Appeals
Once we have decided how much benefit you will get, we will send you a letter telling you how it was worked out. You will need to read this letter carefully because it tells you your appeal rights. Once you have received your letter you can ask us for an explanation, ask us to look at our decision again or appeal directly to an independent tribunal.
Asking for an explanation
If you think a decision is wrong or you want to know more, you can ask us to explain it. We will send you a letter telling you how we came to our decision. This is called a "statement of reasons".
Asking for the decision to be looked at again
If you think the decision is wrong you can ask us to look at our decision again. This request must be received within one month of the date of the decision and be signed by you or your authorised representative. If you have asked for a statement of reason, the month can be extended by the time it took for us to reply.
A different officer to the one who made the first decision will look at the claim. The new officer may decide that the original decision is correct or change your entitlement. We will write to you explaining why we think the decision was correct or why it should be changed. We call this “a reconsideration”.
If you still disagree with the outcome of the reconsideration or wish to appeal directly
If you are unhappy with the decision, you can appeal. The appeal must be received within the time limits. This is within one month of the date of the decision letter. If you have asked for a statement of reasons, the month can be extended by time that it took for us to reply.
We will look at our decision again if we have not already done so; if we think our decision is correct, the appeal will be decided by the Tribunals Service at an independent tribunal.
Any request for your claim to be looked at again or for an appeal must be in writing. It must be signed by you or your authorised representative. You must also tell us why you think the decision is wrong. If your request is later than the one month from the date of our original notification letter you should tell us why it is late.
Email this pageLast modified by: Jon Barnett on 19/04/2010