Telephone Hearing

kittyt2

So, I need a little advice, but unsure whether anyone had been in a similar position due to COVID. 

My mother submitted her appeal through Citizen Advice at the start of the year. On the 9th April, we received the massive 200+ wad of paper through the post. We started to go through slowly, knowing that we had lots of time, as most appeals aren't heard for at least a year. 

Today, out of the blue, citizen advice contact us to say they have had a letter from the courts giving us a phone hearing for the 22nd April! Clearly, this isn't enough time. We haven't finished going through the wad of paper, and we are still trying to get medical records (with coronavirus her doctors aren't providing them). 

We've emailed begging for a postponement, but what if we do not get this? We've got a lot of evidence already, but the medical record is the icing on the cake (mother is very complex). Will she have no choice but to go through the telephone hearing unprepared? Surely it's not right to give someone less than a week's notice if any hearing at all? We haven't even had the letter yet - post around here is once a week if lucky. 

Adrian_Scope

Hello @kittyt2.
I'm sorry I've only just spotted your post. 
Did you manage to arrange a postponement? If not, how did the tribunal go?