Preparing for Tribunal, welfare officer

Kate wrote: Hi

Can someone please help me.

My Atos Medical went for revision and a month later straight to appeal. Do i have to respond to the papers sent for appeal inside a month?More importantly i failed on all descriptors, zero points. I have been to Citizens advice and they were useless, have said i need to find what descriptors apply to me, they are so confusing being i have multiplie allergies, chronic fatigue, had rsi in the past but allergies are still with me. The advisor sai what is gone is gone and not to submit all the historical notes. It is the now that is important. My Dr. is refusing a report unless she is paid, worse still i have had to for 20 years spend thousands privately and firstly half the notes are not at the Drs...the ones that are are archived and my Drs. are useless. She will do a report if ATOS write but sais she has to be paid.

a) where can i find a werlfare officer as i need help with the wording the forms, did my best for the ATOS med and its difficult to apply any further descriptors.

b)should i contest the Atos report inside a month for tribunal purposes if i think it is wrong.

c)can i use evidence of the secret recording i did or can a friend who was with me say she recorded it.

Under the exceptional circumstances would i need a Drs letter. My Drs are awful and are no help so will this all stand up in court.

Strictly speaking you have one month from receiving the Appeal information, however, the reality is that the Tribunal Service will continue to accept new evidence and submission until a about two weeks before the hearing.

A report by your GP may be of assistance, providing that it is supportive of your claim, this means that in addition to detailing your condition(s) it must also reference the ESA descriptors, for example, one that simply says you are not Fit for Work, will not be worth the money. On this basis, I would advise you to sit down with your GP to discuss what will be put I the report, but be careful not to lead the doctor as to what they should write, something that says "the patient tells me..." will make the report useless.

You may struggle to find representation as the legal aid budget for benefit appeals has been removed, you can try an internet search for "welfare advice" with you own, county, or postcode, if there is a charity for your condition(s) you try them, also see the following

Where to get advice?

Contesting the ATOS medical report is important and should not be ignored, but you will only win your appeal by showing that you meet the criteria for the WRAG or the Support Group.

Yes, you can use the contents of a recording made at the assessment, however, a couple of points to be aware of the following;

- it is at the discretion of the Tribunal panel whether they refer to the content, we know of only one appeal where the panel has actually wanted to hear the recording.
- The panel are far more interested in understanding why the claimant meets the requirement of the benefit, than why the ATOS report is wrong.
- Tribunal hearing typically last 40-50 minutes.
- if you intend to use it, then ideally you should provide a full written transcript of the assessment as well as a copy of the actual recording.
- remember, a recording includes your comments as well as those of the ATOS assessor, so make sure that there is nothing to your detriment.

Gordon