Hi, i have recently won my appeal at the tribunal and am still waiting for the information from the DWP. my query is basically i have been on esa contributions based since my claim started but dont quite know why because i am 23 now, live alone and only receive this benefit along with housing benefit. ive always been under the impression i am entitled to income based as i haven't worked for 3 years due to my illness. when speaking to the jobcentre back about a year ago i was told i dont qualify for income based but i dont understand why not really. the reason i want clarity on this situation is because of this new legislation put in place for esa contributions based being stopped after a year. i haven't received a letter regarding it but have a feeling that i might in the near future even though i have just passed my appeal and satisfy them that i am unable to work. can somebody please tell me if i do qualify for income based or not. if anymore information is needed im more than happy to give it. any help would be appreciated. thanks.

Hi guys im new to this forum as i didn't realise there was so much help online for a tribunal appeal. my appeal is in just under 3 weeks time and im getting worried which im sure is normal as most people would. i didn't pass my medical about 6 months ago and only received 12 points out of the 15 i believe i should have at least received. im 23 years old and suffer from a strange type of supra ventricular tachycardia, anxiety, agoraphobia and severe depression. although i believe i told them everything they needed to know i was still considered fit for work when just leaving my front door is an enormous issue everyday. i haven't sent any information into the tribunal because i don't really know what i could send to them, i asked my doctor for a letter to send off to them and he told me that they will request the letter so i couldn't get one. also im on anti depressants and seeing a counsellor but that has all come about after my medical so i cant see that being used in the tribunal. basically i don't know how to go about this appeal to give me the best chance of getting my money reinstated as its my lifeline right now, there is no way im going to be able to go out and work any time soon. any help would be fantastic. cheers

Hi everyone, This is my first post on here, and the first time I am sharing this news with anyone, but I need some assistance. I am a Canadian immigrant to England, I moved over in July, so my knowledge on employment rights in UK are a bit foggy. I started my employment with a company, as assistant manager, in mid-November 2011. Fastforward to 3rd December 2011, the store manager realised there had been a theft (approx. 3pm) from the store's safe. It was only the previous nights deposit, all the floats were still there (heavy coin). I closed up shop the 2nd December 2011, with another associate. Together we counted the tills, put deposit in safe, locked up and etc. I should add that the store itself has no CCTV or alarms. I was told by the store manager to have a bit of a lay in on the 3rd, because I had come in on my day off. When I came into work, the store was already opened (tills put out, etc). Now. It's company policy to have 2 people whenever you go into the safe, and 2 people must sign off on any safe logs (for money coming in and out, inluding the till floats and deposits) First mistake the store manager made was 1 - not checking the safe at all in the am, and 2 - not having someone with him while putting out the tills. Anyways. I had my formal disciplinary on 28th December 2011, went through everything again and they've essentially made it down to that I should of ASKED the store manager to do a safe check (do his job) when I came in that morning. I should point out, he was sacked for potential to of stolen monies, breach of trust and confidence and not following company proceedure. Another guy, supervisor, was sacked for potential to of stolen monies and breach of trust and confidence. I was sacked for opprotunity to of stolen company monies and breach of trust and conifdence. That's all 3 of the key holders. I've also been in contact with the police, as the company notified them of the theft. They actually called me down to the station on the 28th December 2011, funny enough. The PC flat out said I had nothing to worry about with the police, and he believes I had no part in the theft - my partner and I are quite well known in the village we live in as he owns his own business. And he also pointed out that I would obviously have no record and good character references since I managed to get a UK visa, which is absolutely true, it's a very complicated process. I truely believe the company went in looking to sack all 3 of us, and started nit-picking. Problem is, we were all under our probationary time still. I am new to UK however, and it's going to be quite the stain on my rather new work history. Anyway, I obviously want to appeal. I recieved thier 'confirmation' letter today, and have 5 working days to do so. Just a bit tied up on which points are valid and which arent, I need to make sure I have a valid case I suppose and a fighting chance. Thank you in advance for any input, if anyone wants more details please dont hesitate to ask.

After 5 years and 12 tribunal hearings, my appeal against an alleged ovrpayment of CTB as upheld on the grounds that the council failed to provide sufficient information for me to properly appeal. They have now (five months later) reissued their claim, using exactly the same grounds (which the judge described as vague assertions) and I have appealed. Now there is an 18 month wai for an appeal to be heard. Any ideas for shortcutting this?

