I was awarded 8 points for each element of pip. CAB agreed it should have been higher so went to MR where the mobility was increased to 12 points thus an increased payment for mobility. Daily living increased to 10 points but the payment remained the same for daily living. CAB have suggested I appeal but as I missed the deadline, I thought I'd missed the opportunity. However, the court or DWP, not sure which, accepted the appeal and I'm waiting. Has anyone ever been in this situation and had the court increase their points thus receiving more money.? Even though CAB suggested appealing, I'm really not sure if I should just be grateful for getting more at MR.
Hi Jackie,
Yes, indeed people have been successful with their Tribunal. If you appear in person the you have a 71% of a decision in your favour. It's less for those that have paper based decisions. Hopefully you're planning on appearing in person.
The waiting times however are huge and some are waiting a year for their hearing. It really depends on backlog in your area. You can ring the Tribunal to ask them approx how long you should expect to be waiting and they'll tell you. All you need for this is your Tribunal reference number.
The good news is, is that's there's no risk with Tribunal. If they plan on lowering your award they have to tell you before the hearing, this way you have chance to stop the Tribunal and cancel it.
Good luck.
WOW not absolutely sure if actually giving up your claim to take it to appeal is a great idea, I think you were/are lucky to have had your benefit increased by doing an MR I think I would be happy that one element has been increased, their is obviously a chance you could be downgraded again, tribunals don't always go in the favour of the applicant.
It's totally up to you which way you go, I wish you luck any way you decide
Hi Alexandria,
That's not true. There's absolutely no risk what so ever in taking it to Tribunal, when a claimant already has an award. As i said in my previous comment, if a Tribunal is considering lowering or removing an award completely the must warn the claimant before the Tribunal hearing. This gives the claimant chance to cancel their Tribunal, leaving them with their existing award. If a Tribunal doesn't warn a claimant before then that definitely grounds for error in law for Upper Tribunal.
@jackie87 Hi Jackie, if I were you, I would be inclined to accept what you have been awarded, you never know it could go the opposite way.
MaryLip
Hi Mary,
No no, please read my other comments there's NO risk with taking it to Tribunal, none what so ever!
If Jackie thinks she should get Enhanced for both then she should fight for it.
So if someone is told prior to the tribunal that it will be lowered and they still go ahead they could lose it then, so if that's the case and the tribunal already have looked at the appeal and more or less know the outcome why don't they just save the claimant all that stress, also would probably save a fortune in wasted time and money, does make a slight mockery of the tribunal doesn't it, that's my take on it.
@ denise15811 It is just my opinion, I do not trust these inspectors or examiners one iota.
MaryLip
Yup i totally agree. It would be really silly of the claimant to go ahead with the Tribunal if this is the case. I've only ever heard of 1 person to do this. They went onto lose everything they had, which was standard for both parts.
I would imagine that the majority of claimants would cancel their Tribunal if they were told there was a risk, but for Jackie there's no risk in fighting for what she thinks she should be claiming.
Mary, the Tribunal is totally different to DWP decision maker, and the examiners/assessment providers. Tribunal is totally independent. The Tribunal will listen to what people have to say, remember 71% of those that appear at their Tribunal have a decision in their favour. That's pretty high to be honest. Compared to 47% of reviews/first claims being successful.
The Tribunal having to warn claimants if their award is to be lowered was an Upper Tribunal decision.
Just in case there's any confusion, this ruling does not apply to Mandatory Reconsiderations (MR). It only applies to Tribunals. When asking for the MR you do risk losing everything you already have, although most decisions stay the same.
Hi Denise. Thank you for your input. I had heard that the tribunal will warn you if you'd lose but didn't quite understand, like others have said, why anyone would choose to proceed knowing they'd lose. I will have a CAB representative at the appeal but it's been 8 months now and I still don't have a date. As soon as I receive details of when, I will contact them to discuss the detail. Whilst 8 months is a long time I, at least, am receiving the amount already awarded which is better than for some people who have been awarded nothing. Thanks again for your help and advice.
