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PIP Appeal wait timescale
ataloss2018
Member Posts: 48 Courageous
Hi to everyone, appreciate this question may have been asked a thousand times already but here goes.
My wife is disabled and has been waiting on an appeal time date for 29 weeks now and still we haven't heard anything, we've rang the appeals service but they say they can't give a date when the appeal will be heard.
We are struggling financially and she has had a lot of hospital appointments lately, these hospital appointments all entail a round trip of 130 miles and the constant worry about the PIP appeal and the possible outcome is adding to her ill health.
Any pointers on how long the maximum waiting times for an appeal to be heard would be gratefully received.
Just for Info purposes, she was initially on DLA and was transferred to PIP and had been on it for 3 years, in April last year she was assessed by a nurse from Atos and went from previously been awarded Enhanced Daily Living/Standard Mobility Component to zero points.
My wife is disabled and has been waiting on an appeal time date for 29 weeks now and still we haven't heard anything, we've rang the appeals service but they say they can't give a date when the appeal will be heard.
We are struggling financially and she has had a lot of hospital appointments lately, these hospital appointments all entail a round trip of 130 miles and the constant worry about the PIP appeal and the possible outcome is adding to her ill health.
Any pointers on how long the maximum waiting times for an appeal to be heard would be gratefully received.
Just for Info purposes, she was initially on DLA and was transferred to PIP and had been on it for 3 years, in April last year she was assessed by a nurse from Atos and went from previously been awarded Enhanced Daily Living/Standard Mobility Component to zero points.
Replies
What a frustrating situation for you and your wife to be in. So sorry to hear that you've had to wait for such a long time, especially on top of dealing with ill health. Hopefully our benefits advisor will be in touch soon and able to offer some advice, but please do keep us updated on any developments in the meantime.
You could ask for a short-notice hearing in case of a cancellation but you might only be given 24 hours' notice.
The waiting times are different in different parts of the country. I was recently advised that PIP appeals are waiting 33 weeks for a hearing in the West Midlands where I work. If you phone the Tribunals Service they should at least be able to tell you how many weeks your wife's appeal has been waiting and how many weeks the waiting time is. At least then you'll have a better idea.
Lee
Speaking with the call handlers I don't think they can give you any idea on when your appeal will be heard, they seem to just tell you how long you've been waiting for and how long the system is telling them that you have to wait again.
Appreciate the reply.
Never thought it would take 46 weeks in total, initially told the average wait was 26 weeks.
The best number to ring would be the one listed on any of your previous DWP letters: hopefully they should be able to give you some further information.
Otherwise, here is the general number for PIP claims from the gov.uk page:
Telephone: 0800 917 2222
Textphone: 0800 917 7777
Calling from abroad: +44 191 218 7766
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges
There will be a phone number on your correspondence from HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Phone them.
I understand that waiting times for tribunal hearings are up to 12 months now.
That was in March, still waiting for appeal date. Rang and was told it would be roughly January. The stress this has caused my daughter has been immense and she struggles on her ESA.
My question today is, if she wins appeal will she get payments backdated?
I have also lost my Carers Allowance I was receiving for her. Thanks in advance!
Ok thanks for the info
1 - if it was a DLA to PIP conversion is the DLA evidence in the appeal bundle? If it’s not you can find yourself waiting a year and then being adjourned for that evidence. Similarly, consider whether your GP records might be if any relevance and, if there’s any chance they might be, go get them now. You can get them free since GDPR was introduced although most GP practises are unfamiliar with this and may argue (wrongly) about it. Tribunals have wrongly been issued with guidance recently implying they can no longer ask for GP records so they may adjourn for you to go get them.
2 - do you have representation? By this I mean someone who will turn up on the day; present the outline case; challenge any misunderstanding of your evidence; procedural irregularities and argue points of law putting in a written submission/argument in advance if needs be. Representation is not someone putting in a written submission and letting you go alone on the day. Have a read of https://community.scope.org.uk/discussion/56379/representation-and-tribunal-hearings#latest for further information. Then, go to https://advicelocal.uk/ and get a rep. if you’ve not already done so. The NW has some advice deserts but is generally well served as far as representation is concerned in comparison to elsewhere.
A rep. will also highlight discrepancies between your claim pack; the supporting evidence and any subsequent arguments you’ve put in. They’ll ensure your case is consistent and spot stuff you might not.
3 - do you know your case?
- which activities and which points?
- why?
- have you checked you have specific supporting evidence and at least 2 examples per points scoring activity? Are they written down so you don’t forget them on the day?
Lots of people, rightly, get very worked up and indeed ill, because of listing delays but it’s often the case that their case has no more to it on day 365 than it did on day 1 i.e. they’ve become so focused and anxious about the delay they’ve not taken advantage to prepare their case thoroughly. If you’ve not got all your ducks in a row as per the above then now’s your chance.
4 - if you’ve already a rep. and you have further questions or concerns then direct them to your rep. and don’t bring them to a forum. The answers you will get may sometimes be quicker than from your rep. but they’ll often be confusing, incomplete or just plain wrong.
I'm in chester, waiting times are upwards of 12 months.
I have PTSD and still awaiting treatment but was awarded mobility straight away which was odd as I can't go outside 🙈
I am represented by a charity called DIAL and they have been fantastic.
With my condition I find it hard to concentrate and grow increasingly frustrated with the simplest of tasks which leads to dissociation which in turn makes me worse (kind of a lose lose situation) so for anyone feeling at a loss I would highly recommend searching for your local dial or any disability charity because with out them I wouldn't of even known about pip or an increase in UC that I'm entitled to.
I've been off work since January last year and only just found out about pip so don't be like me 🤣 seek help you will always find it, good luck everyone also can't wait to hear your outcomes from appeals when we all get there xoxo
Scope community team
Scope
Mobility is not awarded to “maybe help you go outside”. Anything you are told about the intent of PIP is either propaganda or just wrong. You can spend it on what the heck you want and that has always been the case.
There is much talk of how random PIP decision making is but in general the only random element is the HCP report. A poor one can always be overcome with good evidence and especially a great claim pack. Few cases go to appeal where the claim pack was actually as good as claimants think it was so I would refer you back to my post about using this delay for preparation and representation. This is your one shot to do that. An MPs involvement is neither here nor there in that respect.
It’s also only fair to defend/explain HMCTS in these circumstances too. The delays are not because of dithering at all. They are explicitly because of
- a significant number of appeals
- consistently poor staffing planning over a number of years by HMCTS at a high level
- public sector cuts re: staffing and buildings
- the difficulties in recruiting disability qualified members and medical professionals. People think these earn a fortune doing tribunals. They do not. They are paid on a sessional basis and there are few incentives for young members to take part of they’re already holding down on a full time role.
I have had 2 tribunals personally.
The first took nearly 22 months for a hearing.
The second was a quicker one but still a 19 month wait, (including adjournment.)
When I did work for a charity that did tribunal work, I think the quickest I had ever seen was just under a year.
It is perfectly possible that someone can turn up on the day and formally represent without previously having been announced as doing so. Nothing prohibits that at all. However, the question of whether that is wise or whether a specific tribunal judge will allow that is slightly different.
Please have a look at this before you decide it’s the best way forward.
https://community.scope.org.uk/discussion/56379/representation-and-tribunal-hearings#latest
What you actually need here is to ask for directions from a judge as to whether your sin will be required to attend and if so that they don’t list it until date x. This is not a ,agree that can be dealt with by talking to a HMCTS call centre. You absolutely need to avoid a paper hearing if possible.