Appeals

Hi Deeply Dippy (memories of Right Said Fred going through my mind here)

In relation to not hearing from DWP, it could be that there has been issues with Royal Mail and delivering. I do know that not so long ago, during the strikes, they had massive backlogs. If it's not that, you can contact them (DWP) on 0800 121 4433 Mon-Fri 9pm till 5pm, although getting an answer on the telephone can be extremely difficult, especially during their busy times. They should be able to advise you as to whether any correspondence has been issued to yourself, so this should help put your mind at ease in relation to that. As for your other issues you have mentioned, maybe's one of the more experienced Moderators can assist? I am new to this role, and would hate to advise incorrectly.

Regards, Chris.

DD

OK, let's go back to the basics.

You say you have requested an appeal, who did you make the request to, how and when?

A request for appeal needs to be made to the Tribunal Service, once the request is made you should receive confirmation in writing from the TS.

Gordon

Hi Deeply Dippy,
If you have sent in an appeal online there is usually automatic confirmation. If you sent in the application via post then it normally takes 2 or 3 weeks to get confirmation. As per Gordon, you need to send the application to the Tribunal and not DWP. Please check that this is the case, and if not resend everything to the tribunal office immediately, and if you are outside the 1 month period, explain that you became confused and sent the application to DWP and indicate when you sent this. It is likely that providing you are not too late and explain yourself properly then a late appeal should be allowed. Of course if you did send the appeal to the tribunal it wouldn't hurt to phone them and ask what's happened/ has the appeal been received.

Once the appeal is properly in, and acknowledged the tribunal service will notify DWP- they have duty to provide copies of all the paperwork which will include the claim or review form and medical or other evidence you have sent in, together with fuller explanation of the DWP decision and crucially copies of the assessment report. These papers, often referred to as the appeal bundle are also sent to the tribunal.

Once you have this paperwork (and yes certainly chase this if after 1 mth post acknowledgement of receipt of appeal this has appeared,) then go through it. You can then criticise the assessment as appropriate. The best way of doing this is to work out 4 or 5 bullet points grouping the major criticisms eg •assessor repeatedly wrote down incorrect answers and did not appear to listen
•assessor was rude, and talked over me
• assessor failed to understand the impact of pain
Etc etc...
Don't call the assessor a liar as it is unlikely you can prove this. But incorrect recording or not listening is provable!
That said, if you recorded the assessment and what was said has clearly been misrecorded y the assessor there is no problem with complaining that the contents of the assessment report do not reflect the information provided by you. You can provide a transcript if you like and also refer to rudeness etc and again evidence this with the recording.

Don’t worry if the recording was illicit. You have made it specifically to be assured that the report is accurate, and if it isn't you have solid proof.

If you have no recording, don't worry, just confirm in you arguments that you felt intimated, assessor was being rude etc and simply explain why.

Often when I write arguments (sometimes called submissions) I will write a background paragraph about disease, diagnosis, and overview of disabilities. Next add the few bullet points, about the assessment and give examples of the worst problems with the report, then you can go through each descriptor set in more detail saying what DWP awarded, and why it is/isn't correct. (No need to write more than a brief sentence if you do agree with DWP.) Say what points you should be awarded. Remember if 2 or more descriptors in a set apply equally then the highest value is the correct award, if 2 or more descriptors in a set apply unequally the most prevalent is the correct one.
I hope this helps.
LL26