I resigned from my job in December due to illness and am currently on my 3 months notice period but I have actually been signed off by the doctor for the last few weeks and so quite likely will not work the rest of my notice. Once I receive the last of my wages in March I am out of work, unfit to work and don't know if I will receive benefits as technically, even though I haven't been fit for work for the last few weeks, I DID voluntarily resign from my job (well, illness forced me to). Can anyone please confirm if I will be eligible for ESA at least and will I receive it straight away or will I have to wait? Should I wait until I have left my job before I apply for benefits?

Hello, Wonder if someone can help me out. Received a pcn beginning of last year, appealed it and won it, the whole appeal went on for about 6 months as council rejected the appeal and had to go through adjudicator. During the whole appeal process i paid for the penalty, just to be on the safe side in case ill lose the appeal. Council refunded the fine shortly after the case was won and that was that. Now few weeks ago received a letter from bailiff saying that i owe money for the same pcn (reference numbers match), didn't contact anyone hoping it was an error somewhere, but last week received another letter saying that without any further notice the goods will be removed upon his next visit. I know that most probably next time bailiff arrives and if i would show the letter they would go away, but i am extremely angry with Newham council from before and this is more like personal issue to me! And i would like to teach them lesson! Please advise on how to escalate the best plan of actions. Or should i just contact Newham and get them to call their dogs off? Thanks for your help Cheers

I appealed on 27 March and received decision 25 April and was successful. The letter stated "revised award notices ... will be sent shortly" and I am still waiting and they owe me money too! I called yesterday and was given some waffle about "technical problems". I was told some other people had the same problem. Is this some ploy to not pay people what they are owed. They are quick to demand repayment but stall when they owe us money. I was given an address where I could write to complain but no info on when I can receive a revised entitlement letter or indeed my money!

I attended a formal meeting with line manager and person from HR about my recent Occ Health report. I had a doctors appointment to talk about the possibility of an operation after this meeting. However after a short discussion about the report the manager changed the subject to an incident I had earlier that day with a supervisor where I made what I had thought a minor flippant comment (even the supervisor told me it was all sorted out when I spoke to him, but he was obviously lying). The manager then continued to 'grill me' about the incident. I asked him not to continue with his questioning as I wanted union rep to be involved. He continued with his questioning or should I say interogation. When I finally said I had to leave for doctors appointment he said "this is not over and we will continue this tomorrow!" Anyway I was signed off sick for 2 weeks and nothing ever came of the disciplinary. I have since put in a grivance against this incident and other lack of duty of care relating to my disability (which is another story). It was never really investigated properly at the grievance so I have appealed. Question is when does a disciplinary meeting actually start as I feel I was denied my rights of being given a letter and the legal right of representation? Manager has used an entrapment tatic by using the occ health meeting. This was clearly not just an investigation but a disciplinary hearing! Any advice appreciated!

Hi there, I have a fine from Lambeth Council for driving in a bus lane, which I don't dispute. However, the original PCN was sent to my previous address, the log-book was changed around the time of the offence. I now have a further PCN that has been forwarded from my old address, for £202 The only way it seems I can appeal, is by getting a Statutory Declaration “signed and sworn before a Commissioner of Oaths (eg a solicitor), a Justice of the Peace (at any Magistrates Court) or an officer of your local County Court” Do I have to do this in order to dispute the extra charge - is it simply a tactic to make it far more inconvenient to dispute anything ? many thanks thenorms

Help! I got a ticket somewhere in Worthing and clearly someone pulled it off the windscreen (or the wind got it, I've no idea) this was a while ago and I've since moved and changed my car, the first I knew about this was a bailiffs letter appearing at my new address! no NTO beforehand, nothing. . so I appealed using the directions on the government site with an out of time witness statement and declaration explaining clearly what happened and apologising for causing a problem, I thought this would be pretty straightforward and I had no problems with paying the original ticket amount, just not the £450 the bailiffs were now asking for!! sadly today I recieved a letter from the HM court and tribunals service telling me my application has been refused! so, now I HAVE to pay the bailiffs £450 for a ticket I didn't even know I had up till now it all seems a bit unfair.. and the bailiffs are giving me the old 'well sunshine, them's the rules' line. . I haven't actually had any contact since recieving the rejection from the court but I know its coming.. so I was wondering what my best option was! I could appeal but that's £45 before you even start and I'd probably still have to pay the bloody £450 even after all that! any help would be appreciated!

