PIP Mandatory reconsideration

cantcope wrote: »

i got the letter back and they have kept scores as they are. i'm going to speak with my new MS nurse at my appointment in fortnight and see if she can give me some written evidence for me to appeal. if not then i dont see the point as other than showing them things i cant do nothing is going to change... don't fancy a scene from ready steady cook in court to show them how i drop hot food, cut my fingers, burn my hands and arms etc...
how do i prove im in constant pain when i walk? cry? wail?

Just passing by... remember appeal tribunal may be a bit more interested in all the evidence... many do successfully challenge decisions with greater success at that stage... there is of course always risk too of a worse decision... but generally low. Your own testimony at tribunal in person could be persuasive.

cantcope wrote: »

quick update. my new MS nurse says i must go to tribunal. She is writing me a strong worded letter to send with lots of evidence. anyone know how long the tribunal stage takes? weeks? months?

Plus from new thread to help other posters help you I quote the following post:

"Has anyone done this? was it stressful? did you have to go to court?
Did you fill in the form or just send a letter with more evidence?

My new MS nurse has advised i go to tribunal and is writing me a strong worded letter to send along with my request. I'm nervous but really pleased that she is supporting me and encouraging me.
i didnt have this for my mandatory reconsideration as my nurse retired and this one has just started.

I really really don't want to go to court and the form says you can tick that you don't want to so i will do that.

any advice? do i write the letter the same as like i did for mandatory reconsideration?
Does it take months to get to court? "

I expect others might provide links to good info. There is vast amounts of good info and advice on the web and on these boards for others enquiring... as well as above already from the likes of Alice.

It could take many weeks or some months... depending on how busy the tribunals service is where you are. That is frustrating but it does mean you'll probably have a bit of time to prepare and get any new evidence you think would help. I would make sure that your case for appeal is made with strong focus on the descriptors (statements of disability) that apply to you... and why they apply to you and what evidence supports this...etc.

I would strongly advise in general electing to go to the appeal tribunal - this is because statistics show that when people are represented at tribunal in person they do far better and probably because key primary evidence is then presented to the tribunal panel who can get new facts as they see fit to help them get the decision right.

You should not think of this as a court as such... it is a legal setting (in that they're going to try to apply benefit law to the details in your case) but it should feel less intimidating and more relaxed than a court... you're not on trial... you've done nothing wrong.. you're there to have them look at a benefit decision you think is wrong and they'll be interested to try to make a good decision. It is quite likely the DWP will not send anyone to attend and will simply allow their 'paperwork to do the talking'... DWP probably does not have the resources to send people to more than a small proportion of tribunals. There'll be a clerk (probably sat to the side) to deal with the administration of the tribunal and then the panel (probably sat in front of you (if you go)). The panel will have a judge... that'll be someone legally qualified... someone medically qualified such as a GP... and someone with a care/disability background. The panel will read the evidence and make a ruling but if you go along (or someone goes along to represent you) they'll also be able to get evidence directly from you by asking for more information and asking you to verify other. I would anticipate generally speaking the tribunal panel will seem interested in establishing the facts and getting the decision right... which is why many claimants at this stage do often get a more accurate and favourable outcome. The tribunal will either give decision that day (and possibly while you are at the tribunals building if you attend) or if not possible soon after and they'll send a copy of the decision to the DWP for their use as well as to you if not already provided.

You may find in asking for appeal you are making a very similar case as for the reconsideration request.... especially if the reconsidered decision (which is the one you are appealing against) is the same or similar to the original decision you challenged. But focus on the criteria... and hopefully the help you are getting proves useful. If you do decide to attend tribunal then obviously prepare well by studying all the evidence in advance and thinking about how you'd describe your difficulties in relation to the relevant activities. As final point obviously have to remind of the small risk that the tribunal will take a decision that is less favourable to you than the decision you are challenging - in your case you have been awarded standard rates for both components I understand so there is some risk in asking for a new decision... but statistically speaking that risk is probably generally low... if your disabilities align with a higher award according to the descriptors (according to you and your MS nurse) then legal advice would probably on balance strongly support appealing.

cantcope wrote: »

thank you.
I didn't realise it would be so informal. I used to work at magistrates court and even working there i didnt like going into the court when i needed to.
Perhaps i will go then.
i have made sure ive kept to the descriptors when ive asked for reconsideration but they've just blatantly ignored what i've told them and come back with we decided you can do this... erm... how? i told you the opposite and so will my MS nurse!

Panels will vary due to the personalities involved... so there are no guarantees...I had a really bad experience of a DLA tribunal many years ago... but in all my reading of tribunal experiences I think I was incredibly unfortunate... people almost always describe events that are more professional and less stressful than say the face to face medical assessment.. and it is rare to hear claims such as 'they just didn't listen to me' which is otherwise very common with regards to the DWP (as in your case!) or the private medical contractor such as ATOS or Capita. Remember they've probably been in a fair few PIP tribunals... and they'll have seen assessment reports before and understand that sometimes they contain sound opinion and facts and sometimes they do not contain much that can be relied on. They're much more likely to take a broader look at the evidence and not consider any particular element as the 'word of god'.