I have had an ongoing Appeal for over s year now after being taken off ESA and put on UC ... it’s now at the stage where I have been asked to attend a hearing or not.
Any advice on whether it’s best I attend or let it happen without me... it’s so stressful as being so unwell ... my daughter will have to take time off work to take me... any advice on this procedure please as it’s making me very anxious
Thanks in advance
I simply do not know whether it is better to attend, or not.
If you do decide to attend, I'd urge you ever so strongly to take someone with you. Preferably someone who understands the systems and can also hold your hand.
Does anyone know how to find people willing to help like this? I feel sure there must be some charity or organisation which tries to provide such support.
I have attended a hearing for my childs DLA appeal and was glad to have taken somebody with me as it was distressing but other people I have known have been to such hearing and it has been fine. I think it is luck of the draw as to whom is on the panel. Our local council has a welfare rights and money advice service. I would advise getting some advice re whether to attend or not.
Helpful response.
Which also gives me the opportunity to suggest that it might be worth trying to get someone to represent you, Ladybex , (formally or informally) so at least you have some idea of what happened, even if you decide not to attend.
If it were me, I'd go. I've been involved in two court cases. I had barristers representing me in both. The on-going case is incredibly complicated and requires an expert in that piece of law. It's the closest thing the UK has to a class action, so there are other claimants there every day to make sure things go smoothly. The closed case was simple as anything with me taking action against another individual. Despite the simplicity of the case, the barrister was hopeless and I had to intervene. Going against court procedure I interrupted proceedings to point out that the barrister was mistaken over some of the facts. After explaining to the judge that I was the person paying the barrister, he paid attention to what I had to say. It's for scenarios like that that I would go along. If people representing you get stuff wrong, being there can make a big difference.
Hi
My friend went with her husband who obviously knows her condition and the challenges she has. She has agraphobia to start with so v stressful. They managed to get a copy of the points awarded in each component and challenged the verdict. She did win esa and she had to repeat it with the pip board too. She won both. It is stressful but so worth it for her.
I apologise I don’t know why they won’t give it to you so it’s hard to be specific. I was told though a mitachondrial function test carries a substantial amount of weight. Lucky my specialist does them.
So hard to attend, I have had to go to appeal twice over the years. It is much better if you can go with your daughter to the appeal. The panel can see you and ask questions. The first appeal was for DLA and they gave me top indefinitely 'so I wouldn't have to go through it again' of course now there is PIP. Second for ESA the judge spent 5 minutes calming me down, the doctor asked one question then judge told me appeal won, took less than ten minutes. Took months to recover from but I got angry at DWP and refused to let them win when their argument was rubbish both times. There is a site called Benefit and Work and they do guides on all benefit claims and appeals. I would highly recommend them
Thank you all for your advice I am going to go with my daughter ... not sure when it is yet ..
Fightback4justice based in Bury greater Manchester help people at benefit Tribunal. They can provide legally trained advocates who accompany clients
I would definitely go. There is a doctor on the panel. I was having a really bad day and couldn’t walk the length of the building and almost collapsed being so short of breath and in pain in joints
Make sure whoever goes with you makes notes.
My daughter went with me and often spoke on my behalf things I didn’t remember.
I was very frightened but was so glad that folks saw how ill I was and that I wasn’t faking it
All the best
I am a benefits adviser. Advice is always that it is better to attend as the outcome is much more likely to go in your favour. Hope that helps.
As bad as it is, I think it is always best to attend even if you have to ask for help, water, a few minutes break etc. Best of luck xx. And yes, definitely take someone in with you x
My advice is similar to helvella's:
To attend the hearing with some one else but preferably with someone who understand the procedures.
if you haven't done already speak to Citizens advice about the issue. See this page for an initial contact. citizensadvice.org.uk/resou... I don't think they will attend with you but may point you in the direction of a specialist advocate who can help you.
in any case, if you attend, you can put your side of the story, add details that had not been discussed such as signs and symptoms, correct wrong information and discuss anything else that is pertinent that comes to mind.
Here are some things I find help me when I have to present a case to committee. You may find none, one, some or all of them useful.
Have a plan about what you want to say prepared before you go. it can be in your head or on paper.
Be flexible about the plan: sticking too rigidly to the plan means that you can miss matters that have cropped up but not put in your plan.
Rehearse some things that you want to say so that you are comfortable saying them.
Take some notes or reminders if you need them. If you take too much paperwork you could get lost in it all.
Make notes of what others say so you don't forget them.
You can refer to your notes if you want to
If you go with a family member, they can get passionate and start talking over other people. Try to establish areas where they can help and speak if they are asked to but it is important that the family member does not talk over other people.
You can be passionate but try to remain calm and focused on what you want to say.
It can be daunting but it is about you and your future. Good luck in finding someone to go with you.
Tribunal cases have a 74% chance of winning if complainant is in attendance - but this rises to around 97% if represented by a benefit advisor/disability rep. The obvious thing is to get a rep. Organisations that represent your particular illness can often help.
If you are very ill and can't leave the house or get to the tribunal on time, you can ask for a Skype call to give evidence as a reasonable adjustment under the equality Act 2010. Not all courts have this facility, but they can move to a different court.
If you struggle to get a rep, Tony Lea of Cornwall Benefits Resolutions is good - he covers all of the UK except Scotland.
If you haven't put in a complaint about the assessor or the way the DWP handled your case/told lies/misrepresented your evidence, etc., etc., then please do so. This holds a lot of weight with tribunals. They have been frequently knowns to ask why you didn't complain to the DWP and/or assessment company. If the assessor lied and/or omitted evidence on their report a complaint (just send a copy of what you send to the assessment company/DWP - the same complaint can be tweaked to save time and effort) should also be sent to the assessor's governing body: GMC, NMC, etc.
And always remember - in assessments, when completing forms, and in tribunal - it's not what illnesses you have, it's how they affect your day-to-day life and mobility. This should not reflect your best days, but your worst (generally speaking), and you should be able to complete all tasks from the forms repeatedly, reliably and safely - that is, at not much less speed than to a healthy person, without severe discomfort and pain, and without putting yourself and others in danger (falling over, for example).
Hi and thank you for that... I am hoping my daughter can take time off work to take me..
Hope all goes well for you- you have not been feeling well for awhile now so I will keep my fingers crossed and send a prayer your way that all goes well. 🙏🏻
Thanks greekchick means a lot 😊
Whereabouts in the UK are you - just roughly.
Essex ...
Lots of good advice already on here. I also found this: dialsouthessex.co.uk/areas-...
If you can, go with a professional rep. When it comes to the DWP, I always prefer the sledgehammer approach no matter how small the nut may appear.
Ladybex look up Rethink, an independant Advocacy group. As you are inEssex, then Essex County Council may be able to help. I wish you good luck.
I'm sorry about your situation but I think it's always better to attend, they need to realise the stress they put people under and they need to see you as real people not just facts on paper, and yes you need support, take someone with you, someone who isn't fased by the situation, because you will get upset, write things down you want to say, look up your rights, get to know the system as much as possible, have all your correspondence, make sure you read and re read everything, but not all at once just take some time out to sit and look over one bit at a time, see if there is any one to give you advice on line, there are lots of people out there who have faced this, who know the system and will help, we shouldn't have to fight a system meant to help us but we do and that's just a fact, know your rights, don't let them make decisions behind your back. . Best of luck
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