hello all, i have recently had my DLA assesment and have been very lucky to receive HRM and LRC however i feel i meet the criteria for MRC which is also important to us so that my OH can clam carers allowance as now that he is at home with me we've realised how badly i was managing and how much it was affecting his health trying to work full time and care for me. anyway the DWP's reason for not awarding me it is that with living aids my care needs would be reduced, but some of the aids are not suitable for me or my bed particularly. in addition to this last time dla told me i needed aids i went to the gp for help from the NHS and they literally laughed in my face. ive checked out the requirements for my local SS and seem to be under the threshold for help from them. so although some of recommended aids could help me considerably i seem to have no way of obtaining them without purchasing them myself which is way out of my financial possibilities with esa and dla being our only income. i don't know if its worth appealing and risking what ive already got when they are not really wrong in their idea of aids being helpful but its not realistic i fear at best it may be an effort in futility. so what do you guys think is it worth the risk, and if anyone has any info on getting these aids it would be very much appreciated . thanks guys rach

I have had my bundle to the EAT returned as they say it is not correct. I followed their rules implicitly when compiling it as they stated in a letter exactly what should be in there. I wrote back asking what it is that they would like removed but they just state that I need to have it agreed with the respondent. The respondent has already told me they want their GOR in there (more paper) though the EAT did not say it should be in there. I have absolutely no idea what is wrong with my bundle as everything the EAT said to include I did. The EAT letter states that I must get the respondents agreement to the bundle which I find rather odd as the ET bundle was never agreed with me. The EAT also state that the bundle is over 100 pages which it is but what do I take out if what is in there is what they asked me to put in there? So my questions are Why does the bundle have to be agreed when they did not ask me to agree the ET bundle? What do I remove if everything there is in accordance with their directions and their letter?

I finally had my appeal hearing for ESA yesterday, after waiting 18 months (my original claim date was December 2010). I was surprised to discover that they didn't take into account ANY of the medical evidence I provided as my MRI scans were from after my original ATOS assessment, so I was basically without evidence at my appeal hearing. It was obvious from the minute I walked in (in a lot of pain due to trapped nerves) that they had already decided the outcome, to the point that the Doctor's phone was ringing throughout the hearing, he spent more time looking at his watch than paying attention and at the end when it was my turn to speak, they shut the hearing down as they were "running late and the next person is waiting"... I am appalled at this, after waiting so long for my hearing, to be treated like something they scraped off their shoes, and then to have my appeal refused! I have 8 damaged disks in my back and neck, plus a benign tumour on T2 which is very painful. I can't walk far, stand for long, can only sit reasonably comfortably on a sofa or similar, driving is painful, I can no longer spend much time at my computer which was something I used to do all the time for entertainment (I loved my games). I can use a laptop for short periods of time. I don't go out as I can't guarantee somewhere suitable to sit, I can't walk my dog, and if I do any housework, I pay for it for the rest of the week. My hands are frequently numb etc... and they still upheld the 0 points I scored at ATOS! Back in Feb 2011 when I originally had the ATOS assessment, I was happy to work as much as possible, I'd not that long been made redundant and would much rather be working than bored, sitting on my backside at home, but the Jobcentre told me I wasn't capable of working with my condition and advised me to claim ESA, which I did. Since then my condition has got far worse. Does anyone know if I can make a new claim right away for ESA as there is no way I can work at all now? I am disappointed that I have lost the back pay I would have been owed, as I feel the appeal hearing was unfair and wrong and their decision was based solely on the ATOS report, which was full of inaccuracies and incorrect assumptions. However, I am more concerned about losing my current money as I also have a diabetic son and I can't risk not having food in the house. Apologies if this is a bit all over the place, my medication makes me a bit squiffy! lol. thanks

I've had my WRAG ESA stopped after an ATOS 'medical'. I sent the appeal paperwork on 29 June. Received letter acknowledging receipt dated 2 July. Whilst I'm waiting for DWP to decide if they will forward papers to Tribunal Service, I am not on any ESA. Is this normal? What sort of delay is usual? Are DWP required to sort this out within any specified period?

