Mandatory Reconsideration Timing to send evidence — Scope | Disability forum

Mandatory Reconsideration Timing to send evidence

Florrie
Florrie Member Posts: 14 Listener
in PIP, DLA, and AA
Good afternoon, 

I received my award notice on the 21st September and I would like to ask for an MR.
I know that I need to ask within 1 months so I will be calling tomorrow to tell them my intention, and I am then planning to fill out an MR form and attach more evidence.

I am expecting to eventually go on to appeal.

My question is: will any further evidence and MR form need to reach them by 21st October?

thank you 
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Comments

  • mikehughescq
    mikehughescq Posts: 8,847 Connected
    edited October 2021
    Do not call to announce your intent. You are calling a likely outsourced call centre and what they tell you is effectively random. The most common outcome of this sort of call is that they’ll tell you “don’t worry, we’ve noted your intent and we’ll wait for your evidence or application before we treat it as an MR”. Then there you are busily filling in your MR form only to suddenly get an MR decision through the post. Cue much anger and frustration and posts on here along the lines of “… but they told me… “ and so on. So, every possibility your call will be treated as the start of the MR and you’ll get a decision before you’ve even started the form. Almost inevitably some people who do actually want to start the MR over the phone find that it’s been logged only as a query.

    If you want to do an MR then do so in writing. Ideally do so within the month but it’s not fatal if you don’t. The brick wall limit is 13 months. What you don’t do is delay the MR because you’re awaiting evidence. If your evidence isn’t there within the deadline then meet the deadline. Your evidence can always form part of any subsequent appeal. The success rate for MR was 51% and falling so it’s effectively random anyway. Far more reliable outcomes are obtainable when you get to appeal.
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Member Posts: 28,534 Disability Gamechanger
    DWP will tell you, you have 1 month but you actually have 13 months, with good reason. If DWP refuse the late request then it's Tribunal.
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  • mikehughescq
    mikehughescq Posts: 8,847 Connected
    I’m going to add an edit here. Just checking out the latest stats. Only 43% of decisions changed in any direction at MR so we can now say the success rate, where you get exactly what you want, as opposed to some of it, is way less than 43%.
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  • Florrie
    Florrie Member Posts: 14 Listener

    mikehughescq said:
    Do not call to announce your intent. You are calling a likely outsourced call centre and what they tell you is effectively random. The most common outcome of this sort of call is that they’ll tell you “don’t worry, we’ve noted your intent and we’ll wait for your evidence or application before we treat it as an MR”. Then there you are busily filling in your MR form only to suddenly get an MR decision through the post. Cue much anger and frustration and posts on here along the lines of “… but they told me… “ and so on. So, every possibility your call will be treated as the start of the MR and you’ll get a decision before you’ve even started the form. Almost inevitably some people who do actually want to start the MR over the phone find that it’s been logged only as a query.

    If you want to do an MR then do so in writing. Ideally do so within the month but it’s not fatal if you don’t. The brick wall limit is 13 months. What you don’t do is delay the MR because you’re awaiting evidence. If your evidence isn’t there within the deadline then meet the deadline. Your evidence can always form part of any subsequent appeal. The success rate for MR was 51% and falling so it’s effectively random anyway. Far more reliable outcomes are obtainable when you get to appeal.
    Thank you so much. I will send back my MR form and evidence without calling. Would you send it recorded delivery? I am awaiting 1 piece if evidence but will send it on when it arrives and use it for appeal.

    I get frightened that they might take all of my award away as I have been told this sometimes happens. In that case do you know if they take all the money back? It makes me frightened to ask for an MR. 
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Member Posts: 28,534 Disability Gamechanger
    Recorded delivery (signed for) is not needed when sending anything to DWP and is a waste of money. Someone from Royal Mail sorting office will sign for it, not someone from DWP. It's not classed as arriving with DWP until it's been added to the computer and this could take quite a few weeks at least because backlogs are huge.
    Proof of posting is all you need and is free from any post office. It is rare that you lose any award that you may already have been no one here can tell you if there's any risk to your current award. If you do lose it then no, you won't have to pay back anything.
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  • mikehughescq
    mikehughescq Posts: 8,847 Connected
    No you should not and here is why.

    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/65439/sending-benefit-forms-or-evidence-by-any-kind-of-recorded-delivery#latest

    Far more important to keep a clear copy.
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