Won My Tribunal Today!!

hi vicky ,,thankyou so much for your reply ,,ive only just recieved the formal letter saying they have recieved my apeal forms and my anxiety is through the roof ,i suffer insomnia anyway and ime lucky to get a hr to 2 hrs sleep a night but ime not even getting that,,i feel physically sick with fear and dont know what to do either go or not go to appeal, some forums ive read it says it might weaken your case by going if you suffer agrophobia and ime worried if ido manage to go how would it look to the panel ive actualy managed to get there would they just think i was lying about my fear of going out then , the only time i do go anywer is to the GP and i avoid that like the plaque ,but if i do go my parents or daughter take me in car so it just out my front door in car and straight in to see doc as the receptionist know how i am so most of the time i dont have to wait sat in waiting room as i suffer social anxiety also ,, after reading what you said now i feel alot better as you also suffer like me and uve managed to go through it ,well done toyou as i know how terrifying it must been for you also ,,ime just scared ile mess it up as when ime very anxious i either talk a hundred miles a hour or i cant get nothing out and start to hyperventilate which then goes to a full blown panic attack and hysterical and dont know what ime doing ive walked into a busy main road before now in past because i was like this put myself in danger and others ,, ive tried getting support but the woman who deals with appeals is off sick till end july ,they said she will ring me when she back but ime worrying sick incase she doesnt ,ime usleless at reading up on things as my memeory is awfull and have to keep double checkin and even then i still unsure if i got it right ,not very good on iternet either and have great difficulty writing as the athritus in my hands are bad and my fingers go numb and then get severe pain and cramps ,my parent are in there 70 and no good on computers either so have noone realy to help me to type out submissions etc ,, .it so wrong ill disabled people have to be put through this type of treatmet to prove how unwell and how bad this affects our daily lives even just doing the simplest of things is such a ordeal fr many people ,, its degradng how the dwp seem to think everyones just trying to pull a fast one and get more money when this isnt the case , gets me so so angry,, :
thanks vicky ,

Hi Alison,
After I had sent my last message I thought of some other things I felt I should have said.

Are there any circumstances under which you are able to leave the house? You don't have to answer this. I'm not being nosey, but just thought that I may have come across as being insensitive to your own situation. For example: I am housebound, but if accompanied by someone I trust can leave the house to attend medical appointments. This may not be something you're able to do. So I apologise if you felt that I wasn't allowing for your own struggles with this.

The other, and probably more important point, is that before my tribunal I was told, by the panel, that this was MY hearing and that I could take a break etc. if I needed to. They continually assured me that this was MY opportunity to put forward my views.
If you're unable to leave the house to attend the tribunal it might be worth asking if you could still have your oral hearing, but do this on the telephone. I'm not sure if this is something that they would consider, but since it is your tribunal and they should accommodate all of your needs/difficulties I think it might be worth contacting the tribunal service and requesting this.

I hope that this is helpful Alison.

Hi Alison,

Thanks for your reply. I'm glad that some of my comments were helpful. As for your concerns about whether the tribunal will take your agoraphobia seriously if you do turn up - It think you've raised a very valid point. I find myself unable to know exactly what to say. However, they are independent and impartial so they should take all your problems onboard. If you do go, you'll need to make it very clear to them the difficulties you faced getting to the hearing. Including how anxious you were for months beforehand.
I was able to say that I could only ever leave the house when accompanied by my partner. The only question they asked about this was if I had left the house on my own in the past year. When I told that I hadn't they accepted this. It was true, but, the point I'm making is that they took my word for it. I had imagined before the hearing that they would be asking all manner of questions to try to trick me.
I also suffer from social anxiety. By the time I actually reached the building where the tribunal was being held I was in a really bad way. I was unable to sit in the waiting room because of other people in there. However, a quiet, separate room was allocated to us at my husband's request.
I can relate so much with your current levels of anxiety and fear. I became phobic about letters arriving and began to get paranoid that someone was watching the house. The latter still hasn't gone! To be honest, until I receive confirmation from DWP that they have changed my award I shan't feel as if it's over.
I completely agree with you that this procedure is harsh and adversely affects our disabilities even more. However, I found the tribunal panel agreed with me about this. It's a cruel system and yes, the government are doing their best to paint us all as scroungers. I'd love to be able to go to work like other people. I'm also very angry about the way that we're all being treated.
As for your difficulties with writing etc. Are you able to find a benefits' advisor, or anyone, to help you? If you have got this far on your own then I am full of admiration for you. Without wanting to sound patronising - well done! I can also empathise with your difficulties concentrating etc.
If you have only just received the letter saying that your appeal has been received then you do, at least, have a period of time before you have to make a final decision about whether you attend in person or not. Could your daughter accompany you? Or perhaps a support worker? If you do go, I'd get them to arrange a taxi for you. That way they won't challenge how you managed to get from a car park to the building itself. However, I must stress that my experience of the tribunal panel was that they were compassionate and eager not to increase my distress. Try not to worry about "messing it up" as you put it. I also had this fear, but as I've said the panel were competent, and professionally qualified, unlike Atos and Maximus.
I hope I've answered all your points. It has taken me over 2 hours to write this...and now I'm beginning to get paranoid that someone from DWP is reading it.
I know it's easy for me to say, but try not to keep turning it over and over in your mind. All your fears, and your feelings, are justified given the way that DWP have treated you. Remember you have a valid case and every right to challenge the DM's decision. I don't even know you, but I can tell from your messages that you're genuine. The tribunal aren't fools - they'll know that you are too. When I contacted my benefit's advisor about the result of the hearing she said that "justice had been done". That, to me, sums it up. You too have a right to justice. Please try to remember that you do.
With very best wishes,
Vicky

