Advice on finding a solicitor

Weeks ago I posted about how my ESA has been stopped since January after a malicious person made false allegations to the DWP saying that I am lying about my disability and my living situation. Due to my disability and the fact that I am now homeless due to having no ESA, I am unable to let the DWP visit me to inspect where I live and unable to attend an interview or a medical. I have written to them to request a mandatory reconsideration.

I have reached out to my community mental health team, the citizens advice bureau and a mental health advocacy charity. All of them concluded that my case was simply too complex and spanned across to many subjects for them to help me with it. I have been advised by all to find a solicitor.

However I have been told that legal aid when it comes to welfare benefits has been greatly reduced. What is my best course of action? At what point is it best to involve a solicitor? Can anyone else represent me? Who? Last time I phoned a random solicitor firm that specialized in health, social care and benefits, they sounded perplexed as to why i was calling seeing as I had not been arrested or interviewed under caution.

I understand that I won't be able to get legal aid for mandatory reconsideration but I was hoping to get it for Tribunal if it comes to that (I keep being told different things, and that it IS available for Tribunal). I am awaiting a mandatory consideration, my deadline to request one is the 9th of April and I only sent my letter this week.

I will contact my local authority tomorrow, but I am not hopeful. Being homeless has forced me to leave the city to seek refuge with friends who live further away. I doubt they will acknowledge their duty of care towards me like this. I think that the Welfare Rights team for that city is based above an Oxfam shop, which means I can't go into their office, as my OCD dictates that I cannot go anywhere near second hand shops.

"OCD Action" the UK's leading OCD charity was my last and strongest hope. They offer an advocacy service for people who's OCD has become so severe that they can no longer access health and social services in the typical way. At this point I feel like I am being told "you're too severe for the scope of our services, you will simply just have to be left for dead".

I don't understand. There are different types of tribunals?

NO ONE IS HELPING ME! Every single organization is saying my case is too complex. The fact is i have been left for nearly a decade to worsen with a cripplingly severe mental illness and this has resulted in me being COMPLETELY UNABLE to comply with what the DWP are asking (home inspection) SURELY there must be some help available this is not that complicated a problem!

I am being left for dead. Perhaps I should look into no win no fee proper lawyers and try to win at tribunal and then spend the rest of my life paying back the legal fees. i don't even think I will win at tribunal because the aim of tribunal is not to establish how ILL you are or WHY you are not able to do certain things, the aim is to make a case against the DWP and why they're wrong. Essentially they are NOT wrong in asking me to have a home inspection but WHAT CAN I DO I LITERALLY CAN'T COMPLY. I have TRUCK loads of medical evidence about my condition and how it makes me unable to let people into my home.

ChocolateSpread wrote: I don't understand. There are different types of tribunals?

NO ONE IS HELPING ME! Every single organization is saying my case is too complex. The fact is i have been left for nearly a decade to worsen with a cripplingly severe mental illness and this has resulted in me being COMPLETELY UNABLE to comply with what the DWP are asking (home inspection) SURELY there must be some help available this is not that complicated a problem!

I am being left for dead. Perhaps I should look into no win no fee proper lawyers and try to win at tribunal and then spend the rest of my life paying back the legal fees. i don't even think I will win at tribunal because the aim of tribunal is not to establish how ILL you are or WHY you are not able to do certain things, the aim is to make a case against the DWP and why they're wrong. Essentially they are NOT wrong in asking me to have a home inspection but WHAT CAN I DO I LITERALLY CAN'T COMPLY. I have TRUCK loads of medical evidence about my condition and how it makes me unable to let people into my home.

Hi CS,

I am sorry to hear of your plight !

However, Gordon is correct, Legal Aid is not available for help with MR's/Appeals of benefit decisions in UK except for in Scotland.

The same applies for appeals to The First Tier Tribunal (FTT)

Yes, there are two different types of Tribunals The FTT is where an appellants case is heard first.

If either party, the appellant or The DWP can show that The FTT have made an error in law in coming to their decision, and only under that premise, leave to appeal to The Upper Tier Tribunal (UTT) can be requested.

Have you tried "mind" ? : www.mind.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/

Have you tried your M.P. ? : Contacting your MP

Have you tried putting Welfare Rights/Advice into Google for your Town/Postcode ?

See : Here also.

I hope that helps.

bro58