Refused on MR

If a tribunal panel is thinking of withdrawing the award you already have, almost certainly they'll ask if you want to withdraw your appeal.  If you say yes, then you'll keep the award you already have.

Hi @Jaytbm1, I read the same thing that @Matilda mentions. If it looks as if they’re going to withdraw the award altogether, the judge gives you the opportunity to stop proceedings and you remain on the pre-appeal level. Hope this helps and good luck with your appeal, please keep us posted, I’m going through the same thing so you have my sympathies x

How did you get on? X

I’m sending mines away on Monday I was offered standard and standard but my mental health wasn’t taken into account so hoping as I now have the proof and can prove the assessor wrong with 3 other professional opinions I’ll be successful with my MR but... I won’t be surprised if it goes to a tribunal which terrifies me but you need to remember... if you believe you are entitled to those extra points you need to fight for what’s rightly yours. My mental health I would say is worse than my physical pain and got awarded no points at all for it so I’m going to appeal if it comes to it. I hope you hear soon xx

My experience may not be relevant as it was for DLA but this is what happened to me.

My third attempt was made with the help of someone working for DWP. He was very good and put in things I would never have thought of and hadn't been suggested by the help I got by the first two attempts. However, all I got awarded was low rate care and nothing for mobility which was ridiculous considering my situation at the time. When I appealed I got a judge who was awful. Having accused me of only applying so I could get a free car she promptly took away the small award I had been given so I had nothing. I was not asked if I wanted to keep it. Within a week I asked for a statement of reasons. This was supposed to be supplied in 12 weeks but in fact it took the woman 7 months to supply it. Evidently there is no recourse to penalise such bad processing. Once I read it I talked to the woman from the CAB who had helped me with the appeal. Initially she was uncertain about further action but tbh the statement was complete rubbish and full of half truths and misinterpretations of my situations. I was so convinced about it's lack of validity she showed it to a friend who was a barrister. He agreed with me completely giving legal jargon to explain what I had said. The process was then to send it to the Clerk to the High Court to decide whether the High Court would allow an appeal who I would then have to sit in front of and go through it again. However, he realised that the statement had almost no validity in law and that most of it was fabricated. Without going before the High Court itself he decided for them, immediately awarded me another appeal with the same court I had been to and barred any of the people who had made such an atrocious decision from being involved. Soon afterwards I went through the appeal and was awarded high rate mobility and medium rate care backdated to the date of my application. There was also no hassle when I appeared before them, in fact they were very thoughtful and nice to me for having been treated so badly. Initially it was only a 2 year award as I was expecting a PIP assessment but when that got put back and put back the award was made permanent and all THAT took was a telephone call.

I'm not sure this is all the same with PIP but all I can say is that if you really are a deserving case then persevere because I am sure it will work out ok in the end.

TK

Topkitten's ordeal was for DLA and PIP is totally different. Tribunals now have to tell claimants if they plan on lowering or taking away and existing award. As i previously stated, there's no risks when going to tribunal.

A BenefitsTrainingCo solicitor posted over a year ago that PIP tribunals are not obliged to warn appellants that they want to reduce or remove their current award, thus giving them an opportunity to withdraw and keep their current award.  However, I understand that in practice judges usually do give people an opportunity to withdraw their appeal.