Hi, we ordered online an adult return for my 16 year old son to go to school. The system said the charge was £2.90 on the 7.56am so we booked the ticket and collected it from the machine at the station. When he then turned up at the station he was told the ticket was wrong and so had to buy a new one, and took his out ticket. He then returned earlier than expected and was stopped told the ticket was wrong and I have been presented with a £20 fine. We have re-entered the times onto the compter for another day and it still shows a £2.90 return fair for that train. Obviously we will appeal with copies of the paperwork, but if we pay the fine now that appears to be an admission of guilt and means they would not be taking me to court to allow me to have my say if they refuse the appeal. I guess my question is: If I pay and the appeal is refused how would I be able to take it further? Are the rail company actually able to act as judge and jury on their own actions?

Good evening, I am asking for some advices for my friend of whether he should appeal or not to be put into the support group. He recently received a letter from ESA to state that he is now in WRAG group after attending a Atos medical a month ago. He has severe pain over the whole body for couples years already. Have seen a lot of doctors and done numerous scans/MRI etc but still not yet know what is the cause. He on most of the time just lays on the bed all day as every inch he moves his body he has a lot of pain. I think he should obviously be put into the support group as he clearly has difficulty in walking more than 50m non-stop/without severe pain. He's requested a copy of the medical record and statement of reason over the phone almost a month ago but not yet received any of them. He called the ESA department every week but just been told "a new copy of the document will be sent to him and he just have to wait for another week" again and again. The problem right now is that the deadline for the appeal submission is on monday 16/07. He is not sure whether or not he should appeal to be put into the support group. Without the documents he does not know what the doctor have written about his disabilities,and what to write in the appeal form and how long he will be in the WRAG before needing another medical. And we have done some quick search on google and found out a lot of people who also have severe health problems been put into the WRAG group. Any advice will be appreciated!! Thank you!!! --------------------------------------------------------------- add infor: ESA is income related and currently as far as we know my friend only meets the mobilising requirement of the stated support group criteria.

My son disabilities etc - I am concerned about things in relation to the 'appeal papers' prepared submitted to the FtT; iin their extent and possible impliication's? plus a few errors (dates). Section 2 - Schedule of Evidence:- doc nos: 1 - 3 original appeal letter 19/03/2007 4-57 new claim for dla 05/09/2006 58-61 medical report gp 03/10/2006 62-63 new claim decision 22/11/2006 64-69 request to look again 13/12/2006 70-75 advice medical services 16/01/2007 76-79 record of reconsideration 24/01/2007 80-84 evidence from represent 08/08/2007 85 notice of appeal decision 06/08/2007 86-93 request leave to appeal 15/10/2007 to commissioners 94 decision of tribunal 03/01/2008 95 computer record of issue 17/04/2011 of renewal claim pack. 96 record of telephone call 12/10/2011 97-134 new claim for dla 01/11/2011 135-141 med report psychiatrist 14/12/2011 142-147 " " GP 23/12/2011 148-150 computer decision 09/01/2012 151-154 notification of decision 09/01/2012 155 Appeal Letter 08/02/2012 156 record of reconsideration 20/03/2012 (informal) Section 3 - The Decision (now this is a little confusing?) It states he is not entitled to either the mobility component or the care component from 01/11/2012 - does not satisfy conditions etc. ok? The last paragraph states: The Tribunal may wish to note that prior to this new claim Mr X had an award of DLA as given by a Tribunal on 03/01/2008. The award of LRM AND MRC expired 04/09/2011. As the renewal claim was not received prior to 04/09/2011 the subsequent claim pack was treated as a new claim. In order to give a full back ground to the case, the papers relating to the previous claim (as submitted to the Tribunal of 04/09/11), have been included in date order. Section 2 - this seems to be pretty much EVERYTHING on file regarding a previous claim ? Section 3 - seems to contradict itself in stating 'As the renewal claim ......prior to 04/09/2011 .......treated as a new claim. Then goes on to state "in order to give a full back ground to the case .,......... well which is it ??????? also "as submitted to the Tribunal of 04/09/2011 ?" WHAT TRIBUNAL ON 04/09/2011?". This doesnt make sense. Also it could make any decisionss of the Tribunal bias toward the applicant, in delving into all his previous information. Plus most of which irrelevant now as he was a child then and adult now. (age 22 ). The facts of the case are even more confusing and misleading, as they are listed in order from 2006 (really not relevant to now!) 5.1 - 5.20 ! How can he best approach this matter ? thanks ???????

