A carer who was “dragged into court” and had to sell her home to repay almost £20,000 in benefit overpayments has been told the truth after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) admitted it had made an innocent mistake. , is fighting to clear its name.
George Henderson, 64, said he earned just 30p a week while claiming carer’s allowance for his son John, who has a learning disability and is addicted to heroin. Homeless and too unwell to work, he currently pays an extra £1,000 a month to the Treasury.
Ms Henderson said she became suicidal after being charged by the DWP with fraudulently claiming benefits over a six-year period while caring for John, now 42.
He mistakenly ticked the box saying he was unemployed when filling out a “difficult” application form for carer’s allowance in 2010. “I thought he was asking about John,” he told the Guardian.
DWP records show he worked as a taxi driver from 2002, earning around £7.50 an hour. But it took more than six years before someone in the department told him he was applying for benefits incorrectly.
At the time he was claiming £19,506.20, or around £60 a week. Not only did the DWP want everything back, but they also charged him with fraud. Investigators said the suspect lied about having a job and ignored annual letters urging him to report any changes in his situation.
Although he maintained his innocence, he was found guilty. In 2018, a judge at Preston Crown Court gave him a 32-week suspended sentence and ordered him to wear an electronic tag for 16 weeks.
Henderson, who had never been in trouble with the law, found it humiliating to be tagged and suddenly put under a 9pm curfew. “Watching them wear it made me sick to my stomach,” he said. “I just felt helpless, embarrassed, humiliated… I was being dragged through the courtroom like a criminal, and I wasn’t.”
He then received letters from the DWP every three weeks demanding he sell his former two-bedroom council flat to pay off his debts or face a seven-month prison sentence.
Ms Henderson ultimately sold the property for £115,000 and was left with just £6,000 after paying off the mortgage and DWP. “It’s heartbreaking,” he said. “I came back and saw [the house] I actually broke down in tears twice. ”
His mental state deteriorated to the point where he attempted suicide and fell into a serious condition. “I lost four stones. I could actually see my ribcage.”
Mr Henderson said people who care for disabled, infirm or sick relatives can be forced to pay huge sums back to the government and face criminal prosecution after unknowingly breaching the income rules by just a few pounds. She was one of a number of carers the Guardian spoke to after revealing she had been intimidated. one week.
Tens of thousands of unpaid carers have been slapped with stiff fines of more than £20,000, branded “cruel and nonsense” by the Guardian, for relatively minor and unintentional breaches of the rules. In response to the report, the government is facing calls for a review of the system.
The Hendersons’ middle child, John, was born healthy but lost most of his hearing and developed disability after contracting measles at the age of three. He was unable to live independently as an adult, especially after becoming addicted to heroin, and moved in with his father.
Initially, John applied for disability benefits worth around £60 a week. But Ms Henderson soon discovered that John’s drug dealers were waiting by the cash point every week after his paycheck, extorting money from John for heroin.
Ms Henderson claimed that DWP officers visited John’s home in 2010 to assess him and discuss the pros and cons of claiming carer’s allowance on his behalf.
The new benefit was worth 30p a week, but in a bid to stop heroin dealers stealing the money, Ms Henderson received the money into her own bank account so she could pay it to her son as a daily allowance. meant.
After being convicted in 2017, Henderson unsuccessfully attempted to appeal his conviction. He became homeless and had to be housed in a shelter by the local council at the expense of his public funds. He is currently reliant on Universal Credit as he is too unwell to work and receives £1,300 a month to cover his housing and living costs.
“Believe it or not, when I moved in I couldn’t get in and out of the bathroom because I’ve had two hip replacements and I have a severe spinal condition. I mean, it cost £7,000 to install a wet room. It’s costing them universal credit. It’s just ridiculous. In fact, by doing this, they’re hurting the taxpayers and the government. of money is being sacrificed,” he said.
Recently Ms Henderson decided to clear her name and wrote to Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary. Last month he received a letter from the DWP apologizing for his ordeal but refusing to give his money back.
The letter read as follows: “I found you to be a convincing and reliable witness on appeal.” [and] There’s a good chance you’re telling the truth, and the misstatement was likely an innocent mistake. ”
He continued: “I am very sorry that you feel your experience at the DWP contributed to your financial problems, severe emotional trauma and mental health.”
Henderson refused to accept the apology. “I’m not dealing with what I need to be dealing with,” he said. “Why did it take him six years to check the box and realize he made a mistake? Why not the first year? That would be acceptable. He could pay for the first year. But it was a mistake.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “We are committed to providing fair support to all people in need of the welfare system, while fulfilling our duty to treat taxpayers’ money responsibly.
“Plaintiffs have a responsibility to notify DWP of any changes in circumstances that may affect their award, and it is right that we recover taxpayers’ money where this has not happened. We will continue to work with those who need support with repayment terms while protecting their financial resources.”
