- HOW DO I APPEAL A BENEFIT DECISION?
- THE DWP HAVE SAID NO, IS THAT THE FINAL SAY ON THE MATTER?
- HOW IS THE TRIBUNE LEGAL PRACTICE DIFFERENT FROM THE CHARITY/ADVICE SECTOR?
- HOW LONG WILL AN APPEAL TAKE?
- WHY DOES THE TRIBUNE LEGAL PRACTICE CHARGE FOR ITS SERVICES?
- HOW DO I PAY OR FUND MY FEES?
- I’M WORRIED ABOUT GOING TO THE TRIBUNAL, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
- SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR THE APPEAL TO BE DETERMINED ON PAPERS ALONE INSTEAD OF AN ORAL HEARING?
- THE DWP HAVE MADE ME AN OFFER CONDITIONAL ON WITHDRAWING MY APPEAL, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
- HOW DO I FUND MY FEES FOR COMPLEX TECHNICAL APPEALS CHARGED AT AN HOURLY RATE?
SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR THE APPEAL TO BE DETERMINED ON PAPERS ALONE INSTEAD OF AN ORAL HEARING?
HOW DO I APPEAL A BENEFIT DECISION?
Step 1 – Mandatory Reconsideration
To appeal a DWP decision, the appeal process starts with requesting a mandatory reconsideration at the DWP. You have one month from the date of the decision that you wish to appeal to send your MR letter. For your convenience we have template letter ready for you to download and amend accordingly : MR Letter Template (guidance is shown in blue typescript).
In your letter outline the grounds why you think the DWP decision is wrong, and then send the letter to the address of the decision maker at top left of the first page of the decision letter which you are appealing.
UC decisions are communicated online, and you can request a MR via your journal. Alternatively you can still request a MR against a UC decision by telephone or by post. MR requests sent by post should be clearly labelled “Mandatory Reconsideration Request” at the top of your letter, and sent to the following address: UCFS Post Canterbury BC, Nutwood House, Chaucer Road, Canterbury, Kent, CT 1 1ZZ.
Once the MR is completed by the DWP and if the decision is not fully changed in your favour, you will then need to send an appeal letter direct to the Tribunal.
Step 2 – Appeal
Send a letter of appeal directly to the Tribunal at their postal address. You have one month from the date of the MR notice in which to send your appeal. Send a copy of the MR notice together with your appeal letter to: HMCTS SSCS Appeals Centre, PO BOX 1203, Bradford, BD1 9WP
Alternatively you may present your appeal in a SSCS1 form, downloadable from the HMCTS website. You may also submit your appeal online via the HMCTS website. Time limits are the same online or by post, you have one month.
For Housing Benefit or a Council Tax Support/Reduction decisions the procedure is slightly different, get in in touch for further advice. Generally you have one month in which to appeal.
For a diagrammatic explanation of the different stages in a welfare benefit claim and appeal litigation please download the following infographic: Stages of a Welfare Benefit Claim and Appeal Litigation.
THE DWP HAVE SAID NO, IS THAT THE FINAL SAY ON THE MATTER?
A negative benefit decision by the DWP, HMRC or Local Authority, will rarely be the final say on the matter. You have rights of appeal and should be prepared to exercise them liberally. Of course we are not encouraging frivolous of vexatious appeals, so if you are not sure if the decision you disagree with can be appealed, or if your case has merits, please get in touch and we can advise you further. However in our experience most cases have merit, and the operative words are: challenge, challenge, challenge.
HOW LONG WILL AN APPEAL TAKE?
Generally appeal turnaround times range between 6 months to a year. This may seem long, but it is considerably shorter than litigation times in the criminal and civil jurisdictions involving full substantive hearings. The time prior to the hearing is valuable and should be used to prepare your evidence and write your appeal submission, a document summarising your legal arguments. This process will require meetings with your representative who will assist you in getting your evidence ready. Clients of the Tribune Legal Practice are supported at every step your by a legally trained paralegal who knows how to approach evidential questions.
HOW IS THE TRIBUNE LEGAL PRACTICE DIFFERENT FROM THE CHARITY/ADVICE SECTOR?
With utmost respect to the many hardworking volunteers in the charity sector, their services unfortunately are not structured to provide full casework, their emphasis is helping as many people as possible with short appointments. The Tribune Legal Practice on the other hand will dedicate to your appeal up to 35 hours labour (or more if necessary), and always provide a representative at your appeal hearing. Secondly, except in rarest of cases, volunteers in the charity sector are not legally trained. The paralegals dealing with your appeal will hold a legal qualification, and therefore will better understand the relevant laws, how to apply them, and have a better understanding of legal procedures and how to use these to your best advantage.
WHY DOES THE TRIBUNE LEGAL PRACTICE CHARGE FOR ITS SERVICES?
