Advice on an appeal against DLA claim

morgansmummy1809

Hi,

I made a claim for disability living allowance at the beginning of September, they wrote to me quite quickly to say that i was not entitled to the benefit. I had however in the 3-4 weeks had a couple of changes (i now use crutches more often and i have also had a refurral to hospital for x-rays etc) so i wrote to them telling them that i wished to appeal against their decision due to these changes.
I have waited a few weeks and had no reply, so i called them and asked if they could tell me if they had looked at my case and have been told that i should get a letter soon telling me that it is going to go to a tribunal and that i will be sent a copy of all of the paperwork and invited to attend a tribunal in my area.
I am not sure if this is something that they do for everyone who appeals, i am sure that on my decision letter it said that if i appeal they would re-look at my case and see if they could change the decision.
Does anyone know what happens at a tribunal? I told a friend about it and she said that they normally have tribunals for people who have lied about a claim.... i have definatly not lied and sruggle on a daily basis, and cant walk far. I am now slightly nervous that they think i am lying and are suspicious of me.

any advice would be great
thanks

tomitma

They have looked at your claim, and reached the same decision as before, that is why it is going to tribunal.

The tribunal is not just for people who have lied, it is made up of three people, a Doctor, a health worker and usually a nurse, they will ask you questions about your illness, and it is based on your answers and any other evidence that you supply whether or not you get the award.

This tribunal happens for everyone who appeals, except for the lucky ones, who have the decision reversed, when they ask them to look at there case aGAIN.

[Deleted User]

try and get help from welfare rights or cab,they might if they have people avaliable represent you at the tribunal

morgansmummy1809

Thank you for that info, i was slightly worried but feel a bit better about it now. I have noticed that a couple of other people have said that they have had to wait a long time for the tribunal date, is this the same with everyone?
Can i take someone along with me, for instance my partener who sees me suffering on a daily basis, and my boss who has had to send me home for work several times due to me being practically unable to walk?
many thanks

tomitma

The tribunals take at least a year, it could be more, if you intend to take someone, put there name on the appeal form, they will then be allowed to speak for you, if you dont put a name you can still take someone with you but they are not allowed to offer evidence.

DX2

tomitma wrote: »

The tribunal is not just for people who have lied, it is made up of three people, a Doctor, a health worker and usually a nurse, they will ask you questions about your illness, and it is based on your answers and any other evidence that you supply whether or not you get the award.

The Tribunal will consist of 3 members. A legally qualified Chairman, a Doctor, usually a GP, and a person who has experience of people with disabilities, and who themselves may be disabled.

DX2

morgansmummy1809 wrote: »

Does anyone know what happens at a tribunal?

What Happens at the Tribunal
The Tribunal Chairman will set out how he or she intends to conduct the hearing. The Chairman may ask you to give evidence on oath or affirmation.
You or your representative will be asked to explain why you think the DWP decision is wrong.
The DWP Presenting Officer will be asked to say why they think they've got it right.
You may be asked questions by the Tribunal members.
You usually are given the opportunity to have the final word before the Tribunal makes its decision.
Hearings usually last between 40 minutes and one hour.
http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/appeal/appealtribunal.asp

pipkin71

DX2 wrote: »

The Tribunal will consist of 3 members. A legally qualified Chairman, a Doctor, usually a GP, and a person who has experience of people with disabilities, and who themselves may be disabled.

You're sharing your knowledge tonight, DX2

:T keep it up, dear

morgansmummy1809

So if i have to wait a year, then would it not be easier to just cancel it and try to claim again in a few months??? Just seems like a long time to wait thats all...

no-oneknowsme

It's not set in stone that a tribunal date will be a year in advance.

From personal experience with a close relative , when the Dla was refused the relative asked for the decision to be reconsidered . It was decided that the decision was NOT to be changed and so my relative asked for the case to go to tribunal.

The time between asking for the case to go to tribunal and the holding of the actual tribunal was around 5 months.

In this case (i was present at the tribunal) , no-one from DWP appeared so it was just a case of my relative explaining how their disability affects their day to day life.

There were three people on the panel . It was mainly the "main" panel member who did all of the talking though.

Once my relative had explained their disability and its effect on their life , the other two panel members asked a few quick questions and they then closed the tribunal and asked us to wait in the waiting room.

After only 10-15 mins we were called back into the room and informed that the tribunal had found in favour of my relative and they were awarding a rate at which the claimant was very happy with.

I suppose different areas have different waiting lists so our 5 month wait may be just area related .

Theres nothing to worry about when going to tribunal.

It is said that (is it?) 80% of applicants who attend tribunals are successful.

no-oneknowsme

morgansmummy1809 wrote: »

So if i have to wait a year, then would it not be easier to just cancel it and try to claim again in a few months??? Just seems like a long time to wait thats all...

If you are successful at tribunal whatever award you are given is back dated to the very day you first filled in the DLA application form .

You have two options , you could :

a) Continue the matter to tribunal and at the tribunal be successful and get the claim awarded , in which case you will be back paid every penny since the day you first applied...

b) Cancel the existing claim and submit a fresh claim and never know whether you would have been successful at tribunal..in which case you risk loosing a lot of money.

If it were me in this situation i would let the case go to tribunal. I hear the success rates are pretty good.