Aged 66+ with a health condition? Beware paying to submit an Attendance Allowance claim – free help is available

One MoneySaver, Patricia, told us she had unwittingly agreed to pay over £1,000 from her successful Attendance Allowance award after a company submitted the claim on her behalf.

Patricia had enlisted the support of the firm after seeing an advert on Facebook. She'd been turned down for other benefits before, and needed help applying. She was awarded £110 a week, but she then had to pay the firm £1,033 – equivalent to 18% of the benefits she would get in the first year.

How Attendance Allowance works – and why it can be tricky to claim

If you're at or above State Pension age, Attendance Allowance – now called Pension Age Disability Payment in Scotland (though it's essentially the same benefit with the same qualifying criteria and value) – is a non-means-tested benefit you can claim to help you with the costs that come from having a long-term health condition or additional care needs.

It can be worth nearly £6,000 a year on its own, but it can also unlock access to other benefits, such as a Blue Badge or increased Pension Credit.

It's also massively under-claimed, with potentially up to one million eligible pensioners missing out, according to research firm Policy in Practice.

The application form for Attendance Allowance is long and requires a lot of detail, as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will use the information to assess need – rather than undertaking a physical health assessment, as with other health-related benefits. Because of this, you may find it difficult to complete the form – though as we set out below, free help is available.

Need support with your claim? Check these FREE options first

The following charities may be able to help:

1. Age UK

UK-wide: One-to-one advice over the phone, plus in-person appointments in some areas.

2. Citizens Advice

England, Scotland, Wales: In-person help with the form, plus phone and webchat support.

3. Independent Age

England, Northern Ireland, Wales: Advice by email as well as phone.

4. Scope

UK-wide: One-to-one help for people with a disability.

5. Turn2us

England, Northern Ireland, Wales: Find nearby organisations offering benefits advice.

Decided to pay for help? Here's what to watch out for

We've seen several companies online that offer to put your claim together on a 'no win, no fee' basis but then charge a steep fee (often running into the £100s) if the claim is successful. Commonly, this is a fixed fee, but it can also be a cut of any benefit you're awarded in the first year.

Benefits advice isn't regulated, which means that anyone can offer their services and ask you to pay for it. So, if you do decide to use a paid-for service, make sure you know exactly what you're signing up for. Some key questions to ask the firm:

• What experience or training do you have in giving benefits advice?
  It's important to look for people who are actually experts in benefits advice. Have they worked for Citizens Advice, JobCentre Plus or a charity like AgeUK? If not, what courses and training have they done?

• Will I be able to see the application form before it's sent?
  If a company won't let you see the application form before it's sent off, that's a warning sign. Exaggerating or misrepresenting your condition on your application form is a type of benefits fraud (even if you didn't know it was written), so it's important to double check you are happy with everything written on the form.

• How much will I have to pay?
  You shouldn't even have to ask this one. Companies, whether providing benefits advice or selling a cup of coffee, should always be clear and upfront about how much the service costs. If you can't easily find the pricing structure on their website or it comes with lots of terms and conditions, try elsewhere.

• When will I have to make the payment?
  Some companies will ask for the payment in full, others will offer the option of a payment plan. Either way, it's important to know exactly what is expected and when. If a company is unclear, or provides confusing information, give it a miss and try somewhere else.