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Why was my representative not allowed to speak for me at my tribunal?

ladylulu

You can appoint someone as a ‘representative’ to help you with your benefit appeal, if you think you will not be able to manage the appeal by yourself.

A representative can:

give you advice in relation to your appeal
help you submit your appeal or prepare evidence
act on your behalf during the appeal (they should ask your permission first)

Anyone can be a representative, including friends and family. A good representative will know about the benefits system and can advise you on the law.

You can get a representative at your local advice centre, law centre or Citizens Advice You will need to register them with the tribunal.

Registering a representative

We need your written authority to register someone as your representative. You can provide this information via any of the options in the Provide Evidence tab.

Please include your representative’s name, address and contact details (phone or email). If you provide their email address and mobile phone number, they will also get regular updates.

This is quoted directly from gov.uk website regarding tribunals.

I was so distressed and had a panic attack. When my sister asked to intervene she was told to 'be quiet' and I was told to sip some water and calm down.

I'm getting advice from CAB

I really need to understand why my representative couldn't speak for me.

Can anyone shed some light please on this. I cant stop thinking about it. It was like I was being interrogated. I do not understand why they were questioning me about my mobility in 2020 when I only asked to claim mobility from March 2021. Thecreslut was they dropped my pip and gave my the standard pip. However my specialists confirmed that my overwhelming stress caused my FND when my physical condition worsened. My mental health has got worse.

The unfairness of it keeps me awake at night. Has anyone out there had a representative speak on their behalf at a tribunal?

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Comments

Girl_No1

Assuming you did register your representative appropriately, via the Evidence Tab, then I'm sure CAB would quickly identify that as grounds for a further appeal.

If you didn't register the representative (via the Evidence Tab), then I imagine the Panel would be in error to allow input from anyone other than you without your written permission.

ladylulu

My sister was sent duplicates of everything to do with my appeal. I must have named her as my representative at the beginning. I said I needed help. Surely this means she was my representative? I also kept copies of everything but haven't yet felt strong enough to read them. It just distresses me.

I hope to hear back from the CAB soon.

Girl_No1

I'm sure when you check your documents you will have registered (given written permission) that your sister could represent you.

Hopefully CAB will get back to you quickly and can sort this out for you.

calcotti

I would expect the tribunal to want to speak to you, not your representative. However a representative would usually be given you an opportunity to add anything they wanted after the tribunal had spoken with you.

A representative is not there in your place and a tribunal does not want them to talk in your place.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1049321/sscs1a-eng.pdf

Please remember, even if you have a representative, the tribunal at the hearing will almost certainly want to speak directly with you, person-to-person, asking you questions and listening to your answers. This is because you will have first-hand knowledge and experience of the things the tribunal will most want to hear, whereas your representative would only be able to give a second-hand version.

However

At an oral hearing, you, and your representative, if you have one, will be given the opportunity to speak to the tribunal and put forward your case and answer any questions the tribunal may have.

poppy123456

In another thread you said your sister is your official appointee so she should have been able to speak on your behalf. There's a difference between a representative and an appointee. A rep would not be able to speak on your behalf, at least until the end of the hearing when they should have been given an opportunity.

Have you requested the Statement of Reasons and Record of Proceedings? If you haevn't, you need to do that.

calcotti

poppy123456 said:

In another thread you said your sister is your official appointee so she should have been able to speak on your behalf. There's a difference between a representative and an appointee.

Thanks poppy, I didn't make the connection. There is, as you say, a difference between an appointee and a representative.

ladylulu

She was definitely my rep and she was not given the opportunity to speak for me at all. We were on speaker phone. When my sister saw me struggling she asked to speak for me briefly as I couldn't get the words put. My sister and I share a house and she goes everywhere with me. She attended all my appointments going back 7 years. I don't like leaving the house on my own

I didn't realise that I was going to be the one on trial. It felt as if I was being cross examined and they were cruel.

ladylulu

Revappointee/representative. Apologies, I thought it meant the same thing. My paperwork conforms she was my representative.

poppy123456

ladylulu said:

Revappointee/representative. Apologies, I thought it meant the same thing. My paperwork conforms she was my representative.

Then not being able to speak on your behalf was correct. They sometimes ask them at the end if there's anything they would like to add but not always.

calcotti

ladylulu said:

Revappointee/representative. Apologies, I thought it meant the same thing. My paperwork conforms she was my representative.

So refer to the appeal notes I referred to in my previous post. It is not the role of a representative to speak on your behalf.

ladylulu

So why do they have this then on their website?

give you advice in relation to your appeal
help you submit your appeal or prepare evidence
act on your behalf during the appeal (they should ask your permission first)

She DID have my permission

poppy123456

Which website does it say that? Usually the Tribunal will want you to speak for yourself, not for a rep to speak on your behalf. A rep will present your case but not speak for you.

ladylulu

Gov.uk pip tribunals

ladylulu

How should my sister have presented my case if she was not allowed to speak?

poppy123456

ladylulu said:

Gov.uk pip tribunals

The link is here. https://www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal it doesn't say anywhere in that link that they can speak on your behalf.

A rep will present your case, which will include sending any evidence that's needed, go through all the paper work to make sure everything is correct. Then write your submission and send it before the hearing date.

calcotti

Acting on your behalf does not include speaking in your place.

ladylulu

I have just spoken with a lady from the courts. She confirmed that my sister should have had the opportunity to speak on my behalf, especially when I had a panic attack. The tribunal were not aware of All my medical circumstances as my gp redacted 'highly sensitive' from my records. In hindsight I should have got help from the mental health team but since covid, I have been waiting to be reassigned a new counsellor for my cptsd etc etc

I'm going to wait now and see what happens. Thank you all for your help and advice

L_Volunteer

I am glad you have just spoken with a lady from the courts who confirmed that your sister should have had the opportunity to speak on your behalf @ladylulu. Hopefully, that relieves some of the pressure.

How frustrating that your GP redacted 'highly sensitive' from your records meant the tribunal was unaware of all your medical circumstances. Not least because this changed your sister's role.

Hopefully, you will be able to access support from the mental health team soon. How are you managing your mental health at the moment?

We are here for you, even if that's just a listening ear. I wish you all the best of luck. Please feel free to let us know what happens

poppy123456

ladylulu said:

She confirmed that my sister should have had the opportunity to speak on my behalf, especially when I had a panic attack.

You will have spoken to the clark who really isn't the best person to get advice from regarding this.

A rep being given the opportunity to add something at the end, is completely different to speaking on your behalf at any point during the hearing. A rep isn't there to speak on your behalf in this way

ladylulu said:

The tribunal were not aware of All my medical circumstances as my gp redacted 'highly sensitive' from my records.

As your sister was your representative then she should have made sure that all the information was sent. This is the problem when you have a family member acting on your behalf, rather than a representative from an advice agency. Sometimes having a family member to do this, isn't always the best adea.

ladylulu

I know this now. I can do nothing. I give up

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