Entitlement for pip and medical evidence

alisha22

Oh ok poppy, thanks for the advice it's always appreciated.

Yadnad

alisha22 said:
This may be a silly question but can you appeal at a later stage if condition gets worse.

Why wait until then? If you have accepted an offer from the DWP it only means that they know they will lose at a Tribunal. Accept the offer and continue with the appeal. The DWP may well not like you doing that but there isn't a damn thing that they can do about it.

alisha22

I thought once you accept an offer from the dwp you can't then proceed with the tribunal. I had a letter from the courts saying tribunal will no longer take place as I've accepted the offer.

poppy123456

I believe that's correct yes because you would let the Tribunal know that you've accepted an offer. If at a later date your condition gets worse then you would need to get advice before reporting a change of circumstances.

Yadnad

poppy123456 said:

I believe that's correct yes because you would let the Tribunal know that you've accepted an offer. If at a later date your condition gets worse then you would need to get advice before reporting a change of circumstances.

I don't agree. Even accepting an offer you would still be entitled surely to go to a Tribunal if you believed that despite the offer, it falls short on what is believed to be a better award.
I think Mike is needed her to clear this up as it is an important fact to know.

There isn't a change of circumstances as the circumstances existed at the relevant time but are not reflected in the award that has been accepted.

alisha22

Very confused now. I'm pretty sure I did ask dwp if I was to accept the offer would I still take it to tribunal and I believe that the answer was no, once you have agreed then the tribunal no longer carries on. But please do check.

poppy123456

I'm assuming it's your PIP that you're referring too now?

Sorry, very confused as you were talking about ESA and suddenly it's now PIP and appeals? Surely, if you weren't happy with the offer from DWP you wouldn't have accepted it and carried on with Tribunal. If your circumstances change in the future then your report a change of circumstances.

Yadnad

alisha22 said:

Very confused now. I'm pretty sure I did ask dwp if I was to accept the offer would I still take it to tribunal and I believe that the answer was no, once you have agreed then the tribunal no longer carries on. But please do check.

I would hope that I am right and this is where we do need Mike's input as he is the expert on this.
The only reason that they have made an offer is that they know full well that the Tribunal will award as a minimum what they have offered. 
If they can shut down your appeal they will suggest anything to you. However what they did not tell you is that the new decision, when you get it in writing, the one you have agreed to, carries appeal rights - so you can still appeal AND accept the offer made.
The DWP may well then try to tell you that you need to do another MR. I believe that you don't need to as it is effectively the same decision that you are appealing against.- in other words you have only got part way towards the right award.

If I am right then you are in a win win situation. Do another appeal and whilst you are waiting you will be getting what you have accepted. If when it comes to the Tribunal and they tell you that if you carry on with the appeal you could lose what you have accepted you then pull out - losing nothing but a bit of your time. However if the Tribunal decides that you are entitled to more then you get the increased amount.

alisha22

So how do i go about doing this. Do I ring the courts up directly or do I fill certain forms in. I wish I never accepted dwp offer but they said if I wanted to go tribunal hearing then I would either loose and have the standard rate taken of me, as I was so drained etc I just accepted.

alisha22

Why would dwp lie isn't this against the law especially coming from professional people in the benefits system and all that.

Yadnad

alisha22 said:

So how do i go about doing this. Do I ring the courts up directly or do I fill certain forms in. I wish I never accepted dwp offer but they said if I wanted to go tribunal hearing then I would either loose and have the standard rate taken of me, as I was so drained etc I just accepted.

You did the right thing by accepting the offer. Treat it as just the start, they have done you a favour. Like you many think that with accepting it your claim is closed. Far from it, you will now get the money based on what you accepted and still have the chance of a much bigger award round the corner.

This is just another example of the DWP trying to silence and frighten you. In my opinion they should be open about everything but we all know that the reason PIP was brought out was not to help anybody but simply for the government to try to get a reduction in what they know they should be paying out.

No, you wait until you get the formal decision notice of what you accepted. Then you have 30 days from the date of the decision notice to lodge an appeal with the Tribunal. You might get told to do a MR first but all you need to do is say 'I don't as an MR has already been carried out' you could also send a photocopy of the previous MR with the appeal notice.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727265/sscs1-eng.pdf

alisha22

I was offered the award in August and not realising i could  of gone further I feel  I'm late in asking for the tribunal hearing now. Am I correct
 Had I not have given wrong information things may have been different.

Yadnad

alisha22 said:

I was offered the award in August and not realising i could  of gone further I feel  I'm late in asking for the tribunal hearing now. Am I correct
 Had I not have given wrong information things may have been different.

No I do believe that you can miss the so called deadline as long as the appeal is lodged within 13 months of the date of the decision letter. You may have to explain why it is late and once again Mike [removed by moderator] is the expert - just hope that he comes along soon.
From what I am told there is no legal basis for the DWP to say that the appeal should be in within the 30 days. They say that for their own purposes and possibly to keep the pressure on the claimant.. The only legal date is the 13 month rule.


Put it another way, and I have to admit that I am learning every day, that I did not lodge an appeal after a failed MR for my PIP. My MR decision was over 5 months ago. If the information is correct I too still have 71/2 months to go before I run out of time. I would hope that someone will pop up locally that would be willing to take on the fight as I physically or mentally cannot cope any longer.
Like you I have always believed that what the DWP say is law. I am now finding out that this is not always the case.

alisha22

I agree with you. I hope you find someone to help you along this drained process. Please don't give up. I will see if Mike appears as desperate for advice.

Yadnad

Username_removed said:

I’ve no idea what that sentence means. 

That the time given to lodge an appeal of 30 days is irrelevant. You have up to 13 months to lodge an appeal.
Alisha22's situation is that the decision was made by the DWP in August (the one that she agreed to). She thinks that as it is beyond 30 days an appeal cannot now be lodged. I have said that I believe that it can be lodged up to 13 months from the date of the decision - am I right?

Yadnad

alisha22 said:

Why would dwp lie isn't this against the law especially coming from professional people in the benefits system and all that.

In the main the DWP don't normally lie.
They do manipulate the truth be it by failing to give complete answers or maybe telling you what could or may happen.
It isn't in their interests to give out advice normally so that the people could do something better to get a better award.
Their stock answer that I have found to be the case is - 'find out yourself', but along the way if we can put obstacles in your way then so be it.

alisha22

Thank you Mike [removed by moderator] I will give it some time, then I will lodge an appeal. I just need help in how it go about doing this lodge and what do I say to dwp as to why I accepted the offer in first place.

Yadnad

...the old one that you probably promised to the DWP that you would accept the offer in exchange for in not pursuing the appeal. Nothing stopping you changing your mind - the DWP are experts at that when it comes to the guidance that they should be using but very rarely do.

alisha22

If i appeal for my pip will i still get paid my standard rate whilst I'm appealing. 

Yadnad

alisha22 said:

If i appeal for my pip will i still get paid my standard rate whilst I'm appealing. 

Yes if that is what the decision letter says.