DLA repersentive at an appeal

teresa wrote:

Hi Everyone
I'm new to this site and very glad that I've joined!
My daughter suffers with CFS/M.E, with added difficulties that go with this awful condition.
She gets the higher rate on moblity,but zero on the care coponant,so we are appealing.
Is a repersentive totally nesserary? as we cannot afford one,i'm happy as her mother to do it,as she suffers with brain fog and has poor recall,with aniexty and panic attacks. Would I be taken seriously,or seen as an 'overbearing mother?'... all advice would be welcome,thanks teresa

Welcome to B&W, have a look at the following FAQ for more information about the site

Welcome to Benefits and Work

A Representative from your local CAB or Welfare Rights office, would normally be a free service, unless your daughter does not qualify for legal assistance, in which case it is unlikely that they would take the case.

You can Google "welfare advice" and your town county for advisors in your area.

You can hire a lawyer, for which there will obviously be a charge, however, we would always recommend, checking their credentials in detail, as benefit law is a specialised area.

CAB claim that having a Representative can raise the liklihood of success to 75% from an average of about 40%, but as with any statistic this may not be revealing all of the facts.

You can represent your daughter if you wish, but should make it clear that you are doing so with a small "r" and not as a large "R", as an advisor would, else the Tribunal will have a higher expectation of you.

It is important to note that in either case, the panel will primarily direct their questions to your daughter, they may well be happy for you to assist her in answering, but are unlikley to let you answer in her place.

Our DLA Appeal guides are on the following link

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/dla/#dlaappeals

and it may be worth you having a look at our DLA claim guides to see if you can improve your case.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/dla/#dlaclaims

If you have more questions, please reply to this thread.

Gordon