Dear LPG readers,

I know that many pensioners live alone, and I am one of them. I also know that while many people who need care have severe medical and mental ailments and no close friends or family to help, they don’t need it all the time.  Many of us hope to put off needing any care until we have to ask for it while truly valuing every bit of financial and physical independence we can be in control of. 

I count myself lucky, because I have family who don’t live too far away, and while I wouldn’t say I like to get in the way too often, I can call on them when I need help.  I also count myself lucky because, although I am in my mid-eighties now, I am still pretty self-sufficient despite a few medical conditions.  No doubt, a lot of people my age will have been affected by ill health more severely than myself.   Carrying shopping around is not so easy for me. Still, my daughter gets most of it for me, and one of my grown-up grandsons occasionally takes me to my local supermarket to choose those items I would rather have more than a picture of before making a choice.

I recently received a letter from the DWP stating that he was applying to be my carer, which surprised me somewhat. It said he qualified because he looked after me for more than 35 hours per week, which puzzled me. He took me shopping once last month, which hardly consists of 35 hours a week.  

When such an application is made, the potentially cared-for person of everyone who applies gets this letter informing them. The carer will likely get the allowance if they do nothing with it. However, it is also noted that if a carer is granted the benefit, the cared-for person’s benefits can be affected adversely. 

My grandson was trying to be clever, thinking I would not learn about it. As much as I love him, I don’t need that much care now. 

 There was a telephone number on the letter, although when I called, they gave me yet another one, and I finally got to the carers allowance office. (0800 731 0297)

They told me that situations like the one I find myself in happen more often than you might think, and there are two ways of dealing with them. They suggested I ask my grandson to revoke his application, or I could do it myself. Knowing my grandson to be very good at saying one thing and doing another, I thought I should cancel it myself.  

You have the choice of adding allegations of fraud, but I did not feel the need to go that far.  So, knowing what I told them would not affect his character, and that the police would not be involved, I went ahead.  All I needed to offer was his date of birth and name, and because I did not know his national insurance number, they took mine.  

He thought he was onto a nice little earner that would not affect me financially and that I would never even find out about. Still, as I mentioned before, according to the carer allowance office, this happens more often than you might think.  

There is always a letter, but if you do nothing  about it, benefits could be altered. So, just in case this happens to you, please be forewarned: Ignoring the letter is the same as agreeing. 

DL, Greenwich. 

DL shares a little news about the Carers allowance that potential cared-for people can be advised to read. 

(►►►)   (►►►)