The Tribune Legal Practice is committed to the establishment of an independent legal advocacy sector in the field of welfare benefits, for many reasons. First of all Legal Aid for welfare benefit appeals has been substantially scaled back, and there never has been much support from the government to fund legal representation for welfare benefit appeals – in spite of the Social Entitlement Chamber being on of the UK’s biggest court, sometimes handling more cases by way of hearing than the civil and criminal jurisdictions combined. Secondly the grants available for charities is oversubscribed and grants have also been scaled back, with grant givers not understanding the legal element in appeal litigation. Therefore the Tribune Legal Practice has decided to operate on a commercial basis to protect its operational independence. However we are committed to the principle of access to justice and our charges reflect this core aim. Our no win no fee agreements are charged on a 100% no win no fee, at a rate that is cost effective for the appellant. Where possible our aim in to place you in a better financial position than you would have been had you not used our services.
HOW DO I PAY/FUND MY FEES UNDER A NO WIN NO FEE AGREEMENT?
We offer a conditional fee agreements for individual clients in most appeals that are not technically complex in nature. Under these agreements there is only a fee to pay should you win your appeal. It usually takes the DWP 4 to 6 weeks to pay your benefit arrears as a lump sum after the Judge has decided your appeal. It is at this point that you will be able to pay your fee, this being calculated as 40% of your arrears. For a full description of our fees please see our services page.
I’M WORRIED ABOUT GOING TO THE TRIBUNAL, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
You should not be in the least worried about attending an appeal hearing at the Tribunal, whether in person or if attending by video link. The Judges are trained to the highest standard, both legally and in handling appellants so that they feel at ease and comfortable. The Judges need the Tribunal to be an open space where evidence can be given freely without barriers. The Judges will treat you with respect, and provide for a better client care experience than any civil servant administering benefit decisions at first instance. But more importantly a Tribunal hearing remains the principle means by which an individual can participate in the process by which his or her legal rights and interests will be judicially determined. The Judge is also vested with the coercive powers of the state, which can compel the DWP, HMRC or Local Authority, to change it’s benefit decision. In other words you have more power when attending a Tribunal hearing as opposed to dealing with the DWP on your own. At the Tribunal Legal Practice we aim to get you to the oral hearing at the Tribunal as quickly as is procedurally possible.
SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR THE APPEAL TO BE DETERMINED ON PAPERS ALONE INSTEAD OF AN ORAL HEARING?
The short answer to this is no, always opt for an oral hearing. Paper hearings, with the appeal decided on papers alone, have historically had the lowest success rates sitting at 20%. More recently, oral hearings have been conducted in three formats: traditional face to face hearing held in a Tribunal venue, by online video link or cloud video platform (CVP), or by telephone. During the coronavirus pandemic face to face hearings have been scaled back, with telephone hearings being more widely used. This situation is not advantageous to appellants. Academic research over the last three decades has found that in telephone hearings the appellant has statistically less chance of being believed. Therefore we advise that you choose a hearing conducted by video link, which is the next best substitute to a traditional face to face hearing. A video hearing also has the following advantages: they save travel time and travel costs, are less stressful as you do not need to appear in court, and increase participation of vulnerable appellants. Should a Judge not grant a video hearing, and this has a negative impact on your appeal, there are grounds for an Upper Tribunal challenge on a breach of access to justice. It is expected that hearings conducted remotely will continue to be used post the coronavirus pandemic and will form an integral part of the 21st century justice system. Lastly when considering any new online procedures, please bear in mind that “digital” capability does not equate to “legal” capability, therefore we advise that you engage the services of a legally trained representative to handle your evidence preparation and support you in the pre-hearing stages of appeal litigation.
THE DWP HAVE MADE ME AN OFFER CONDITIONAL ON WITHDRAWING MY APPEAL, WHAT SHOULD I DO?
We have had clients where the DWP has made an offer to change a benefit decision in exchange for the withdrawal of an appeal. This behaviour is completely illegal, such considerations form no part of benefit adjudication, and such conduct by the DWP should be immediately reported to the Judge as evidence of bad faith. Private client remedies of alternative dispute resolution or negotiations, are not appropriate in citizens versus state disputes. The state (or the DWP) has a legal duty to decide your benefit entitlement by applying the relevant laws to the facts of your case, nothing more. There is no “negotiation” as to fact finding, or in discharging the duties of required by statute that are set on the DWP. These “offers” cause confusions and distress to appellants. They should be rejected and reported where ever they occur.
HOW DO I FUND MY FEES FOR COMPLEX TECHNICAL APPEALS CHARGED ON AN HOURLY RATE?
The Tribune Legal Practice will only accept your instruction for technical complex appeals such as overpayments, points of law, ECHR law, or Upper Tribunal appeals, if you can confirm that you are able to fund your case, and have the appropriate funds to pay our fees charged at an hourly rate. The Tribune Legal Practice does not operate a legal aid contract, therefore you may wish to consider some alternative options to fund your legal fees:
– Private loan/donation from family and friends.
– Crowd funding platforms:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/
(Not CrowdJustice as this is for barristers’ fees only).
https://www.gofundme.com/en-gb/
– Litigation loan from a bank or financial institution – in choosing the right product, you will need advice from a FCA authorised financial adviser.
– Specific legal expenses insurance.
– Legal expenses cover from home/car/mortgage/ other insurance policy.
– Trade union membership, legal support contributing to your fees.
