Martin Lewis issues warning over DWP benefit rule leaving people 'devastated'

has issued a warning over a "fundamentally unjust" rule that has seen claimants being treated "like criminals".

The money guru has heaped praise on unpaid carers, calling then "unsung national heroes" but warned that the core that caters to them - Carer's Allowance - leaves them underserved. He said that many of those who claim the extra aid can fall foul of the in-built earnings limit.

One carer was recently left "devastated" after they were told to pay back £20,000 in Carer's Allowance because they unknowingly exceeded the threshold. said the "old-fashioned, unjust" structure is in need of immediate change, while outlining the limits people receiving the benefit must keep in mind.

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Mr Lewis told MoneySavingExpert: "Earn £151 a week or less, and those eligible can claim the £81.90 per week allowance. Yet, earn a penny more – £151.01 – and they get nothing. This is perverse – most benefits, including , have a taper, so if you go over the threshold, the payment received is gradually reduced."

He added that many people who claim money from Carer's Allowance can easily slip over a "cliff edge" that could see people who "slip over" unwittingly can end up paying back "unaffordable" amounts of cash. Lewis said: "Carer's Allowance only has a cliff-edge, leaving many to plummet off. Worse, the system seemingly sets people up to slip over the threshold unwittingly.

"Many on Carer's Allowance need to restrict any working hours to avoid hitting it (a strange disincentive to work), yet if their wage increases slightly, eg, when the annual minimum wage increases, they can fractionally bust the threshold. If that happens, the terrible disconnectedness and poor benefits systems mean they're often still paid the allowance for months, or even years."

"Then, even though they may have only earned a pound or two more, they're later asked for unaffordable £100s or £1,000s back." MoneySavingExpert heard from Heather Aylesbury, 56, who works as the primary carer for her 91-year-old mother and receives Carer's Allowance.

She said that, in late 2019, the DWP had a local government officer visit her home to inform her that she had been overpaid Carer's Allowance by an astonishing £19,543.95. She told the publication she "nearly fell through the floor" and was left feeling "like ending it all" as she worked a job and cared for her children while looking after her mother.

She said: "I felt like ending it all. I was so devastated, I felt like a criminal. There are people in a worse position than me because I've got a very supportive family and amazing friends that rallied behind me, so I was able to get through it."

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