Pip

Hi Walter

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum

You are out of time to appeal but not out of out of time, I know it sounds strange but to do an in time appeal you have to appeal within one month of the decision letter, you can with good cause appeal within 13 months of the date of the decision letter with good cause.

I do many appeals outside the one month period due to waiting for the assessors report. The latest appeal I have done is 12 months out of date from the original decision, the good cause I used in applying was that the claimant suffered from severe mental health issues, which I could prove with supporting documents.

My most recent one was that we were waiting for an ADHD report from a specialist, this report turned out to be what was needed to over turn the original decision without going to the tribunal, although we had put in the appeal, the DWP had re-assessed their decision and put in an offer which the claimant was happy with.

Gary

Hi Walter,
If the Mandatory Reconsideration doesn't achieve extra points/benefit you feel is merited you can then appeal to the tribunal. To do this you normally need to write to the tribunal - you would need to fill out the appeal form SSCS1 and send this to the tribunal. The form can also be done online and in which case you would normally get confirmation there and then or perhaps next day if you do the online form outside work hours.
Once the MR decision has been made there is a month to lodge the appeal with the tribunal. (1 month from date of decision.)
However the time limit for both MR and actual appeal can be extended up to an absolute 13 months from the respective decisions requiring the MR or appeal. To get the time extended you would need to show good cause, the later on you do MR/appeal the more cogent the reason will need to be. Being in hospital, too unwell, acute family circumstances, or even unable to get earlier appointment at benefit
advice office etc could all comprise a reasonable excuse. Likewise awaiting requested papers from DWP could also comprise sufficient reason.

(I have never had a late appeal refused by DWP/tribunal and have used reasons as per the above examples.)
However rather than delay further, do the appeal now use the online SSCS1 form if you prefer. If you want you can send in full arguments now if you wish, but explain that you have been awaiting DWP papers which haven't arrived and/or the request been acknowledged, but since you don't know how long this will take you want to lodge the appeal ASAP so that it can be processed as soon as possible.
Make sure that you keep proper receipts of posting and copies of everything sent in.
Remember that once you lodge the appeal DwP have a dlegal duty to provide an appeal bundle ie all the case papers including claim forms assessment report and any letters etc such as MR and SSCS1 forms you have sent with accompanying evidence . The tribunal get a copy as will you.
Although you are asked to explain the grounds for appeal on the SSCS1 form it is actually sufficient to say you simply disagree with the points ( or lack of) awarded by DWP.
Once the appeal bundle arrives you can then you through this and argue in detail. If there are any missing documents you can ask the tribunal to issue a Direction to order DWP to forward missing paperwork.
Depending where you live, there can be some significant delays in getting the hearing date, once the papers are all served. Starting the appeal process now, even without all the papers will at least minimise the total delay. If by any chance you get a date too soon to go through all the papers then ask for a postponement.
Remember if you want to send in full grounds, and are using the online form, it is better to type the grounds on a separate page and attach this as an uploaded document - just type see separate document in the box provided - I have noticed that there is a problem with formatting in the box and the whole thing comes out in one huge paragraph with no gaps which is very difficult to read.
Remember to keep copies of everything sent. The online service will provide copies but if you need to refer to anything a hard copy is always useful.
I hope this helps.
LL26

Walter

If you have indeed made a Freedom of Information request then I am not surprised that the DWP have not responded, this is the wrong vehicle to request your information from them. An FOI is for generic requests such as the number of claimants receiving UC and whether they have LCW or LCWRA.

To request copies of the information that the DWP hold on you, for example; what was used in the making of the last Decision you need to make a Subject Access Request.

A letter will do just make sure it is headed "Subject Access Request" and you are specific about the information you require, we've heard of members receiving 100s of pages of information where their request everything they had.

Gordon