So annoyed!

kirsty wrote: I came home to a letter today and I was fuming- I asked for extra time on the phone and by letter so I could gather more evidence to send in before a mandatory reconsideration of my PIP application. I got a letter on 19/01 telling me I had to send in a sheet of the letter called 'your reply' and my extra evidence before 03/05 (3rd May!). However, the letter I got today says my application has already been reconsidered (0 points again) and my option now is to appeal. This comes 3 months before the deadline that they gave me and on the actual day that I received my extra evidence from my GP!

I phoned the helpline and the man said he can't comment on the rules that the decision maker has to follow and a case manager will phone me back within 24 hours (not holding my breath!). Is my only option appeal now, even though the reconsideration came well before the deadline which is surely not fair? I am annoyed at the cheek of it if nothing else!

You can ask for a second MR, the DWP are not required to give you one, but they may, but you would need confirmation that they are still prepared to wait for this additional information.

Some things for you to consider;

I have never heard of the DWP giving a claimant three months to source additional information for an MR, the longest they normally allow is four weeks and this is usually taken from the date that the MR is requested. I'm wondering if the 03/05 date was made by someone without the authority to do so.

The revision rate at MR is extremely low and it usually only happens when the claimant provides evidence that fundamentally changes the view that the DWP have of the claim, does you evidence do this? If it merely supports what you have already said in your PIP2 then I think it less likely that it will result in a revision of the Decision.

Whilst it can take several months for an appeal to be heard, the panel will look at your claim from scratch, success rates at appeal are around 60%.

Gordon