How successful are MR?

louise91

As above; I have read through a lot on this forum and it appears most people on here have had to go to the appeal stage.  Are there any positive stories were people have been successful on their MR? Not feeling too hopeful  

dottydotty

louise91  I am  awaiting MR  decision. Sent my MR request 15 January .  It is a stressful time waiting ,  I am not feeling too hopeful  but try to stay positive .

louise91

dottydotty said:

louise91  I am  awaiting MR  decision. Sent my MR request 15 January .  It is a stressful time waiting ,  I am not feeling too hopeful  but try to stay positive .

Good luck with your MR, I hope you get the decision you are hoping for!!

mikehughescq

DWP had a target that 80% of original decisions should be maintained on MR i.e. only 20% ought to have been changed. The inevitable result of the target was that it became the objective and once that became public it has allegedly been dropped. This is fairly recently and I am unaware of any data as to how the success rate has altered in any direction. Anecdotally only I would say nothing has changed as yet. 

For this reason it is often best to get face to face advice about the best way to approach an MR. For many people the best advice is to supply little additional evidence or clarification in order to get to the appeal stage where one at least gets an independent hearing. Many people invest a huge amount of energy into an MR that has less than a 1 in 4 chance of success compared to 2 in 3 chance at appeal (dependant obviously on the actual merits of the case). 

For some people an MR can be hugely positive and the investment of time can be very productive so for that reason face to face advice about the approach to take is essential. 

whistles

I am not going for the MR. Everyone has reasons, but for me if I rock the boat they could reduce my mobility that I scored 12 on. 
It's a short three year award and so I have to go through this process all over again anyway in two years time!

dottydotty

mikehughescq   I invested possibly  too much in my MR  simply due to the fact that  in August I reach 65,  and will no longer qualify for Pip , unless my award is reinstated .  I think my age will go against my MR.  

mikehughescq

whistles said:

I am not going for the MR. Everyone has reasons, but for me if I rock the boat they could reduce my mobility that I scored 12 on. 
It's a short three year award and so I have to go through this process all over again anyway in two years time!

There is always a risk but the key is to get decent advice as to hw real the risk is. It’s often negligible.

louise91

Just wanted to say that 5 weeks after the initial decision, the MR was successful. Absolutely delighted we haven't got to go through the stress of a tribunal. 

susan48

Well done @louise91,
did you have help with the MR

louise91

susan48 said:

Well done @louise91,
did you have help with the MR

I done a letter for my mum myself and had a drs letter and one from CAB!

Waylay

I've been through MR 7 times. I succeeded once.

WaterLily

I was successful at MR as well. 
Took 4 weeks (I think) from appeal to award. 
Was dreading the tribunal stage which I thought I would definitely go through. I had read that so many were refused MR, that I was certain I would be too. 

Worked out ok in the end. 

brentus

Yes i have a positive story about MR. My first award 3 years ago i got the daily living stsndard component but not mobility. I asked for an MR and explained that yes i could walk but it was agony and although you have a distance to work from,does it not depend on the individuals resolve,pain threshold and even bravery. I said yes i walked 20ft or whatever they said but i was in agony,and pushed myself to do it. I said i could have just got a wheelchair and lessened the pain. In their MR he actually agreed and said yes the assesdor did notice you grimacing in pain so they awarded me the standard rate mobility as well. Not a massively positive story but a small win for common sense.

Yadnad

brentus said:

I asked for an MR and explained that yes i could walk but it was agony and although you have a distance to work from,does it not depend on the individuals resolve,pain threshold and even bravery. 

In one of my past PIP re-assessments I mentioned to the assessor quite innocently that I can and do walk at least once a week up to a mile to keep my joints from seizing up. I tried to explain that in walking that distance I have to stop upwards of 75 times for a short break and to get my breath back. the whole journey takes up to an hour or more. 
Unfortunately because of my resolve, pain threshold and bravery the assessor stated that I can walk more than 200 metres without any difficulty!

It sometimes it isn't the best thing to be that honest or open.

brentus

I know,worked for me,not for you,its back to who assesses you and their perception of the evidence and their take on the scoring i suppose,one mans + is another mans - . Im naturally honest and open unfortunately, my appeal has just been accepted, i was honest and open,my doctors letter supports what ive told them,i can do no more,i won't lie,exaggerate or fake anything to win my appeal. If i lose I lose but at least theyll know i wasnt faking it like the assessor implied. Its an awful system,especially the MR,its like begging for what you think your entitled to,this is my first appeal and it will be my last,its not pleasant either. Good luck to all going through this at the moment,i wish none of us had to.

ash5896

I was transferred from DLA to pip back in March. The assessment I would not wish on anyone and the report was just full of lies. I was awarded standard for both and I was on high on DLA. I put in for a MR and this was then changed to enhanced for both and the award increases from 2 to 3 years.
i was not happy about the length of the award as my disability is for life and will get worse as times goes on. I was advised about the risk of going to appeal and that they could look at the whole award and I could lose everything. Today I ha e received a letter from DWP and they have changed the award to 10 years and there’s no need for a tribunal hearing now. 
I took a lot of advice on from people here and I really was worried about th me whole process. I took every descriptor that I wasn’t awarded the correct points for and explained why it was wrong, how it affects me and really went into detail. 
Yes it’s frightening and it’s given me the confidence to fight them again if I need to in the future. I think you shouldn’t be scared to ask for an MR and I k ow it’s easy to say now but I genuinely was scared and didn’t have much hope. If you read my previous posts you can see how terrible my assessment was and the way o was treated.

Waylay

Less than 20% of MRs go in the claimant's favour.