Mum's DLA Reduced.........Shld She Ask For RECONSID From DLA Or APPEAL To Tribunal??

Associate

Hi,

My mum had been on the higher rate for both the Mobility & Care component since 2007, due to her various health problems including long-term chronic back pain and leg pain. She used to receive £113.75 a week, £67.00 for Care & £46.75 for Mobility.

In 2007, the DLA acknowledged all her above problems in her Award letter.

Earlier this year, a Claim Form was filled in for her DLA to be renewed, and unfortunately, a friend of hers who filled it out on her behalf, inadvertently left out important information about her state of health.

This resulted in making the state of her health look less severe, and in fact the "statement of reasons" in the Award letter she received in Feb 09, contradicts the Award letter of 2007 by failing to acknowledge the full extent and severity of her health problems, even though the problems that she had in 2007 still exist, and to a greater degree.

As a result, she is not entitled to the Mobility component and only entitled to the lower rate of the Care component. This means that she will be receiving £18.65 a week, reduced from £113.75 a week!

I have drafted a letter asking for her higher rate for both Care & Mobility to be restored, by highlighting the mistakes made by her friend in her Claim Form and the mistakes the DLA have made. I will also include a list of all her medication, letter from Occupational Therapsist and am on the verge of getting a letter from her MP, illustrating their incorrect decision and unfair and unjustified basis for it. Although, I have to acknowledge that the manner in which her Form was filled out has played a big factor in this too.

What I need advice and guidance on from you is who and what type of letter should it be, a letter to the DLA asking them to reconsider their decision in the light of my clarifications and comprehensive information, or a letter of appeal, which will automatically be passed on to an Independent Tribunal and we will be subjected to their procedure?

Which is likely to lead to a quicker decision in my mother's favor and be more productive?

Please kindly contribute as much and as quickly as you can, as I need to post everything by tomorrow, 26/2/09!

Thank you.

Jay

Blakespops

I am just going through an appeal, Welfare rights are helping me, they told us that when you appeal they automatically send it back to a decision maker to be reviewed prior to sending it on to tribunral

jmabnc

I would appeal it, we are appealing at the moment,dont give up we feel like giving up but we are doing what we think is right for our child,I wish you luck,but seek help as you could lose it all,go into it with your eyes open,your mum has real grounds for appealing it..Good Luck,think postive try and stay calm.....

PolishBigSpender

Of course, be careful, because any benefits may be entirely lost on appeal.

[Deleted User]

I`m wondering what good a letter from your Mp would be?
However i would suggest going straight for appeal as a review of the claim is part of the appeal process,you have 4 weeks in which to lodge the appeal,if you request a statement of reasons this is extended to 6 weeks.
It is always a good idea to get help either from CAB or welfare rights,and you should always request an oral hearing(not a written one)as they have a far higher success rate.
From what you say the fault lies mostly with the person who filled out the forms,the DLA after all arent mind readers

Associate

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

Of course, be careful, because any benefits may be entirely lost on appeal.

I am very concerned at hearing what jmabnc and PolishBigSpender said about losing all benefits on Appeal. Someone else mentioned something like this today, which I found absurd to begin with.

If they don't want to change their decision and increase your benefits, then fair enough, but when they have already acknowledged that you are entitled to something, on what grounds can they take everything away??


It was actually a Customer Service Agent in a DLA call centre who said to me that if I mention in the letter that I want the decision "Reconsidered" then it will be assessed by a DLA officer. Whereas, if I state on the letter that I am "Appealing" the decision then it automatically gets passed over to the Independent Tribunal.


Taking everything into account and the possible risks, would you guys request a Reconsideration from DLA or Appeal from Independent Tribunal, if you were in our position?


Thank you for your help and support!

Regards,

Jay

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello Jay,

From what you have said, your mother has little to loose by requesting an appeal.
It is always something you have to bear in mind, but you should have sufficient evidence to reverse the decision.

Obviously at this stage, the appeal will be for another decision maker the have a look at the claim, so it's actually a reconsideration. You will have 4 weeks to submit any additional information in support of the claim, and why you believe the original decision was wrong.

The DWP have made the decision based upon the information given, and in good faith, it must have appeared your mother's condition had improved.
Unfortunately, it's not the DWP at fault, when acting on the information supplied.
A neighbour or friend with good intentions is no substitute for advice from Welfare Rights or the CAB.

From previous posts you have made to other questions, you have a smart head, and you are very capable in rectifying this.

Just collate the information that supports your mother's present condition.
Have a look at the terms on the following link for the Definitions, and use the terms as the basis of your letter to explain your mum's care and mobility needs. have a look at each section, and apply it to your mum.

http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/dmakers/default.asp

Good luck, be methodical!

Munchie

Associate

I sent everything off today. In the end, I decided to ask for a "reconsideration" of the decision from the DLA rather than an "appeal" for the Independent Tribunal to look at.

I thought that in the light of providing them with more "comprehensive" and "accurate" information about my mother's health, hopefully, it is reasonable to expect a different and fairer decision after they reassess.

Even though it is more work, and I'm sure everyone would agree that dealing with such matters can be stressful for the family concerned, I could "appeal" to Independent Tribunal afterwards if I am not happy with the DLA's decision after they review their original decision. After ringing the DLA up, without disclosing my mum's details and making a general enquiry for clarification, the customer service agent pointed this out as well, so I thought I'd go down that line for now. Especially considering the fact that the Claim Form could've been filled in better, and therefore I could'nt say fure sure that I felt the DLA were being unreasonable or unjust!

If I went to CAB or Welfare Rights they could've been more categoric about the best option, "reconsideration" or "appeal," and I could've extended the deadline to another 14 days by requesting a "statement of reasons" from them for their decision. But due to a lack of time and having to deal with other matters, I didn't explore that and decided to get this off our hands for now.

I'll let you know when I hear from them.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank everyone for their input and words of encouragement with a special mention for Munchie!

Regards,

Jay

Associate

Just an update, my Mum got a letter from the DLA yesterday confirming that they have received her request for "reconsideration" and that it can take up to 11 weeks..........standard procedure.


Jay

beanielou

As you say standard proccedure.
After award is reviewed you can then go to appeal if need be.

PolishBigSpender

Associate wrote: »

I am very concerned at hearing what jmabnc and PolishBigSpender said about losing all benefits on Appeal. Someone else mentioned something like this today, which I found absurd to begin with.

If they don't want to change their decision and increase your benefits, then fair enough, but when they have already acknowledged that you are entitled to something, on what grounds can they take everything away??

They may find that the original decision was wrong - if you consider that an appeal would be considered by those with more experience than the original person processing the form, then it is possible that mistakes can be made.

For instance, someone may have interpreted a certain aspect of the disability in one way - but a more experienced official may know instinctively that the disability is not as severe as the individual is saying.

Many reasons.