Hi all, I stumbled upon this website from a Google search and I've been reading some historic posts and it certainly seems like you've been able to help a great deal of people. Story is: 8th June 2012 I was fired for Gross Misconduct because of "process, performance and brand". I joined this business on the 27th June 2011 (2 weeks short of being there 1 year). I realise I don't have any rights to sue my previous employer as I wasn't there for a full 12 months (even though they decided to may me in Lieu of Notice and had they served the normal 28 days notice that would have taken me past 1 year's service). I simply want to clear my name of this Gross Misconduct so they can provide me with a proper reference and I can say that I have left on my own terms. I do not want to work there again because I felt they were trying to get me out of the door and I have since found another job (I start tomorrow 10th July). Will it weaken my case if I say I don't want to work there again? - Note I work in the recruitment industry which is very incestuous so even though they can't give a 'bad' reference I have already put down on my reference contacts for my new position that my reason for leaving them is "currently under negotiation". I have sent a summary (I had to send email from my iPhone as laptop died on me) of why I want to appeal (I can attach/send as private message if requested). They have since emailed me back asking for all reasons for appeal and that's why I'm now in an internet cafe to send them more detail, once this is sent through we will arrange to meet or deal with the appeal by phone/email (which is likely to be only option for me as I've already started at the new job) I have looked through Acas and also spoke to their consultation line. I'm wondering if there are any sample appeal letters or templates I can use to strengthen my case? Also I have since joined the Union but they won't support with a current case and with the company being a sales company I doubt any of my previous colleagues will want to get involved because it's very easy to lose favour within sales environments. In short, the outline of my appeal is that the rule I broke isn't a written rule in the employee handbook or contract and that they didn't follow the process (didn't tell me I was going into a disciplinary meeting so I didn't have time to prepare). Many thanks for your help, Ed

Hello All, I am new to this forum. I went to my tribuanl last week unfortunately the decision came back has failed. but I am in a conundrum on what to do now... I know i can make a claim for JSA however, i don't believe i am fit enough to work. I have congenital Scoliosis which is a large curvature of the spine. So if i cliam how can i look for work? Secondly, i hope somebody can clarify this me. Can you can make a fresh claim for ESA if it has been six months from when the original decision was made? This at the medical with ATOS not the tribunal date. If i make a new ESA claim why would i be successful this time around when i failed last time? Or, is there any other benefits i can claim? I am claiming DLA which helps but of course i need some other income so any advice i would really appreciate it! Especially if you gone through a similiar experience. Thank You

Hi Everyone A couple of months ago I received a Nto. This was the first I new about this so I appealed to the council asking for copies of the PCN, photographs & copies of the CEO notes. I have received copies of the CEO notes, NO COPY OF PCN, 3 photo's 1. showing a vehicle parked but no registration showing, 2.a photo of a vehicle driving away, but hard to make out & 3. the area where the vehicle is suppose to be parked but no vehicle there. If the council can not supply me with a copy of the PCN, or any photographic evidence, then all I can assume is that one wasn't given. Any thoughts please?

Further to my initial thread, I am now throwing caution to the wind in publicising my dilemma. I was in the position of a usually respected lender taking me to court without granting any information. Pure Kafka. The mortgage is not in my name and they refuse to add my name but the title deeds are. Strange but true and that's the reason I have only been able to read the volume of advice on here rather than describe my situation for individual advice. Thanks to what I read on here I did not get evicted but did get a Suspended Order. The lender still insists I am not entitled to information despite a court order naming me as Defendant 2. To my mind this makes the Order unfair however the Judge knew that so I'd be asking to appeal on some point of law. The first hearing was adjourned for a disclosure of the arrears as they claimed they hadn't been able to produce this to me as it was not my mortgage. I got them on perjury over that as Disclosure had been authorised by the mortgagor. At the second hearing and they still hadn't produced a breakdown. The Judge did state that I hadn't had chance to make a defence .... but that would take up more of the court's time. After 12 months of 24/7 stress over this I have thrown in the towel and the mortgage will be paid completely this week. I won't know what I'm paying as no breakdown! Time to be thankful that I have been lucky enough to refinance (precariously) and just walk away OR Should I ask for leave to appeal because it will be better not to have that order on my credit record and because if that decision was struck out, I can ask the Ombudsman to look at how I was treated? My thanks to all of you who post your experiences and advice on here and genuine commiserations to those still wading through what is an appaulling part of our Justice System. PS., Don't be too harsh, this is not a good time.