Hi guys, new to the site and looking for some advice please help i work in a 'premium' high street retailer part time and have done for 18 months, during my time here i have worked so hard and my previous manager, deputy store manager and supervisors all sing my praises and have never had said a bad word or had an issue with me. I work extremely hard and do above what is expected of me, do overtime when needed, cover staff illnesses etc. two weeks ago a new line manager was appointed to my department, i instantly raised my issues about this to my previous line manager as i went to school with this girl and wondered if this would be a problem as when she was manager at another retailer and had worked with my ex boyfriend. (sorry for personal details but feel this is relevant) my previous manager told me not to worry, stick it out for a few weeks and see how i got on. So saturday the 13th i approached my new line manager asking her if it was possible for me to have the next saturday 20th off work either unpaid or as a holiday as I just found out i was moving into a new flat and had to sign my lease this day, also it was my 21st birthday that weekend. I asked her this at 6.10, 20 minutes before the store closed and she shouted at me, saying i should have discussed this earlier on in the day when other staff were in so she could arrange cover, the reason i did not do so is because it was a saturday, our busiest day of the week and i did not see her all day apart from when she or I was busy. She said the only way i could have it off was if i arranged cover, please note previously we never had to arrange cover, with a big store like this there is always enough staff for you to just simply take the day off, also since joining my department she never once told us what her rules were about taking days off, holidays etc. i left it after that and tried to arrange with my landlord another day to meet, sadly this was not possible and the next time i was working was friday 19th, i presumed she would be in and planned on speaking to her that day, importunately she wasnt so i discussed the matter with my supervisor and another manager. the other manager told me to contact her on her mobile to ask her about the situation but my supervisor told me there was no point as she doesnt 'appreciate' phone calls on her day off. as wrong as it was i did not come to work on saturday 20th, i had left a letter explaining and phoned her in the morning to explain the circumstances she was ok and said she would discuss it when i was back to work on the wednesday. worked with her wednesday and thursday and there was no mention of the situation. Then on friday 26th another manager asked me to come to the office where i was handed a brown envelope, inviting me to a disciplinary meeting on saturday 27th. Please note, this document was dated 23rd August, i was not given it till 3pm on 26th august despite having worked 24th and 25th secondly it had been lying on a desk in an office used by all members of staff. i had less than 24 hours till my meeting, when i went to the meeting i argued my case while she made me feel like i was 5 years old again. she then decided to issue me with a written warning which i feel unfair. Also after this meeting finishshe began to say 'off the record' as she put it she didnt have anything against me, she cant rmemeber anyone from school and she really wants me to do well etc as she had heard how hard i have worked and that i basically hold my department together despite being just a sales advisor on £6 ph. I wish to appeal to my store manager which she said i am allowed to do. my points are - i feel a personal issue is here somewhere, i have never even been close to any disciplinary action in my 18 months here, 1 week after she joins my dept this happens. - the document was left lying in an office for 3 days before issued to me, which i am embarrassed about as it was probably seen by many members of staff - i was not given 24 hours before my meeting, therefore did not have enough time to prepare - she did not mention anything about the situation or how to resolve it before the meeting - she did not outline expectations of how long we had to put in notice for a holiday - i only wanted 1 day off, not much when you consider the amount of my free time i devote to the company, unpaid i know i did take the day off without permission but do i have anything to stand on if i appeal? So sorry about the length of this post ! thanks

