Recently won my appeal, now DWP have sent back to judges for an amendment...

YuffieG

hey, I’m hoping that someone will be able to answer my query because I’ve become quite anxious about it and don’t seem to be getting much help from DWP. Last week I attended my tribunal appeal and won - I got awarded standard daily living compononent but lost on mobility though I suspect that may change in the near future as my mobility is getting worse. Anyway, I phoned up Income Support today regarding disability premiums and asked for advice on what I needed to do regarding that once I’d received my backdated pay. The person I spoke to happened to formerly work in DWP and said that she would look at how it was processing as she was still able to log in to their database. This is where I’ve got confused. She told me a letter had been sent out (I’m pretty sure she said to me) and that it didn’t look like they were going to ask for a statement of reason but they were asking the judge to make an amendment on the date I should be paid from. When I won they told me I would be backdated from January 30th 2017 but DWP are asking them to change it to 3rd November 2016 (date I put my claim in) which I thought was good news from me. She advised me to ring up the DWP to find out when they would be making my first payment. Well when I phoned them up they told me that no letter had been sent to me, but they had written to the judge regarding the date being wrong and needed changing and that they could not action until they heard back from the judge. Now I’m really confused and worried, I did ask if they were considering a SOR and they said it didn’t look like it at present but they may still ask for one. Why would they ask for this amendment to back pay me to an earlier time and then ask for an SOR? Is an SOR likely to happen at this point? I’m so stressed out about it all that I’m in constant pain (I suffer from fibromyalgia, osteo arthritis, anxiety and depression) I just really want to get it sorted but feel that DWP are going to drag this out for even longer. Please, is anyone able to offer some reassurance and advice?

PS: sorry for waffling, I tend to do that when I get real anxious.

janice_in_wonderland

Hi @YuffieG

Well done winning your appeal even though it hasn't been the end of your fight 

I'm so sorry you're still having to battle with your result

You must find this so disappointing getting this far yet still having to deal with things as it has a huge impact on people's health 

I don't have any answers but I sincerely hope things are resolved asap 

Best wishes and fingers crossed things improve for you and everyone in this situation 

CockneyRebel

Hi YuffieG and welcome

Unfortunately having asked for an amended date, albeit in your favour, the DWP have to await the judges ammendment before they can put your award into payment.
You could try ringing the tribunal clerk for an update

CR

YuffieG

Thanks for the responses. I phoned up the tribunal and the amendment has been sent to the judge but they told me it could take weeks for it to be returned to the DWP. Guess I’m going to be waiting quite a while before I get my first payment.

Because it can take weeks for the judge to respond where does that leave the DWP regarding requesting an SOR? From my understanding they have 28 days to log for SOR and once they have that they have a further 28 days to decide whether they want to appeal. Would DWP still be able to request an SOR if the amendment takes them over that 28 days? DWP told me that they may still apply for an SOR so I’m really confused as to how this works. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks!

Matilda

If they were going for SOR they'd probably have done so by now. It sounds as though they just want the backdating date amended.

YuffieG

Thanks for the reply @Matilda, however, I’ve been stewing about this over the weekend. So I phoned the tribunal back up today to ask them about the amendment and the SOR. It turns out that DWP always ask for amendments first, then once the correction has taken place the DWP have 28 days then to apply for an SOR if they should wish to do so. I was also told that my amendment had all gone through correctly and I should receive the letter either today or tomorrow. So, DWP now have 28 days from the 19th January instead of the 11th January - to me I’m pretty certain that they’re going to ask for an SOR purely because they want to delay paying me for another 28 days. It’s never simple when it comes to the government. The tribunal said to leave it for a day or two and ring them up and ask them if they intend to apply for an SOR. However, what I’m worried about is that doing so will trigger them to do so - so I feel like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. Should I phone DWP in a day or two?

Pippa_Alumni

So sorry to hear about your situation, @YuffieG. It sounds like you've done everything right so far, and it can't hurt to call again in a day or two to be kept in the loop. Do keep us updated with the process.

Matilda

@YuffieG

DWP don't always ask for an SOR - they didn't in my case.  

YuffieG

Hey all, I thought I’d update here. Going on for 4th week now and still no resolution. Been told today that they have until Thursday to process my payment and if I’ve not heard anything by then to phone them back as they’ll need to mark my case as a priority. To make matters worse my husband either lost or had his wallet stolen last week which had all our money for food shopping so the money would have been very welcome. My autistic son wants to go to an open day on Thursday for a special needs college that he would like to attend when he finishes 6th form, however we’ve had to let him down which he is not happy about. And now, what with all the stress and anxiety I’ve been feeling over the last few weeks I’ve had to contact my doctors to ask for them to increase my dose of antidepressents. I’d be glad when this is finally over and done with but judging by the posts I’ve read here once everything is sorted, I’m going to be facing a re-assessment as my award only goes until the beginning of next year - I don’t  know whether I’ll have the strength to do this all over again...

Sorry for the rant, feeling a little low and worthless today and just wanted to share with someone my frustrations.

Matilda

It sounds like DWP are not going to ask for an SOR and should start making payments soon.

For the future, Disability Rights UK site has a good, free guide to all stages of PIP including a draft diary you can adapt.  Advisable to send in a 7 day diary with reviews or new claims.  List all the aids you use.  Disability Rights site also sells a Handbook, price £15.  Informative guide to Tribunal Hearings.

DR site (Disability Rights), along with other sites, has a list of PIP descriptors.  Disabilities must fit the descriptors for the claimant to be awarded points.

YuffieG

Thanks @Matilda for your response. I agree that it’s unlikely at this stage to go for an SOR and whenever I speak to the DWP they tell me they’re waiting for it to be sent to the payments team - so I hope they’re not saying that to fob me off and then put in for a sneaky SOR right at the last minute. I know the likelihood is very low but I can’t help my thoughts... Plus I’m not the luckiest person around.

I wish though, that I’d known about this site in 2016 when I first put my claim in, but I will be definitely using the resources available here to help me when I have to face my re-assessment which I’m hoping will help keep me away from a return visit to the tribunals.

Pippa_Alumni

So sorry to hear about all you're dealing with at the moment, @YuffieG, Please do keep us updated and we'll support you where we can.

Mia_Scope

Thank you @YuffieG, for sharing your experience. While awful, it is also really helpful to hear about experiences such as this, so please keep us updated! I am sorry to hear about the lost money and the increase in your dosage, among all the other things. When it rains it pours sometimes, doesn't it. I hope you find some peace within all of this.

So right now we are holding out until tomorrow, where hopefully there is some good news for you, or at least some progress... I hope for the best for you.