Hi there, I wonder if you can help me please. On 14 April, my husband was made redundant from his job. As we had been optimistic and expected him to find work quite quickly we did not apply for JSA for him until 24 April. I am disabled and unable to work and the news that my husband had lost his job hit me quite hard so one of my siblings decided that we needed 2 weeks down where they live and drove up to get us. Just before we left, my husband received a text message saying he had an appointment at our local job centre at the beginning of May. He called them and explained that we would be in another part of the UK and that his job loss had hit me very hard, but could he arrange an appointment for the week starting the 21st of May. They said they couldnt book that far in advance, but that if we called them when we got back he would be seen within 3 days. Well we rang and he got an appointment date for 7 days later. To cut a long story short- my husband signed on, has applied for 293 jobs and has kept the Job Centre up to speed. For the last 3 weeks we have been chasing them for his JSA and kept getting told that it would be in his account at the beginning of the following week. Last week we were told it would be in his account by Wednesday this week as they were just waiting for a piece of paper to be faxed over to them by another dept. still no payments. Again they say they'll look into it. They rang back and said that as I claimed ESA and the person who had filled out my husbands claim form had ticked ESA and JSA on his application they were in the process of cancelling my ESA. My husband said no thats not what he had agreed to so they sent him to the Job Centre to fill in another form promising that once this was faxed to them the funds would be in his account last night which they werent. This morning he checked his account and 355 had been paid in. The claim was made 10 weeks ago my husband rang and asked why he had received 5 weeks of payments and the was told that as he had put "expected to be in a job by now" on his claim, that they had decided not to pay him for the previous 5 weeks, but that he could appeal this. I dont understand why saying that on a form means that he is not entitled to the rest of the money from his claim? Can anyone please help us with appealing this? I just cant understand it! Thank you xxx

Hi there,I has an appeal hearing at Liverpool Family Court on Friday 22nd June 2012, there was just a Doctor and a 'Lawyer' on the panel. I felt like I was being cross examined at The Old Bailey', and subsequently lost my appeal. The CAB was supposed to be assisting me in this matter, but all I got as preparation was a 10 minute interview at my local CAB, I was told that it was not worth them sending anyone to my appeal with me as they would be turning out for just my appeal, and I was given a 'deposition' that consisted of 4 lines, quickly typed up while I waited, I feel very let down by them. To make matters worse, I was given no reason for the rejection of my appeal, other than 'you didn't satisfy the descriptors' furthermore, the rejection letter that was on the table when I went back into the room had two dates on it, 'date of hearing' 22/06 2012, but the judges signature was dated 21st June 2012, and the issued to parties date was also 21st June 2012, how can they have decided my fate and informed the DWP the day before the hearing. It could well be an error on behalf of the panel,incompetence more like. Can I appeal to the next tier based on the miss dating of the rejection letter, it is, after all a legal document. I have suffered from Osteo arthritis, COPD, Angina, Carpal Tunnel syndrome Cervical neuritis, Spondalitis and Diverticulitis, for over ten years, yet I was given 0 points on my assessment score. I am 57 years old, just who do they think would employ someone like me? Many Thanks, Regards, Nick

I recently appealed my banding and have now been moved from F to E, a saving of about £255 per year. They tell me that they will backdate it 6 years which of course is very nice. They say in their letter that the band allocated to my house is based on what it was worth on 1/4/2003 and that the current tax bands in Wales came into effect on 1 April 2005. As I have lived in the house for 20 years I would have thought I could have gone back further than 6 years as surely I was in to high a band prior to 2005. Any thoughts please.

Hi There Just a little note about me for 3 years have suffered with Chronic Pain of the lower back and neck heading into my wrists, i am on high quantities of morphine to balance the pain, I am under a pain clinic which i go regularly , and awaiting operations on my wrists. I worked up until a year ago @ at £20,000 a year job, i gave it up due to ill health this was accepted with myself and employer. After a year of being on ESA assessment phase and having my ATOS medical which proved me healthy, on then appealing which again proved me healthy I now have to go to Tribunal, i understand that this is a common occurrence, but after receiving my appeal documentation back i feel as though they are going to say no at the tribunal, could anybody advise on timescale, whether i have to claim JSA or that they will keep me on the assessment phase, any help would be appreciated.

