I WON! I never thought it possible!

Dear Lisa,

Of course, I cannot give advice on what to do but I can say that my experience was that they very much steered the process from the moment I went in. They went to great lengths to make me feel comfortable and they spoke slowly and clearly. They first of all went through the paperwork they had in front of me and made sure I had the same copies with me so we all had the same documents. I had kept a copy of my final submission and evidence with me to refer to, but never needed to. I just answered their questions to the best of my ability and when they needed clearer info they rephrased the question nicely.

I hope this helps.

Hi Rachel,

bloody well done. Seriously brilliant stuff.

It gives the rest of us hope and a adrenalin rush.

regards A

Thank you Rachel

here here !!!!

Hi There...

Great. Here's another one. Two days after I won, I got a letter awarding me 1737 quid in back dated payments. Now I grant you 18 months is a longer time than most to wait for appeal, but I had completely forgotten that winning would net me a payment!! I got the money in my account within 4 days of the appeal.

The process of being heard is worth it. I had been encouraged by a friend who had said that he was listened to and for the first time felt like he had a voice. He still had to provide a lot of evidence and that part of the process was slow and anxious. But rather than jumping onto JSA and not being able to cope AT ALL, it was worth it in the end.

Wishing you all the very best... keep on keepin on!

hi RACHEL Really glad you got your appeal. i have been on DLA for 6 years and i have had diabetis since 1991 type 2 with tablets and injections nurophy in my legs cause me to fall a lot. asphma, fibromyology and in constant pain from same. my papers have been with dla from beginning of june been turned down twice and I am awaiting my appeal. have had to get referred to physio again fell and hurt my back. again. do hope you have a word of advice to me. margaret