* sigh * Try again! * note to self: check you are logged in before posting replies! :/ *
Really sorry to hear that your decision hasn’t gone your way Jim, sadly there isn’t much i can add to the good advice you’ve already been given on this thread, you really need to see the assessment report as that is what you need to argue against, so if you haven’t already done so, phone up tomorrow and ask for a copy to be sent to you.
Meanwhile, do the self test on the benefits and work website, there is a link to it on mikes thread. You need to know which descriptors you are arguing against.
Contact motability, they might be prepared to give you a couple of weeks leeway on returning your car if you intend to go through MR/appeal. There’s no guarantee they will but it’s worth a try, they can only say no.
Decisions can and have been changed at MR, mine was but sadly it doesn’t happen often enough, so you are likely to have to go to appeal.
As others have said, get help from CAB/ welfare rights at your council/ age concern if possible.
i’ve noticed a couple of points that have been made on this thread that aren’t quite right…
” You should get a “we got all the information we need” letter from DWP end of this week or next week and 2 or 3 weeks after that a date for the assessment. ”
You’ve got that the wrong way round.
Mike, in the next week or so you should get a letter from the assessment company for your area with an appointment. If the appointment isn’t convenient, you can change it but only once, so you need to discuss that with them and see if you can arrange a mutually convenient time.
After your face to face you will get a letter from the DWP to say they have all the info they need but this can take about a week or 10 days to get to you. If you have given them a mobile number, they might text you a day or two after the F2F to say they have all the info but they will send a letter out as well. Once you get the text, phone and ask for a copy of the assessment report. If you haven’t given them a mob no’ just wait a couple of days and then ring up. Do not wait until you get the letter, that is a waste of valuable time if you think you might need to put in for an MR. Once you have the report you can start putting your MR case together in anticipation of the decision letter, if you feel it necessary.
” After 10 days you ring and ask if a decision has been made and they will tell you over the phone. At the same time ask for a copy of the assessment report. ”
Do not wait 10 days before phoning for assessment report. That’s a waste of a week where you can be going through the report and putting your case together for an MR if needed.
In any case, decisions are taking upwards of 6 weeks in some areas, so you’d be very lucky to get a decision that quickly. A couple of days after the F2F is enough time for them to get the report onto their system.
Anyway Jim, good luck.