disability and carers service have ruined me- help please

reprimander

hello im new to the site but i cannot find any help elsewhere.
i have been trying to claim dla for my oldest child for some time now and after going through the process for approx 15 months i was awarded middle rate care for him( without going into detail, he has a severe disability but he fights it very well, alas he is permanantly on crutches with no sign of improvement for the foreseeable future)
anyway i got the award at the tribunal and thought that was that, my banger then broke down for the umpteenth time so i couldnt get him to the appointments for physio and hydro, i thought i would use the money for some reliable transport as walking any distance is not possible for him, so got a car on 0% finance which the payments would more than pay for....... so while waiting for my payments to start i have recieved a letter today from disability and carers service saying they have applied to her majestys courts for a statement of the reasons for the tribunal decision and they will not be paying me, once they have the reasons statement then they will decide wether to appeal or not and this could take several months, i was never made aware that the tribunals decision is not final and now i am completely a mess, i cannot afford the car, i cant get in touch as its weekend i am just sat here crying i dont know wat to do, i cant even find out about this online there doesnt seem to be anything about it, i pray someone has been through this can help, or help me give the car back or something i have had a perfect credit rating for years now and it will be ruined in a matter of months, any help or advice to tide me over till monday is most welcome

Icequeen99

I'm not a benefits expert, but the decision notice you received should have explained that either side can ask for a statement of reasons and then ask for leave to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.

Normally you have 1 month from getting the statement of reasons to appeal it onwards, but you can normally only do so on a point of law.

I'm not sure what the rules on payment are whilst you await the decision, but I can't see how it can drag on for months unless DWP do decide to continue the appeal. If they don't then they should pay you.

I would contact CAB or welfare rights at your local authority on Monday.

I'm not sure what you can do about the car, does the contract have any cooling off period?

IQ

miduck

Icequeen99 wrote: »

I'm not sure what the rules on payment are whilst you await the decision, but I can't see how it can drag on for months unless DWP do decide to continue the appeal. If they don't then they should pay you.

They do not have to pay whilst they are considering whether to appeal, or a second appeal is in process.

This situation is becoming much more common - in the space of a few months I have heard of more cases where the DWP has considered an appeal to the Upper Tribunal than ever before!

zzzLazyDaisy

Please try not to worry. They are increasingly asking for a statement of reasons to cover themselves, but they can only appeal on an issue of law and they must do so within 28 days of receiving the statement of reasons.

In most cases it is unlikely that they will appeal and in reality all that it means in most cases is that the start of the payments will be delayed but you will get all the back pay in a lump sum.

I always advise people not to spend the money until it is actually in their bank account. In your case it means that you will have to find a way of funding the payments until the money comes through.

reprimander

thanks for replying
i have just one piece of paper from the tribunal i had no idea watsoever that it could be appealed i would never spend money i didnt have it just seemed like for once the right thing to do would be get a reliable car to use, it isnt a new car and is not faulty so i cant take it back, the biggest thing thats upset me is i wasnt aware of this i have been in touch with disability since the tribunal and it was never mentioned and it is not on any paperwork, i feel to blame for ruining everything as i urged my husband we were getting the payments so we could afford the payments on the car, i will try and get an appointment at c.a.b next week, im normally so careful with money....

rogerblack

Unfortunately, I would strongly advise anyone in this position never ever to make decisions assuming an award will stay the same.

Firstly, awards can be reviewed at any time.
Secondly, there is a change from DLA to PIP in the next several years upcoming, and many people will lose their entitlement.

Without a more detailed understanding of your sons disabilities, and the criteria for PIP, which I haven't had the heart to go Into in detail, as I fear it may remove my existing award, It's hard to comment.

While there is nothing wrong with the car, you can ask to return it, as you can't keep up with the payments.
(If it turns out you can't).
This isn't the appropriate forum for that, but you'll need to negotiate with the seller, and as soon as possible.
It's not in their interests for you to stop paying, and have no way of recovering the costs, just a vehicle worth less han it was.

See also the 'Debt free' section of the board for shaving off existing costs.

In principle, you can ask both the tribunals service to hurry up the production of the statement of reasons, and its consideration.
I am unsure if this would help.
Explain the hardship you are in through your misunderstanding.
Though inspect the papers carefully - all of them - and see if it mentioned the possibility of appeal.

zzzLazyDaisy

It is rare for decisions to actually be appealed. So there is a very high chance that this is a temporary setback and provided you can make the car payments in the short term you will get the back pay followed by regular payments. Try not to panic at the moment.

reprimander

thank you, i have spoken to the car dealer and im afraid they are non too sympathetic, they are local to me though so i will go and see them in person and explain what might happen see what my options are, thanks again for replying

benefitbaby

Just so you know the time-frames involved....
- the DWP and you have one month from the date on the tribunal decision notice to request a written statement of reasons and/or for the decision to be set-aside.
**The SOR can take a few weeks or months to arrive**
- once the SOR are received (you will get a copy) the DWP have one month to seek permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
- if the DWP do not apply for permission within one month then they must pay you the arrears
- the DWP could put in a late application for permission to appeal however they would have to explain the reasons for lateness.

**If the DWP's month has passed then you may be able to take them to court for a money debt order (specialist advice would be needed).

At the moment you sadly have to play a waiting game. The DWP may have requested the SOR as a training exercise (this is done more often than thought). Good Luck