Two weeks ago (21st July) I sent an appeal form (GL24) to the DWP after scoring '0' points following a recent Work Capability Assessment. In the meantime my ESA has been stopped and I I have a photocopy of the GL24 the Job Centre made for me, but all I've had is this vague letter and a pre-paid envelope telling me to respond within 14 days (dated 28th July) which states: ------------------------------------- ABOUT YOUR APPEAL I am writing about your letter dated 25/07/11 telling us you want to appeal. The law says we can only deal with an appeal when it has been made in the right way. We are sending back your letter because the reason why you want to appeal against this decision. You must reply within 14 days. You can use the envelope we have sent you. It does not need a stamp. When we receive your reply we will decide if the appeal should go ahead as normal. If we think the appeal cannot go ahead we will send it to the Tribunals Service and they will decide. If you do not reply within 14 days we will send your appeal to the Tribunals Service. The Tribunals Service will decide if the appeal can go ahead. If you want more information please get in touch with us. Our address and phone number are at the top of this letter. Yours sincerely Appeals Admin ---------------------------- The letter ESA65) (explaining they had decided I was 'fit for work' along with the 'statement of reasons' didn't arrive until AFTER I had phoned the DWP to find out if I had passed/failed the assessment. When an advisor on the phone asked if I wanted to appeal, (and explained he couldn't give out my results over the phone) told me by going to JCP, asking for a GL24 and just put simply "I believe I should have scored more than 15 points" in the reasons box. Which I did. The advisor said as soon as they got the form the sooner I'd get paid at the assessment rate. I've been calling them for 2 weeks every other day to check if they had received it, I've been told over and over again yes - but it's waiting to be verified before any assessment rate payments will be resumed... still nothing, but last Thursday (when I assume this odd letter is dated 28th July) another advisor said it should be all sorted this week, midweek at the latest I should be paid... Is this why ESA has still not been reinstated at the assessment rate? Even though I was *told* it would be as soon as they received the GL24. Driving me crazy-er!! I'm confused about what I am actually meant to do next? It's confusing as they haven't returned the form. Even though it says "we are sending back your letter". What letter is that? the form?? Would I be correct in doing either/all of the following? - Write a letter explaining I didn't have all the information when I submitted the GL24 form, but am writing to provided more information? - Get a new GL24 Form from the job centre and fill it out all-over again being more specific about the reasons? Should I say something to oppose their assessment of me on the 'Statement of Reasons' where they state what points I've been given one by one? How do I 'properly' phrase that? Such as (example): - "I disagree with your statement that I "behave in a way that would be acceptable at work." Because you fail my behaviour (aggressive uncontrollable outbursts) in a workplace environment is not appropriate and causes significant distress to others." etc Should I elaborate further...? or would the above suffice? What happens if my response is unsatisfactory, and the DWP do indeed refer it to the tribunal? will I not be paid even assement rate until they decide I can appeal? Please help, I've got virtually no money as my entitlement to ESA stopped at at the start of July, and can't even have a crisis loan for food/living costs as I've already had the maximum 3 small payments since April (thanks to a decision maker taking 6 weeks to initiate the claim).

Hello I had my medical and just got the letter telling me I only got 12 points but need 15 points to still be able to recieve my ESA so Im going to appeal but I got another letter telling me there stopping my money as from 28/07/2011 im puzzled because I have a sick note dated till 10/08/2011 so didn't think they could stop my money unless the sicknote had run out... can some please answer this question for me can they stop my money even though I have an indate sicknote... Thanku Mandy

Good Evening, I really need some advice on how I can help my dad out... He is a 64 year old man who has worked his whole life a self employed baker. Unfortunately he was sequestratedin 2009 and lost his home of 40 years. He accepted he was in debt, and owed Inland Revenue a substational amount of money, but expected a reasonable lump sum upon discharge of his bankrupcy. However, his creditor claims form has since arrived, with all claims amounting to more than he was due to recieve. The claims form for creditors states that the creditor must: 1. “Describebriefly the debt, giving details of its nature, the date when it was incurredand when payment became due. Attach any documentary evidence of debt, ifavailable.” 2. Inserttotal amount of debt, showing separately the amount of principal and anyinterest which is due on the debt as at 01 May 2009, the date of Sequestration” However, 4 of the debts he apparently owes have been sold to a company called Marlin Financial. My father does not acknowledge any of these accounts apparently owed to them which in total come to £30,000. We have the right to appeal to the sherriff officer under 49(6) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 but to be honest I'm not sure how to go about this. One of the claims made by BT was rejected as they did not provide proof of debt. All Marlin have provided is a screen shot of the opening balance with Marlin NOT the original creditor and three charges of 20.00 for letters sent in recoveries. Can I appeal the claims under section 77 of the CCA? Or would I simply appeal that the information requested on the Claims form detailed above in bold italic was not provided as requested and therefore cannot be claimed? My dad is severly depressed and has lost his business, his home and some of his family. This lump sum of 30k really has kept him alive of the last 18 months. Please help me secure someonthing for him so he has something to show for all the hard work he has done. He has never claimed a benefit, even since his business has went bust, living on money from family and friends and doing temp work to make ends meet... i really want to help him but i dont even know what to do? I have to lodge the appeal by the 7th of July with the sherrif court. I have a copy of all claims forms to present to the judge if they approve the appeal? What should I state my grounds are in my letter? I am hoping to take this to court tomorrow at 10am. Thank you so much for your help in advance xx

