hi i was claiming incapacity benefit from january 2007 ,it was stopped after a atos assesment in june 2009 ,i was not in the best frame of mind and didn't appeal in the required time allocated ! when i did try and appeal iwas ignored ,i had letters sent back answering the most menial part of my letter etc etc ! I have now launched an appeal with the tribunal , but have been told by friends not to attend without a legal/medical representative .

can anyone advise me as to what i should do .it has taken two years of stress to get this far (with no money ) i have drafted a letter to the C A B asking for assistance .can anyone recommend an advisor that can attend this tribunal with me and present my case ?

Have you looked at Community Legal Advice? They give a list of people who can help with disability / sickness benefits, including appeals.

hi nystagmite thank you for your reply.

no i haven't really tried anyone bfore ! i didn't realise how underhand the system can get ,for an idiot like me . thank you for your advise i will look it up !

You're welcome, Andy. Your local council may also have a welfare rights department.

Hello there. I'm sorry to hear you're going through this, lots of us here have.

Good advice from Nystagmite. In some areas, Welfare Rights are working with CAB nowadays. I hope you find some help.

My best, HB

thanks H B

Hello again Andy. I have a sticky about tribunals in the yellow part of the titles page of this forum. I know that HadEnough used the template letter to draft out a case for Welfare Rights, I think it was, and that it helped him win.

Once you have a copy of your Atos assessment, you might want to use the template to help whoever advises you.

ok i'll check oit out ,thanks again HB

Whether or not you have an adviser, you should attend. Many advice services, although they can help prepare the appeal, may have no funding for going to tribunal with you, and in fact in most cases there is nothing much that the adviser can do when there anyway. The most important things are good preparation, a good written submission (including ripping apart the atos report), written evidence from professionals about your condition, and attending the tribunal yourself so that you can answer any questions the tribunal has.

Gosh yes, Leemack, you're right. The worst thing you can do is to not go along. I know from experience it's a tough thing to do, but in my case the panel believed me and I won.

My best, HB

thanks all, i wish i had joined this forum years ago !

since i have contacted the appeal tribunal ,and stated my case ,including mentioning that the one doctors finding were totally farcicle ,and the other two times ,atos never had a qualified doctor (their words not mine) i have been sent another questionairre which i have filled in ! i dont know if this is due to the tribunal people stepping ing or are they just getting their house in order for the hearing .i have been deceived so many times by these people i dont know what ! or who to beleive !

i realise that all these helpful agencies are short of funding so it will be hard ! does any body know if i am allowed to record the hearing (if there is one ) these atos people are not to be trusted in any way !

Hello again. Ah yes, recording. The guys will tell you what's possible, because Atos don't like that. But I'll also contact an expert from another forum and ask if they will comment.

My best, HB

thanks HB

just found the template letter you recommended ! brilliant i never knew the approach should be legal as well a medical ! great add on by bookworm as well .i just think i might be too far down the road for that ! my particular problem is that the dwp/atos have stalled me until i am out of the 13 months appeal date ! the problem was i wrote a few times not knowing they were going to be as underhand as they are ! i never recorded my letters or kept records ! ireally have been stupid think a good guy out there would pick up my letters and direct themin the correct way ! i dont really have a credible file except a few letters of exchange between us ! but in all i meantion the words my appeal so i am hoping any proper person will realise i have been steared away from what i am entitled to ! but who knows?

Andy, I think you should take advice from CAB and/or Welfare Rights or the Community Legal team. I'm not expert in the system and you may need to apply again for ESA [don't take my word for it] but if you end up at the appeal stage, then this time you'll know what to do.

The template is based on what my OH drew up for my own appeal, using the DWP rulebook and it worked for me and since I shared it, for some other caggers too. I think you will get there, but you need people to guide you down the right route.

My best, HB

Thank you again HB ,

i will tread very carefully ,bottom line is ! if i cant work they will have to do something i hope!

You're very welcome Andy. Take all the advice you can get and go forward. We're here to help whenever we can.

HB x

It is not illegal to record Atos or the DWP. It is illegal (very unfortunately) to record an administrative tribunal such as hears benefits appeals. (Why on flaming earth shouldn’t we,?….but the law’s the law, and it would be a criminal offence.)

So the answer is to insist on taking laborious manuscript notes and typing them up immediately afterwards (keeping the original handwritten notes as well.)

That having been said, a cynical colleague of mine once observed that it is funny how those with the best mobile phones\MP3 recorders etc also seem to have the best memories for detail when typing up full notes. I don’t know what she can have meant.

Frankly with recent judicial announcement that some judges will now be using laptops in court, the law is making an ass of itself about this - but there it is.

thank you nolegion.

hi all again ! thank you for your advice which i was in the throws of taking when out of the blue expecting and apperance date fron the first tier tribunal i have recieved a letter saying my appeal has ben struck off it says no further action can be taken on my appeal for i b ! does anybody know if i can appeal against the decision ! there are factual errors in their reasons for the decision !

You can apply to the tribunal service to have the appeal reinstated within one month of it being struck out, giving them the reasons why you feel they were wrong to strike out your appeal.

thank you i have drafted a letter and will send it asap