight away. The person from Age UK might have thought she was being helpful but she’s actually helped you to unwittingly commit benefit fraud! Yes you should have checked what she put down before signing the form but for goodness sake get this sorted out without delay. Also tell Age UK about it before she ‘helps’ someone else. You will be OK so long as you explain the error to the DWP straight away.

It is very important that if someone helps you fill in the Application Forms for AA it must be done accurately, and explained to you before you sign.
It can be difficult to obtain, especially for night care.
Without knowing your health and circumstances it is hard to comment on.
AA is only granted for those who need help with personal care, but can be spent as you please.

Put the money away for the day when you do need more help

No, you mustn’t do that. You would be complicit in fraud and I’m sure you don’t want to be a criminal.

If the Application form was completed inaccurately, as you say, Exdancer then I am inclined to agree with GSM.

If you feel you should get the standard rate and not the enhanced rate, set up a standing order and give the excess amount to Age UK.
In future if you do need help at night, you can always cancel the standing order.
Be careful what you tell DWP about an error in your application and not needing help at night, they might see it as a change in your circumstances and you might up end with nothing.

I agree with Germanshepherdsmum. If you truly believe those answers are incorrect, you will live with the worry of it and that cannot be good for you. If you ring quickly it can be sorted out.

Apparently, Spore, the OP is not entitled to anything. She absolutely must not leave this unaddressed or she will be in trouble. As it is, she was negligent but had no intention to obtain a benefit by making a false statement. She won’t get into trouble if she acts promptly to correct the error. I’m surprised that some posters suggest keeping the money or giving some to Age UK. Ever heard of aiding and abetting?

The lady from age UK was trying to be helpful, but please let DWP know if you do not need it for personal care.
Please do this ASAP as what was put on the form was not correct. If you do not do this, you could be committing benefit fraud, as you signed something you are now saying is not true.
I respect you are being honest,so make that call.

???

Well!
Your answers made me ponder, and I've re read the letter over and over again, its the bit that assumes I need help for 'personal care' that bothers me. Because I don't need help with personal care, its practical care I need.
I rang DWP and she's suspended payment and will go through things and get in touch.
I honestly don't think i qualify
We'll see.

Having been an Age Concern (now Age UK) benefits advisor for over 10 years, I think it is highly unlikely that any of their advisors would put anything down on the form that was not true.

What does happen is that many people do not realise quite how disabled they are because their disabilities come on slowly and are expressed in terms of what they cannot do. 'needing help in the garden', need help in the house'.

But if you need help in the garden, it will be because your arthritis means you cannot bend anymore, or you are afraid of falling and not being able to get up again and there are probably other things you do not do that you do not notice, or minor changes you have made in your life, because of stiffness The same with cleaning.

One of the first questions the AA form asks about is getting in and out of bed. When a client told me they had no problem, I would respond,'So you leap out of bed like 20 year old.'. The client woukd say, Oh no, First I have to sit up in bed and wait a bit, then I manage to get my legs over the side of the bed and rest, then I lean on the bedside table to help to stand ..........'

Now someone in that situation does not need a carer coming into the house, But clearly struggles to get out (and into) bed and in an ideal world could do with an Aladdin's Lamp they can rub, and a carer pops out to lend them an arm for a minute or two before popping back into the lamp again. They might be glad of some help getting down stairs (remember a stair lift is an answer to a problem, it doesn't mean you do not have problem.), just for a minute or two.

Anything you do or do not do now that you did or did not do when you were younger and fitter, is likely to be because you cannot do it anymore because of the problem of an aging body.

Time after time I had clients like Ex-dancer who were simply unaware of the problems they had, because they came on slowly and they made adjustments.

So ex-dancer, go to Age UK and ask them to explain their responses on the form and before you go ask yourself these questions. What physical problems are the cause of you needing help in the garden and in what way do those physical problems affect everything else you do, from getting out of bed to moving round the house, to the actions you take to protect yourself from falling.

I reiterate, I think it is highly unlikely that what is written on the form was wrong, more that, you had not realised how much the problems you have doing the gardening/shopping were limiting and restricting the rest of our life, you had just adjusted yourself to them gradually without thinking about them.

Excellent post, MOnica.
My mum was very reluctant to dwell on her difficulties. She talked about how she coped, not struggled. It took a skilled support worker to complete her form, teasing out the truth.

OP, did you keep a copy? If not, I repeat what I said earlier, and suggest you speak to AgeUK, who may well have a copy, so you can see what was written and why,

I have my difficulties due to arthritis and asthma and get around them. It’s a way of life. Surely if people are coping satisfactorily and safely without outside help they shouldn’t be entitled to benefits?

My husband was given a terminal diagnosis 7 weeks ago and the palliative care nurse came to see us. At the moment he is relatively well and doesn’t need any extra care but on our behalf they contacted Citizens Advise Bureau. After a telephone conversation with them, they contacted the Clinical Nurse Specialist at our hospital who sent documentation that resulted in the DWP paying us £92 Attendance Allowance backdated to the date of his terminal diagnosis and us being given a blue badge. I wasn’t sure about this but CAB said anyone with a terminal diagnosis is entitled to this and its not means tested. We didn’t actually sign anything.

I’m so very sorry. Glad your husband has received some financial assistance.
Best wishes, look after yourself.
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No, I disagree, GSM. Many of the people I saw were really struggling, not yet needing a carer, but struggling, never the less. The extra money is there to spend on anything that will make life easier or better. Someone alone and housebound, might use it to get to a social club once a week for the company that is vital for their metal health.

Other clients used to buy specialist beds and chairs that made getting out of bed or sitting in a chair, not just more comfortable, but safer because it reduces falls.

In any situation there is always a grey area. AA addresses the grey area between being able to being able to lead your life without needing any help at all because you, may be a bit creaky, but can do everything you always did, albeit abit more slowly and reaching the stage where you need carers in because you cannot get out of bed unaided, or walk down the stairs unaided, or are in constant risk of falls.

Quite often that small injection of money that AA gives, keeps people independent and delays the time when they need carers or need to go into care. peoples disabilitiies and problems being so various, they know best what will make life safer and more bearable.

If you are on Pension Credit, when you get AA you can get an extra £69.40 pension a week added to your pension Credit. Someone on Pension Credit who gets AA could be £122 - £162 a week better off. A very real help in these inflationary times. You can keep warm and have a decent diet.

I'm not disagreeing with you MOnica, but the OP wrote "The lady at Ageuk has put me down as needing help going to the loo during the nights .. when I don't , and help with bodily functions, which I don't." Therefore, the information on the form is not correct.

PS. I'm not saying she doesn't need AA. I got my Mum to apply, but she was refused, even though she couldn't wash herself properly. Unfortunately, my Mum didn't want to admit that she hadn't washed for weeks and actually smelled. She used to wet herself too because she found it difficult to get to the toilet in time, but tried to cover that up by sitting on bin liners.

Personally I would contact the correct department & tell them ... someone may need it more than you ... how many more people get the allowance when not entitled to it ... also how do you know someone will not contact them to say you don't need the help ... then fraud comes into it
... in the end your decision ... but ... I know what I would do

The amount of fraud associated with Attendance Allowance is infinitismal. Very few get it who do not qualify it. In over 10 years, I cannot remember a single case of fraud being discovered or someone getting it who wasn't entitled to it. I speak as someone who did this work for over 10 years and reviewing, mentally, not just my clients but clients at my branch of Age Concern.