I have several questions relating to voluntary arrangements, bankruptcy, CCJs and how I feel the system has compounded my own personal situation and has prolonged my credit issues following discharge from Bankruptcy in 2008. My first is about getting a CCJ removed from my credit history, hopefully someone here will have some experience on this and be able to advise on my chances. In Mid April 2007 we closed our business and filed for Bankruptcy after a protracted attempt to get a PVA (Partnership Voluntary Arrangement) in place and on the advice of our IP. We were given a court date of late July! During this time we were continually pursued by creditors including the Inland Revenue, who we informed of our circumstances. However on the 12th of July, 14 days before our bankruptcy court date, the inland revenue took out a CCJ against us. It is my understanding that after applying for bankruptcy we should not make any payment to a creditor as this would be seen as preferential/unequal treatment (interestingly, our initial PVA was rejected by the Inland Revenue for the very same reason!). The revenue were informed of our BR application and bankruptcy hearing date and would obviously know that we could not make a payment so I do not feel it was justified for them to take the action that they did. Also, if our hearing date had not been delayed for so long due to court backlogs in our area then this CCJ would not have been taken out at all - i.e. if our court date had been immediate or set for a week or so after our application, as one might expect(?) then a lot of anguish, complications and this CCJ could have been avoided. Instead we had to wait 99 days to have our case heard!! Would I be able to request that the CCJ be removed on these grounds? And, would anyone be able to advise on the likelyhood of the appeal succeeding?

I am acting on behalf of someone else. Aug 2010 unsigned CCA Request sent to Nationwide Credit Card Services. They refused due to request being unsigned. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits followed. Request sent again requesting that harrasment stops and note that account is in dispute. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits continued. Copy of passport with signature removed and verified by Nationwide branch. Signed and Stamped sent. While account in dispute, account in reciept of benefits was frozen. Funds are still in this account. Letters of complaint sent to Nationwide, OFT, TS, FSA, FOS and HM Treasury. Unsatisfactory response recieved. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits still continued. More letters of complaint sent to Nationwide, OFT, TS, FSA, FOS and HM Treasury. Unsatisfactory response recieved. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits still continued. Office complaint filed with FOS. Harrasment via text, phone, letter and door step visits still continued. FOS ruled in favour of Nationwide, stating that CCA Request was unsigned. Non-compliance with Nationwide's request to provide signed authority. They have a copy of the CCA. They are have that it is valid. They are happy that funds were legally transfered as per the terms and conditions. FOS also state many inaccurate statements. Is it worth appealling against this (by 15th June 2011)? Or should I take this straight to parliment, as OFT, TS and FOS all seem to be in bed with Nationwide. Or are the Government in bed with them too? Or is it time to go for an IVA or Bankrupcy???

My ESA was stopped after I failed the medical 7 months ago. Today I won my appeal. I did not claim any benefits in the interim as I had been made redundant and was living off a very small amount of money, and my Mum helped me with my rent. Will I get the back-pay now that I have won my appeal, or should I have done something else in the interim? I didn't sign onto Job Seekers cos I cannot walk and was simply too ill to stand in a dole queue and declare myself fit for work.Anyone know about this?Also I have been put in the work-related activity group as I want to find part-time work. Do you know how much I can earn before they stop (or reduce) the ESA money?Many thanks!

