Hi, I'm anonymous12355! I was awarded LCWRA, what happens next?

anonymous12355

Apologies for the length of this. 10 Years ago I was given a diagnosis and have always been treated for said diagnosis. After about 4 or 5 years I had to give up work and it wasn't an Issue as my Wife worked as a teacher. After 6 months my wife decided to So I started to look for work, But struggled as who wants to hire someone with so many limitations. Before Lookdown one.  An old school friend would come over regularly to act as my unofficial carer However due to lockdown I lost this care. The doctor applied a new fit note due in may of 21 and I asked for a fresh LCWRA assessment. UC kept refusing this until the Doctor added more information about how the additional stressors. In Feb 22 They sent me a new application and my fit notes are Up to date since my first assessment in 2019. On the 9th of Jan 2023 I finally had my assessment and was told it should take 4 weeks to hear. Within two days I have received The note on my  Journal to say I have been Awarded LCWRA. So my question is What happens next. I have accepted my new commitments on my Journal so will I receive additional payments on the same day as my usual UC and when will I hear about anything backdated? Also any ideas of how far back they will pay me. I've been on the wrong benefits for years.

majii

Not sure if everyone is same
our experience
They paid backdated to date we notified or specified new information made known to them
they paid backdated in two/three lump sums weeks apart - went back almost two years due to processing taking that long 
the premium for limited capacity is paid with benefit on same date 

majii

Check current entitlement to council tax rent or mortgage payments - make sure you get what your entitled to 
some water companies offer discount to disabled 
register as priority customer with service suppliers aswell

poppy123456

I’m finding that difficult to follow. What was the decision on the first work capability assessment in 2019? 

anonymous12355

poppy123456 said:

I’m finding that difficult to follow. What was the decision on the first work capability assessment in 2019? 

Hi Poppy. I was turned down n 2019

anonymous12355

Ada said:

You have the fabulous @poppy123456 here to help you. 
I have no advice for you @anonymous12355 I’ve just nudged in to say it’s a very warm welcome from me 

What a lovely comment. Thank you for taking the time to read my question.

poppy123456

You were found fit for work in 2019 so it won’t be backdated to then. 

In May 2021 you said you sent another fit note but they weren’t accepted until Feb 2022. The reason for this was when you’re found fit for work fit notes will no longer be accepted unless it’s for a significant worsening of an existing condition or it’s for a new condition. 

Seems like they then accepted your new fit notes from Feb 2022, so potentially from then. It will be down to a decision maker to decide whether it’s from May 2021 or Feb 2022. I think the full 3 month assessment period also applies after that and the the extra money is paid from the 4th month after the fit note was reported. 

Was there any reason why you didn’t challenge the decision in 2019?

Im not sure what you mean by “you’ve been on the wrong benefit the whole time” UC is now the only means tested benefit that’s possible to claim. 

anonymous12355

I did appeal in 2019 however it was rejected and I didn't know enough about benefits or my rights at that time. So I accepted their decision. The issue between may and December 21/22 was I couldn't get a Doctor to visit due to lockdown also one day i would get a fit note accepted and then the next day someone else would say they needed more information even though they had accepted the fit note. In the end they accepted a phone appointment with my Doctor

majii

I would ask for it to be backdated to 2019 and I would go to tribunal it’s hard work but if you can stomach it a lot of tribunal cases are won by applicants
if you have records of them accepting doctors note then changing decision I would go as far back as possible 

anonymous12355

@majii Thank you for all of your help. Final question for now, Will My LCWRA arrive on the same day as my UC or a different day and should I see the first payment this month? I would be happy with may 21 I've lost all my fight getting this far.

poppy123456

majii said:

I would ask for it to be backdated to 2019 and I would go to tribunal it’s hard work but if you can stomach it a lot of tribunal cases are won by applicants
if you have records of them accepting doctors note then changing decision I would go as far back as possible 

That's very poor advice. The decision was already appealed to a Tribunal in 2019 but they were refused. This means that the money owed will not be paid from 2019.

poppy123456

anonymous12355 said:

Thank you for all of your help. Final question for now, Will My LCWRA arrive on the same day as my UC or a different day and should I see the first payment this month?

It's extra money paid with your usual monthly amount. £354.28/month extra.

majii

I don’t know answer to that
I personally would ask your advisor or phone the helpline to see if they can give specific info 

majii

In our situation my daughter got lump sums as first couple payments she had letter with amounts and dates due - then date when regular future payments would commence but unsure if this happens in all scenarios we were helped by person appointed to do capacity to work assessment (my daughter was in midst of autistic meltdown)  

poppy123456

majii said:

In our situation my daughter got lump sums as first couple payments she had letter with amounts and dates due - then date when regular future payments would commence but unsure if this happens in all scenarios we were helped by person appointed to do capacity to work assessment (my daughter was in midst of autistic meltdown)  

As i advised here..

poppy123456 said:

anonymous12355 said:

Thank you for all of your help. Final question for now, Will My LCWRA arrive on the same day as my UC or a different day and should I see the first payment this month?