I have been fighting a ticket I received by Harrow Council for parking in a resident bay without displaying a valid permit even though I had a visitors permit which had fallen back from the dashboard out of visibility. I wasn't able to attend my Patas hearing as I forgot all about it because my father was in hospital for emergency surgery. so the outcome was decided in my absence and the appeal was refused (i ahve attached the decision). apparently even though i had a permit, i am not exempt from paying just because it fell off. this does nto seem fair - is there anything i can do? is it worth appealing the adjudicators decision or not? any help would be much appreicated! not wanting to complicate things but one to point to mention is that i actually recsived 2 tickets on 2 consecutive days for the same reason and the photos of the dashboard for both days look different even though i know the car was parked there without any further any entry for those 2 days. also interestingly i had my other ticket cancelled before it got to patas. i am not sure how much arguing about the photo would help though, because there doesnt seem to be an issue of him believing me about the permit falling back, but that this is not sufficient grounds for cancelling. is this true? i thought people have won appeals based on tickets with no adhesive falling down? thanks decision.doc

Ok Brief symopsis :- Ex Business Landlord started Bankruptcy Proceedings in 2010. Court 9 Times. I won every time including in Appeal Court (Not bad for litigant in person). Downside was that for some really strange reason the Appeals Judge awarded the LOSING Party £1000 due to the fact that they should not have been granted the hearing in the first place so they were awarded £1000 for costs and I was awarded nothing. Now bear in mind the reason I have won all this was that the landlord changed the locks on my business unit one day without notice or anything after 5 years. It was deemed that he acted illegally and had also forfieted the lease in doing so and on teh amount of money that he was pursuing me for which was £9000 I proved that I had paid it. Judge did state that I now had a case for at least £5000 against the other party (I am applying for transcript). whilst I dissagreed with the costs I wasnt experienced enough to deal with it. I did know that as I now had this metaphoric £5000 in my artillery that he was unlikely to pursue the £1000. Wrong...Stat demand served on me. I applied for it to be set aside. I lost at the hearing due to a technicality that I didnt know (again inexperience). The judge stated that he was allowed to set aside a stat demand backed by a court order, however NOT if from the Appeal Court. Therefore the applicant was able to proceed for a BO. I left the court and paid £252.00 into the account of the Applicant taking it below the threshold for bankruptcy. Trouble was they were awarded £800.00 costs at that hearing REALLY £800....i argued with the judge that I filled in an online stat demand and it took 5 mins. Failed.... Here are my 2 issues....Firstly Morally.......I am a dad with 5 kids (3-12) a wife and a mortgage who has lost his business, had a breakdown and now on tablets, and on disability allowance and my wife is my carer and I WON !!! I WON in the HIGH COURT OF APPEAL where i thought it was the end to years of court cases and mental torture and the constant bankruptcy threats. Secondly I WON....In the High Court of Appeal and yet STILL he is pursuing me and desperate to make me bankrupt. The reason for this is when I signed the lease 5 years ago he said to me if ever I cross him he wil take my house.....This is the sole reason for all this as the man is a multi millionaire and owns 2 or 3 industrial estates. Sorry thirdly I have read that an Application to set aside a stat demand will only be granted if there is a reasonable chance of success. If that is the case which I am sure it is, I went into that hearing with my hands tied behind my back and blindfolded as I could NOT win it due to the technical ruling about appeal courts. So I attended the next hearing for the stat demand for £800 feeling very confident as in my previous hearing the judge had explained that if not from the court of appeal he had the power to set aside, and also the tests for setting aside a stat demand like counter claim which I had potential form the court of appeal, and my biggest point of call was that I had outlined a counter claim for £13,000 that would extinguish the debt. The court had failed here badly as the OTHER party were not present as they court had not notified them, the hearing was not recorded and I was not asked by the judge if this was ok, she had NO case history at all apart from my simply application to set aside, she had not received paperwork hand delivered the previous day, and she started talking to me about a different case before she realised and corrected herself. She immediately simply stated that as this was back by a court order she could not do anything about it, with a risk of offending her I pointed her to the books on her desk and explained that the previous judge has told me different and that she did have the power. She basically got cross with me and said no. and that was it. I stated to her that she had not even taken into consideration a counter claim that would etinguish or that she had even read any case history. she just said No. and that was that. It was like her mind was totally somewhere else. So apart from being fuming I decided to appeal. The applicant knowing that I would simply pay off £55 from the debt, amalgamated the 2 debts now totalling £1500 and issued another stat demand. I did not apply to set it aside this time as I knew I would appeal and in appealing it put the debt into dispute therefore they could not pursue and a BO would not be granted. The court date arrived and I attended, this time the applicant HIMSELF turned up for some bizzarre reason. Even his own counsel asked me if I knew what he was doing there. It was an intimidation excersise. Bearing in mind to date i think he has spent £12k in fees against me but he is probably insured so it doesnt even come out of his own pocket. The judge simply stated that she had no idea what they were doing there as I had appealed and it had been granted so there was nothing she could do. The applicants counsel did ask that a hearing straight after the appeal hearing is set for the SD to be heard. This was granted but then it was transferred to the appeal court so it was not possible. I have now received numerous letters from the appeal court stating that it is going to the appeals judge and to do nothing apart from wait. I have appealled on the grounds that the judge was inadequately equipped for the hearing, did not follow protocol and that in my opinion she was technically incorrect and if she wasnt then the previous judge was. It is almost a win win stiuation to a degree because if the first judge is correct then she is incorrect or if she is correct then the previous judge is incorrect so SOMEBODY if WRONG. The latest letter from the appeals court baffled me. It is from tjudge and forms an order to the following :- Without Notice Stay of execution. It is orderd that 1. the application be refused. 2. The appelant has not put forward sufficient basis for departing from the normal rule (white book 52.7.1) that an order shoudl not be stayed pending appeal. It is not apparent the the mere presentation ofa bankruptcy petition is likely to prejudice the appellant and the existance of a pending appeal were a bankruptcy petition to come before the court then the present appeal had not yet been determined. Further it can be inmportant in the context of, for example section 284 of Insolvency act 86 that an alleged creditor should be permitted to present a bankruptcy petition to be disposed of before the pending appeal. 3. the order has been made under cpr23.9 as the court has disposed of an application without a hearing any party may apply to have this order set aside or varied within 7 days of service. It was dated 28th but I received it on the 30th so taking into account bank holidays and weekends i read that 7 days is up Tuesday 12th ??? So what does that mean ????? I have read it over and over and over and read the rulings etc but to be honest it doesnt make sense as i thought the rule full stop was that if the debt is in dispute bankruptcy proceedings can not proceed ??? Isnt it that simple ???? Can somebody PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help. Thanks a lot Warren