Hi, my sister is a single mother with a 1 year old baby desperatly struggling to pay all the bills with her very small income. she literally has no money left for anything at all after she pays for food, rent, electricity and all the other bills and now she got herself on a monthly £30 DD to fend off Bristow and Sutor's bailiffs that have seized/levied her car and are blackmailing her to pay or else they would tow the car away and she really needs the car due to the baby. after she was initially contacted (i think via a simple letter) she asked me for help and i went on bristow and SUtor's website to pay in full and so i did pay the full amount i was presented. she was away at the time and when she got back there was a notice with the same date that i paid but dated a few hours before adding around another £35 to the bill i called them and explained i had paid in full the correct total ammount as presented to me by their own online payment system and if they provide an online payments option it was their responsability to present correct ammounts, so as far as we were aware the debt was settled in full so they were not entitled to anything else. they obviously didn't liked this and again, while she was away, on 31st of december, there was a notice of seizure of goods seizing the car she uses, also adding another bunch of fees including a £90 removal van + 1 man fee and VAT, adding over £105 to the bill and they now say she owed them the total of £171.55 despite the fact that i had paid in full on her behalf a couple of weeks before as per above. when she got back, fearing she might lose her car, she just panicked and went on a £30 monthly DD agreement (that she simply cannot afford) with them. i really wanted to help her out, but she is really affraid that if she stops paying they may come around when she is not here and take her car away and then she will never get it back. in order to help out my sister, i've been reading a few threads in here and have a few questions regarding bailiffs in relation to a Parking ticket (PCN) issue. 1- i understand that a car on the driveway can be levied/seized without need for a signature from the owner/debtor. is this correct? 2- if 1 is correct, why is it that to seize goods inside your house they need to have the debtor's signature on the walking possession and for the car this is not required? 3- if the car is not owned (e.g. owned by me) by the debtor, being the debtor only the registered keeper and not the actual owner, does this makes the levy null and all the corresponding fees unlawfull (e.g. levy, removal van and other similar fees)? 4- the car was bought on ebay and paid by me (in cash to a private seller) and it was registered in DVLA under my sister's name is there any way or legal document that can prove i am the actual owner of the veichle? 5- i think she qualifies as vulnerable as she is a single mom in severe economic hardship is it possible to get the fine to go back to the council or the court and pay directly to them? 6- I think i paid well more than the fine warrant, but have no idea if the bailliffs passed anything to the creditors (either the council or the court) who is the creditor here council or the court? and how can i find about any amounts received by the creditor so far? 7- also i have seen some threads mentioning the Out of time appeal procedure would this be possible in her case, for any reason perhaps in the context of she not being the owner? 8- the notice of seizure seems to be filled in a sloppy manner (e.g. with a bogus £32.90 parking penalty charge ammount) also, the (original) front sheet is signed but the (copy) inventory sheet where it lists the car is not. could this be relevant? 9- i have seen 2 bailiff names on the papers none of them registered in northampton court does the bailiff that acts for a warrant issued by court X have to be registered in that same court? or can they be registered in one court and act on warrants for any court? any advice on this would be most welcomed.

Hi All I have been hit with a Companies house penalty of £375. Just hoped someone in the forum knew of succesful appeals and what grounds are best to use. I personally do my own accounts, on a start up company, and was away for 2 months hence didnt read the notice in time. Any advice would be great Thanks AR

Hi id lick some advice please. I have my Employment Tribunal coming in a week or two. I was summarily dismissed in Febuary this year for alleged gross misconduct. specificly posting (alleged) confidential material on facebook. This went the the dissciplinarys, and appeals etc.. and as far as i know they follwoered the correct proceedures etc.. I am still compiling my evidence statment, getting prepared for the ET. One thing i have been thinking about is, The alleged gross misconduct happened while i was signed off work for Stress. would this have any bearing on the trial at all? i went off sick on january 3rd, with sick note for stress. i was again signed off on the 28th januiary for stress. i was phoned and asked to attend a meeting on the 1st febuary. which i did,( in hind sight i shouldnt off, but was informed it was important) there i was informed about some changes to working patterns, and also potential redundancies in my store. Other collegue were getting briefed the same day. i put something on FB the day after.and have plenty of evidence showing this being dicusse don another site by other people, though an internal business forum. When i went back to work, on the 13th Feb, i was suspending pending investigation and subsequently dismissed and appealed etc.. Also I was dismissed for an alleged first offence, + could i quote "•Article 10, (freedom of expression)" because the alleged confidential material was already common/public knowledge. Also got these point here which may help me, but unsure of the ebst way of putting all this across. 5. Had the employee done this before ? 6. Did the employer consider warnings, were these used in the past ? 7. Did the employer consider the overall performance of the employee, for example did the employee previously have a long record of good work and behaviour ? 8. Could the employer have disciplined the employee instead of dismissing them ?

