pip tribunal wait time ???

Some are waiting a year and more. Give them a ring and ask them how much longer do they think it's going to be, they'll tell you approximately.

Waiting since May 2018

Hi,

We lodged my wife's appeal at Chester in early January.

In April we rang and were told it would be another 19 weeks, taking us to the end of August.  

We had heard nothing by the end of September and rang again on 3rd October, to be told we had waited 38 weeks and the current average is 33 weeks!   After a long pause the operator said we were 5 weeks over and she could chase it up.   Plan to ring again next week to find the result.

We'll keep you informed....

poppy123456 said:

Hi,

The waiting times are just a guide. Lots of areas have backlogs for Tribunals and a lot of people are waiting as long as 1 year, sometimes longer. Is your wife appearing in person? This will give her the best chance of a decision in her favour. Good luck.

Yes, I have seen people waiting 1 year+.   Still seems odd that we are so far over the average for our area.   Not that one expects anything to be easy with PIP!

Yes, my wife will be appearing in person.   I had read on this forum that it's the best thing to do.   I must say although we have only just started posting, the Scope forum has been one of the most useful sources of info.  Thanks everybody!

Good luck with your tribunral 

I’ve been Given my date for December - this is over a year since I appealed ... hope yours is quicker 

Cheshire2 said:

My wife had her Tribunal at Chester last week.   That was a 44 week wait when they said the average in our area was 33 weeks(!)

If anyone else is heading for Chester, the building is pretty well hidden behind a derelict girls' school behind the amphitheatre.   The panel sit on a raised bench and ask some pretty searching questions.   

They posted the result to us which arrived two days later.   Hardly dare open the letter, but we had won!!!

That’s good news on your win. Well done for persevering

Hi misstracey and all who are going to a tribunal,
I am from Bradford too and I have been told 54 weeks I could be waiting so that could be September 2019 in all I would have been waiting 1 and a half years. If I win it will be for a very short time as it runs out in March 2020. My heart goes out to each and everyone of you, who is having to fight for their benefits. Its so hard living and coping with your health problems daily without all the added stress and suffering from been turned down for PIP!  The long tribunal waiting times just make the situation worse. I wish all of you all the luck in the world and hope you all receive the benefits you all rightly deserve.

donna63031 said:

Hi,
I am awaiting for my date, in my area its over a year waiting time, Bradford.
How long where you and your wife at the  tribunal for and did you feel you could answer all the questions put to you by the panel, did you take any paperwork with you.
Sorry for asking soo many questions, 

Taking the questions in turn:

Worth ringing the number on your Tribunal letter to check how long before your case will be heard.    We both got the impression that our case had been "lost" till we rang.

We arrived at the building 15 minutes before the appointment - there is an airport style search and it makes sense to sit and compose yourself.  The previous case over-ran so we were 15 minutes late going in.   From the case actually starting to being back on the pavement outside I reckon was about 45 minutes, but we didn't really note the time.   Also there was only one descriptor under discussion.   Have read of cases going on over an hour.

I have a folder with everything in it, so took that.   I would suggest at minimum you take the bundle of documents that the court sent (it's a copy of everything you submitted plus DWP reply).   Also originals of any documents just in case judge wants to satisfy himself they are genuine.   

For a couple of weeks beforehand we had read through the papers and I tried to ask my wife what I thought were the most probable questions so she could practice saying the answers out loud.   Don't aim to remember 'perfect' wording, just an outline of things you can say or important points.  Take a pause for breath before you start talking.   She was happy answering all the questions.   The only exception was the one asked by the disability expert, which seemed long and confusing.   My wife merely re-iterated her problems and the judge seemed happy.

I had to keep quiet while my wife was questioned, but I was allowed to speak afterwards - I had a few rough notes prepared,   

You WILL feel nervous, but remember these are the first intelligent people you are going to talk to about the claim.   You are an expert on the subject in the sense that nobody knows more about how your problems affect you.   

Finally, try this YouTube video.   I know it's about Northern Ireland, but it was useful for us.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16zduVcxsLM

Hope all this helps you, and that you get a hearing soon.