It's extra money paid with your usual monthly amount. £354.28/month extra.

Any money owed will be paid separately to your usual monthly amount.

anonymous12355

Thank you to Everyone for your advice. What a great community 

majii

poppy123456
you can appeal a tribunal decision you can ask for it to be heard out of time - request is reviewed and permission to proceed out of time is granted or not granted 
if you don’t ask you don’t get! 
currently I am appealing to tribunal out of time 
I am asking backdated to 2017 
delays/maladministration caused by agency led to being out of time 
I am not saying I will win but I have won an out of  time PIP tribunal before 
I have also won many special
educational needs tribunals in time and out of time 
the system is made to be as difficult hlt and off putting as possible but if you have the energy you can overcome 
I have also won compensation out of time against ministry of defence 
Permission to proceed was granted as applicant for was not aware of his right to challenge/appeal 
it’s from date you were made aware you could appeal and up to tribunal/court to grant permission to proceed out of time 
if you have good evidence maladministration and/or disability affected your ability to access the process  why not at least try - I always say we will try no guarantee but nothing lost if unsuccessful at least we tried 

anonymous12355

I'm not very combative I have a monetary figure in my head and if that's met I will stop the fight. I'm Housebound and on my own. If they meet that I will Just be grateful It's sorted at last. I spent nearly a whole year without even a reply. Now I feel vindicated after my award. 

poppy123456

majii said:

poppy123456
you can appeal a tribunal decision you can ask for it to be heard out of time - request is reviewed and permission to proceed out of time is granted or not granted 
if you don’t ask you don’t get! 
currently I am appealing to tribunal out of time 
I am asking backdated to 2017 
delays/maladministration caused by agency led to being out of time 
I am not saying I will win but I have won an out of  time PIP tribunal before 
I have also won many special
educational needs tribunals in time and out of time 
the system is made to be as difficult hlt and off putting as possible but if you have the energy you can overcome 
I have also won compensation out of time against ministry of defence 
Permission to proceed was granted as applicant for was not aware of his right to challenge/appeal 
it’s from date you were made aware you could appeal and up to tribunal/court to grant permission to proceed out of time 
if you have good evidence maladministration and/or disability affected your ability to access the process  why not at least try - I always say we will try no guarantee but nothing lost if unsuccessful at least we tried 

You are missing the point here. They already appealed the decision in 2019 and they lost that appeal. 

You can only appeal to upper Tribunal on error in law. Before you can check for that you need to request the statement of reasons within 1 month of the date of the decision and we are well outside that timeframe. 

majii

Upper tribunal appeals can also be challenged at court of appeal by either side - I said it’s a long process and you need energy

I have won application to proceed out of time and have had success in tribunals using case law e.g. Adelina and Midwifery Council and/or citing equalities act (disability inhibited access in a timely manner) 

I have won one PIP tribunal without point of law - because first tier tribunal awarded points DWP mandatory reconsideration had not - however first tier tribunal committed maladministration and could not correct its error without proceeding to upper tribunal 

without knowing facts or seeing 
first tier tribunal findings of course can’t comment on individual  cases or can’t advise -
what I as trying to say, personally I would always advise get support see what your options are and keep fighting until all avenues exhausted especially if you have any evidence of maladministration that can be used as point of law   

Need a tenacious research of  successful case law and find one that best suits your situation to create successful argument 

However I would 100% not make myself unwell fighting a loosing battle or if I simply didn’t have the stomach or energy to keep on trying 

Depending on circumstances for me another option if benefit refused is to reapply, ask for mandatory review and proceed to first tier tribunal again if refused
or
gather evidence to show condition is  worse than originally assessed and ask for a reassessment (risk loosing benefit or having benefit stopped so everything needs to be considered) 

Cher_Alumni

Hello @anonymous12355 and a warm welcome to our community, how are you keeping?

Just to let you know, I've amended the title of your thread and moved it to our Universal Credit category to help others find it.

I also just wanted to pick up on what you said about being in the house alone, how are you coping with activities such as shopping, cleaning and cooking? It might be that a needs assessment by your local authority would be helpful in your situation, and you can self-refer online for one of these completing free. Here's an NHS 'getting a social care needs assessment' webpage which goes through what that would entail and takes you to an application page.

Please do visit us again if you have any more questions, or perhaps if you fancy a bit of virtual company. One of us is generally about 24/7 so there's always a listening ear 

Take care and I hope your Thursday is a good one.