have finally got my court date for my dla appeal

[gerri-1966]

have taken 18 long months to get this court date, can anyone help me i cant find a no win no fee solicitor to represent me cant do this on my own worried sick. my court date is 1st of november time is running out need to let court know 7 days b4 who representing me on the day. my appeal is being heard in basildon plus i need to send any further evidence 7 days b4 the appeal.

[Beth58]

Hi

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by court date for appeal, is this a standard appeal in front of a panel or a formal court hearing??

If it's a standard appeal, you don't need to panic, it's quite informal. If your the nervous type it is best to have representation but not necessary as the panel only look at the information in the application for DLA and supporting evidence documenting how you were at time of claim.

The panel will be made up of a doctor, someone from a legal profession and lay person. They will ask you questions based on what information you put into your application for DLA. Only answer their questions in as much detail as possible but don't offer additional info unless asked for.

You can make an appointment at your local CAB or another welfare organisation who may be able to represent you.

Good luck and try not to worry it's not to bad.

Beth x

[helixhelix]

there's some useful information on this website

advicenow.org.uk/advicenow-...

good luck

Polly

[earthwitch]

Definitely read the advice on the site Polly has given you. Beth is also totally right in that they will only be reviewing the information from your application and asking questions about that. You really can't bring in any additional care or support needs that have happened since then, or that you didn't write down on the application form. If your needs have changed since then, the best thing you can do is to just wait until you are allowed to reapply, and then make sure that you use the CAB disability welfare officer to help you fill out a new form. CAB will do their best to make sure that everything is written down absolutely right so you don't have to go through an appeal again, or if they have helped you fill in the form, they will represent you at an appeal. Unfortunately it is far more difficult to find someone to represent you if they weren't involved in the original form-filling.

But good luck with it, stay calm, answer the questions, and you may be lucky enough that they decide that they have had their questions answered well enough to grant you DLA. If you can't find a disability advocate, just take a good friend who can help keep you calm, and remind you about things you need to say. If you do get it granted, even at low rate, you should end up with a wonderful big back pay!

[gerri-1966]

thanks for your answer feel calmer now just hope i stay calm on the day will let you s know how it goes on the day.