hi.
just a update to let you know where i am at moment with this appeal ,, i recieved the wad of paperword 2 weeks ago ,i managed to get hold of a welfare benefit advisor who deals with appeals but shes been off sick and is only back part time twice a week for a few hrs ,she rang me last frid to ask if i could pop the wad of paperwork in to the office so she can look at them , havnt been able to do that yet though as my daughter has been bad past week and been unable to go anywer ,so ime panicking now as dont know where i stand with this woman as to wether she will represent me or not yet all she asked me is to pop paperwork in ,ive told her ime agrophoboc and dont go out and emailed her to say my daughter unwell and not able to drop them into her yet , everytime i ring shes never there or has just left ,so it looks like maybe ile be doing this alone ,,my daughter said shele come with me as she is my unpaid carer and does soo mch for me , my mental health has deteriated with soo much worry and feling a burden to my family as there the ones that are running around and trying to get evidence for me as ime unable to leave my home my medication has been put up npw to the maximun i can have for the ones i take ,,been waiting for the past year to start psycotherapy after being assessed and ime on waiting list ,rang last week to find out if any hope on it starting anytime soon and was told ime 20th on the list , so god knows how much longer ile be waiting again , it disgusting the way people with MH .are just left to get on with it and handed out pills like smarties thinking it all go away ,, wanted to ask you as your also agrophobic ,did they asked you how did you manage to attend the tribunal . ime thinking it would weaken my case if ime able to go there as they will think well she cnt be that bad she managed to get here , ime worrying sock abot having to go and how ime going to be when ime there as i will prob go to pieces soon as i walk in building with panic through worrying ,x.

hi vicky ,
dont know how i missed your last msg but now only seeing it ,.... ime same as you realy as if i have a dr appoint i have to go to ican only go if my parents or daughter take me ,i literaly have to walk out my door and in car and dropped off as close to entrance as poss,.like you i cant cope with waiting rooms and people around me so i go in a corridor waiting until ime called ,,my family have hell of a time geting me to go though as i make up anu excuse not to go dont know how many appoint ive missed through the distress i have leaving my home ,, i realy wish i could live a normal life and envy cing people out and about going shoppping etc ,, i have to rely on my family for everything , also ime excactly like you i been thinking past 8 mths th dwp have been watching me to see if i do leave my home ,, if they were to have done this they be wasting there time cause i dont go out anyway not ven sit in my garden ,,my parents bought me garden furniture last summer and did my garden nice with pots and flowers etc in hope to get me to sit out bk but ive not even done that,, , ime just hoping now that that when i do have a date and go that they will see ime not adding things on and that i realy do need this help to enable me to do these activities ,, ,how long from recieving the wad of paperwork do you get a date vicky i suppose it dofferent in areas but just a idea roughly would be good to know ,
thanks again for you advice realy appreaciate you taking the time to reply back,.xx

Hi Alison,
I'm so sorry I haven't replied before. I'm still suffering from the effects of the PIP claim (even though it was finally settled in September) and finding it very difficult to concentrate or get any motivation to do anything...
Have you received a date yet for your tribunal?
I hope that you're getting some help with the forms.
I can't recall if the tribunal panel asked how I reached the building, but I booked a taxi via the tribunals' service which I would recommend you do as it demonstrates how much you need extra support to go anywhere. They pay for it and possibly the panel are made aware of this.
The panel did ask me how I would get to a doctor's appointment if my partner couldn't go with me? I told them that I'd have to cancel the appointment.
They also asked me when the last time that I went out by myself was? I told them I couldn't remember. They asked if it was this year and I told them it wasn't. Which was true.
I hope you're managing somehow to cope with this Horror. Please try to follow it through to its conclusion. DWP can't be allowed to beat us.

With every good wish,
Vicky