Thank you for your input Mary Lou. I had heard that the tribunal would warn claimants that their chance of success is very limited but didn't quite know how that works. It would appear that this applies to someone who has had their pip/DLA stopped after face to face and then proceeded to MR where the decision remains unchanged and they end up going to tribunal and still getting nothing, but have decided to proceed with the appeal as they have nothing to lose. Thanks again for your help and comments.
Thank you Alexandria for your help. I wondered whether I might be pushing my luck. I'll really have to think about my next move.
Hi Jackie,
Just so you know, if your award stayed the same at your Tribunal the only way you can appeal that decision is if an error of law is made. This is extremely rare and also very difficult to find.
The reason people choose to proceed is because they have nothing to lose, even yourself. If the Tribunal plan on lower or taking away an existing award they would write to you even before the hearing takes place.
You're also very lucky having a CAB representative because they no longer do this because of lack of funding.
Hi Denise. Thanks for that. As it was 8 months ago since I first appealed, I'm going to have to check that the CAB are still willing to represent. I've not been in contact with them since applying to appeal so I need to know that they are still happy to accompany me. They are listed on appeal form as representative and the court (or DWP) have sent them copies of the MR and assessors decision. I hope this means, since they haven't told me otherwise, that they will still represent me.
As for going to the upper tribunal, I think that might be a bit too far unless there is an obvious error of law. Your advice has been very useful and informative. Thank you
No problem. Did you receive a pack from the Tribunal when you first sent the request? In the pack would be everything that you sent to DWP to support your claim, so the original PIP2 forms, all your evidence, assessment report and the MR decision letter, have you received this? It will have your Tribunal reference number in with it and this is what you must use when contacting the Tribunal. It's nothing to do with DWP at this stage.
Another thing to remember, if you have any further evidence to send to the Tribunal to support your claim, you must make sure this is sent to arrive at least 10 days before your hearing. Do not take it on the day of the hearing, if you do you risk them not taking it into consideration. The Tribunal can only consider how your condition was like at the time of the assessment. Any worsening of condition after this time will not be considered.
I would ring your local CAB ASAP to ask them about the representative. If they say they can no longer do this then you can take anyone with you and they will be able to go into the room with you. You will have to answer all the questions, unless they are your appointee.
Hi Denise. Yes I received my bundle from the tribunal and on the covering letter it says that copied have been sent to my representative. I'm assuming they would have contacted me if they weren't going to accompany me, but you never so I will get in touch with them. Any idea how much notice I will receive about tribunal date and will this give me enough time to send in my letter explaining in more detail my reason for appeal.? I am aware that they can only consider my claim as it was on the date of assessment.
I'm not sure whether I would take anyone else with me if the CAB can't go. I don't want anybody 'piping up rubbish' that's not relevant so I think I might be better on my own! Although I'd feel safer if someone accompanied on the journey there and back so I'll probably arrange that. Thanks for your help. I'd quite like to let you know how I get on but I'm not sure how long these posts stay on for.
Don't assume that CAB would have contacted you if they're not planning on representing you.
The Tribunal should give you at least 10 days notice but can sometimes be as long as 3 weeks. I wouldn't wait for the notice because that's risky, if the letter with your reasons for appeal isn't received at least 10 days before the hearing they may not use it. I wouldn't delay the process any longer and start writing that letter because it's already been 8 months so you could have your hearing date anytime. When you send it to the Tribunal make sure your reference number is on the top and do this with any other evidence you plan on sending.
I'm not sure what "rubbish" you're talking about if you take someone with you. As i said, they won't be able to speak for you, you'll have to speak for yourself and answer all those questions. If CAB can't represent you then taking someone with you to keep you company and support you can only be a good thing.
Posts on the forum aren't deleted unless there's a problem and the moderators decide to delete them. If you can't find your post when you do come back with the outcome, just start another thread. It's always good to know the outcomes of people Tribunals/MRs or assessments. Good luck.