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Help, not sure what to do now!

  • Tansyhill
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12 years 2 months ago #79451 by Tansyhill
Help, not sure what to do now! was created by Tansyhill
I apologise in advance for the length of this post.

I recently appealed a DLA decision (1st Dec 2011) that awarded High rate Mobility and no care element (always a risk, I know), I rang requesting the appeal at the beginning of December and was asked if I wanted a “reconsideration" I said no, I would prefer to go straight to appeal.

I also asked for copies of the “Decision Maker's Statement of Reasons” and a copy of the doctor’s report, I have not yet received either of them.

On the 8th of December I was sent a letter stating I was having my claim reconsidered, I rang immediately, pointing out that I hadn’t asked for a reconsideration but wanted to go to appeal, I was told that a reconsideration is automatic when you phone up to request the appeal form.

The appeal was received by DWP on the 23rd December 2011 and with the appeal I sent hospital copies of letters from various neurologists to my doctor which I thought would be good testaments as to the state of my health and very supportive.

I am now in a bit of a flap as I have today received 3 letters from DWP

The first dated 13th Jan 2012, acknowledging receipt of appeal and that they are looking at the information again and it will take 11 weeks.

The second dated 15th Jan 2012 says they are “at my request” looking at my claim again.

And the third letter is a decision dated 16th January 2012 informing me that I am not entitled to DLA and that they have used “my” GP report for their decision (this is the same GP report dated 23rd November) they have just used to award High Rate Mobility on 1st Dec 2011).

One of the reasons for the appeal was that it wasn’t my GP that filled in the report (the paperwork is shared at the surgery), I have told DWP this in the covering letter sent with the appeal.

I have several times during my original claim (2006) and a renewal in 2009 asked the DWP to send one of their own doctors to asses me, they say they are not required to, and the last time I requested this in December 2011, I was told they wouldn’t do this until the appeal is well underway, I have only ever seen a DWP doctor once, in 2006 and that is how I got HRM, my condition has significantly worsened and my care needs increased since then.

I have now requested, over the phone another “Decision Maker's Statement of Reasons for the16th Jan Decision to take away the HRM and I am now not sure how to proceed.

Would a subject access request be appropriate? I don’t want to be seen as a trouble maker. I would like recordings of phone calls I have made which would prove I did not ask for the reconsideration but an appeal form, I have already been informed (today) that the recordings are for training purposes only and I may not get them, I’m not sure they would make any difference to the fact that I have lost my award without them looking at my appeal.

A decision maker is meant to be calling me back within 5 days, what can I expect from this encounter?

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12 years 2 months ago #79455 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Re:Help, not sure what to do now!
Tansyhill

Unfortunately, the DWP are required to carry out a Reconsideration as part of the Appeal process, you cannot "skip" this step without withdrawing the appeal in total.

A Reconsideration is usually carried out by a different DWP Decision Maker who should review all of the original evidence and any new evidence submitted by the claimant. It is possible that they will reduce a claim beyond that which was already set by the previous DM. This is one of the risks of challenging a Decision.

Not all calls are recorded, but you are entitled to request copies of them. As this goes beyond the normal requests for documentation that the DWP handle, I would recommend you raise a SAR for these and any other reports you might want.

It is possible that a Tribunal panel can order a medical be held if they feel there is insufficient or conflicting information that would prevent them from making a Decision. You can try writing to the Tribunal Service to ask for this to be done, however, you will not be able to do this until the DWP have passed your papers to them.

If a new Decision has been made (16.01.12), then you can appeal this in the same way that you are appealing the original Decision.

I can't really advise what the DM may or may not say when they call you.

Gordon

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  • Tansyhill
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12 years 2 months ago #79513 by Tansyhill
Replied by Tansyhill on topic Re:Help, not sure what to do now!
Gordon, Thank you, I am sorry to be a pain but can you clarify;

Does this mean my appeal has been cancelled and I need to make a fresh appeal? I do not want to miss a deadline for the second appeal thinking the first one is still on-going.

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply you could tell me what the decision maker would say, I wanted to know how much he/she could help if it turned out, as the call operative at DWP seemed to think, that there may have been a mix up with a reconsideration being carried out before the appeal had been received by them on the 23rd December and not as a result of it.

I requested an appeal form on the 5th Dec but received a “Thank you for your communication asking us to look at your claim again” letter sent to me was dated the 8th December. I phoned immediately reminding them I had definitely not asked for a reconsideration and wanted to go straight to appeal, but was told the “reconsideration” is automatically started when you ring up to request the appeal form.

Would you be able to confirm whether, the reconsideration carried out automatically with the appeal, should start from the day the DWP receive your appeal and supporting evidence or from the day you phone up asking for the appeal form?

If this is so, you don’t really get 4wks to appeal and gather evidence, as, on reading through the decision letter, the reconsideration appears to have been carried out without using any of the supporting evidence sent with the appeal. Is it possible this decision maker was not in possession of it?

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12 years 2 months ago #79515 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Re:Help, not sure what to do now!
Tansyhill

Your problem, in part, seems to stem from the DWPs attempts to be seen as more customer friendly.

As the new Decision is not in your favour, the DWP should not have cancelled your original appeal, however, you may need to lodge a second appeal regarding this new Decision, to avoid any future Tribunal Decision being limited by it. I'll try and find out whether this is needed or not, but it will probably not be until tomorrow.

Strictly speaking the appeal process does not start until the DWP receive a notice of appeal from the claimant, this has to be in writing, normally on a GL24, but it can be a letter as long as it is clear that an appeal is being requested and the other information required is included.

A Reconsideration, can be requested in writing, a GL24 is not required, however, it is also possible for a Reconsideration to be orally requested. This seems to be what is happening with your case.

That said, it does not remove the fact that a Reconsideration has to be carried out as part of an appeal, so whilst they may have jumped the gun, it is likely that you would still be in the current situation.

You need to distinguish between submitting evidence for a Reconsideration, which I assume you did not do, and doing so for your Tribunal. In the latter case, the Tribunal Service, will accept evidence upto about two weeks before your appeal hearing, giving you, on current statistics, probably six months to do this.

It is only is you are attempting to change the Decision at Reconsideration that there is a period of only about four weeks to ensure that any new evidence or clarification of your existing evidence is done.

If you submitted evidence with your GL24, then it is possible, given the timescales, that this was not included in the Reconsideration.

Hope this explains it.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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12 years 2 months ago #79521 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Re:Help, not sure what to do now!
Tansyhill

The person I needed to speak to was actually online so I have answer.

You do not need to submit a second appeal, the first one should still be in effect and will encompass the second Decision.

The DWP should now be submitting your appeal to the Tribunal Service for a hearing to be held.

Gordon

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  • Tansyhill
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12 years 2 months ago #79523 by Tansyhill
Replied by Tansyhill on topic Re:Help, not sure what to do now!
Gordon
Thank you so much for your help. I will read through your reply again when I’m feeling less on edge and get together a second appeal.

I will certainly have further questions concerning this second appeal, but they can wait until tomorrow, it’s getting late, again many thanks.

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