I recently made a fresh claim for JSA. I did it on-line. Later that day, I received an SMS advising me about the date and time of the interview. It was the same day. I rang to see if I could get it re-arranged as it was very inconvenient. The appointment was re-arranged. However, at the interview, I was informed that there was a 'doubt' about my availability for work on that day because I had asked for the appointment to be re-arranged. The matter was now with a 'decision maker'. The decision maker doesn't appear to require any further information. I suspect they will assess the matter entirely according to the system. In my experience, decisions are never adequately explained, which makes it difficult to know how best to approach an appeal. Does anybody know what would constitute grounds for appeal? (I imagine most appeals spend too much time complaining about the system, or missing the point. For instance, I would dearly like to make them aware that ringing up to re-arrange an appointment made at short notice is quite a reasonable course of action and not the same as refusing to attend, or failing to attend, nor is it analogous to a job interview or job offer - they're quite different.)

Dear All I am new to this so hoping I am posting in the correct place. Hoping someone can help. I have been receiving high rate mobility and low rate care for two years, my circumstances hadn't changed so reapplied and was turned down I rang and put in a revision basically saying could I have a medical as nothing had changing and they have again rejected it without a medical. I can now appeal which I was wondering what to do? I am currently on maternity leave from my job but due to me not being able to sit for long periods etc I have taken the decision of not returning to work (this wasn't on the original DLA claim form they think I work) as you can imagine it has been a difficult decision not to return to work because of my illness as I have worked from being 16 and am on a salary of 34k so this decision has not been taken lightly if I could work I would be to earn the good money I was on. My questions are should I appeal with the original claim or put a new claim in stating that I have had to give up work? Do you have to wait to put a new claim in? My next step is to try to also claim ESA as this has been the advice to do I would hopefully be able to claim ESA contribution based as I have enough NI credits. Sorry for rambling on but would appreciate any advice at all as I am in a very confused, dark place at the moment. Many thanks