Hi, I've been given an employment tribunal hearing date. I got sacked in July and have been trying to have an appeal through work. We had one hearing that was aborted after a few minutes due to circumstances that called the managing director away. That was in Aug. The whole thing has caused me to lose sleep and weight on top of lost earnings and a damaged reputation. I am on trade union rep number three because one got seconded then my employer made a complaint against the second, all of which has delayed things further. I am due to start a temp job soon and will have limited availability. I certainly do not want to be taking time off. My new union rep has no fight and thinks I will lose the appeal and the tribunal (which for some reason she thinks propbably won't even happen) and won't help me gather evidence such as witness statements. I feel I can not represent my case properly without these, but to interview people myself would surely undermine the statements, what with my bias etc. This rep is pushing me to go to the appeal just to "exhaust all internal options" before going to the ET, the sense of which I can see. I find the managing director who is to hear the appeal a bully and he has done lots to make difficulties for me, such as the trumped up complaint againts rep number two. He didn't get round to trying to rearrange the appeal or answering some other queries until the letter informing him of the ET landed on him. To try and cut it short, I feel work have had long enough to sort this out and I would like to just get on with the ET and my new temp work without the stress of an appeal through work, which I feel won't be properly done anyway because of my employer's nature and my rep's unhelpfulness. ACAS are now also involved and trying to help sort things out to aviod the ET, which I am very in favour of in principle. Would it count against me if I do not do the appeal hearing my work is now trying to arrange, given that I have attended one (the one that got cancelled) and then tried for months to get a new date, which surely shows a willingness to co-operate? I am also showing willingness to get things sorted through ACAS, I have just no faith in getting justice through my union or my work and want to concentrate on my new job. Sorry this has ended up a bit wordy. Any advice/ questions welcome please. Thanks

Have just received a FPN for parking 'on a roundabout' at 4:05pm. The road in question is a close with a small roundabout at the end. on the green is a sign showing a parking restriction from 8:15 to 9:15am and 2:30 to 4:00pm. The community officer was still there when I returned and said that I parked illegally. I pointed out sign & said it indicted that I could park after 4pm she said she issued a ticket anyway as I am parked on a junction! (its hardly that!) Notice says it I do nor agree can ask to have matter dealt with by court, what I want to know is has anyone got any experience of this - what happens? If I do go to court & lose will it end up costing me loads?

I left my season ticket behind one day and was stopped and issued with a penalty fare ticket. I was told if I produce my ticket I wouldn't have to pay the fine. He didn't mention I had 21 days to do so and I sent it in late. Revenue Protection then refused my appeal and fined me £60. I wrote saying it was unfair and now they've sent me a summons to court! Given that I had paid the fare so am not avoiding paying for my travel it seems grossly unfair. Less like revenue protection and more like extortion. Any ideas? Should I go to court? Or is that madness?

Just wanted to share some successes. I have had tickets for my own car on private property, been ticketed and ignored the letters, they stop very soon IF it is on private land. Please do follow the advice on this site and absolutely ignore every letter you receive, there is nothing these private companies can do to enforce the 'illegal' tickets. It has worked for me. My company's delivery van has been targeted by Glasgow City council for parking in a loading bay. We are off loading but they say we are exceeding the time limit. The signage does not have any time limit shown and more importantly the lines are faint and no kerb markings are visible from the pavement. I have appealed 3 tickets to the Parking Adjudicator and won 3 so far. I will now send an invoice to Glasgow City Council for reasonable costs if they issue any more tickets as they know they aren't legally enforcable at this spot and will set a debt collection firm on them if they don't pay!

hi hopefully someone out there can answer my question because every time i ask someone i get varying answers. well i had medical in january to assess my incapacity i suffer from realy bad depression i needed 10 points and only got 7 so i was classed able to work.before i go on ,before i went in for the medical my son gave me a small rcorder and told me to switch it on secretly so we could listen to it later for obvious reasons well when i recieved my results of the medical the examining doc had told blatant lies i only needed 3 more points to pass and im sooo bleeding frustrated cos iv got the tape proving that he lied.this made my mind up to appeal against the decision and iv been on reduced money since january i owe a budgeting loan so i pay £10 for that and i get £43 to live on i live on my own but iv coped so far my tribunal date was last week but i was so ill i couldnt even get out of bed i cant describe how bad i feel sometimes.i recieved another date for tribunal for october.what i want to know is if i pass tribunal will i get benefit backdated and also could i use tape for evidence even if i dont pass i feel like giving it to a reporter or something .this must happen loads of times as i said its very frustrating.