Challenging Decisions
DWP Decisions
Use this guidance for the following benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Carer’s Allowance
- Maternity Allowance
It can be disappointing to not get the decision you were expecting however, there is a procedure to challenge a decision you feel is incorrect. This is a two-stage process:
1. Mandatory Reconsideration
2. Appeal to HM Courts & Tribunals Service
You must apply for a Mandatory Reconsideration before you can appeal.
If you disagree with a decision
If you disagree it is important to remember that you can challenge the decision – it is not final. However, you should try and challenge any decision within 1 month of the date on the decision letter.
It’s okay if you are outside of this 1-month timeframe however, you will need to explain why you are responding late. The absolute deadline to challenge a decision is 13 months from the date of the decision letter.
Mandatory Reconsideration
You can request a mandatory reconsideration either over the phone or in writing. Ideally, do this within 1 month of the date on the decision letter. If you are outside of this timeframe, you will be asked to give a reason why it is late.
If you choose to do this over the phone you will speak to a member of the DWP, who will type down your reasons for challenging the decision. This will then be sent to a Decision Maker who will review the application and the information your provided in your mandatory reconsideration and make a new decision. We would advise you to write down what you want to say before you call the DWP and keep a copy for your records.
If you choose to do this in writing, you can use a form called a CRMR1 form which can be found here.
You do not have to use this form although it ensures you answer all necessary questions and provides a useful template for your response.
You should explain what you disagree with and why by giving specific examples and information. It is not enough to say that you disagree with DLA not being awarded. You can find more information here.
There is no timeframe for the DWP to make a new decision, but it usually takes about 4-8 weeks for them to respond. They will send you 2 copies of the mandatory reconsideration notice. This is in case you choose to appeal as you may need to send a copy to the tribunal and keep a copy for yourself.
If you are still not happy with the decision made by the DWP you can then go on to appeal to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Appeal
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) are independent of the DWP.
Again, you have 1-month from the date of the mandatory reconsideration notice to submit your appeal. This cannot be done by phone but can be done totally online here or using the SSCS1 form which can be found here.
Your appeal may not be very different from the details you provided for the mandatory reconsideration. The mandatory reconsideration may provide additional information which you can refer to in the appeal.
As before, you should provide specific details about what you disagree with and why.
You can find more information here.
You will be given the option to have a hearing based on the papers or in person. An in-person hearing could take place over the phone, video or physically at a location such as a court. In person appeals are statistically more likely to succeed than paper appeals because the panel can ask questions and seek clarification and so where at all possible, we would advise you to choose an in-person appeal hearing.
Appeals take a lot longer than mandatory reconsiderations to be heard. At the moment in the West Midlands appeal wait times are about 6 months.
Although this can sound very daunting and can take a lot of time you should know that between 65-70% of disability appeals are successful.
HMRC Decisions
Use this guidance for the following benefits:
- Child Benefit
- Child Tax Credits
- Working Tax Credits
Decisions made by HMRC have a similar two stage process as the DWP. However, because they are from a different government department there will be slight differences,
The time limits for challenging HMRC decisions is much more strict than the DWP and is usually limited to 30 days only. Although the 13-month limit can also apply you will need to provide a reason as to why you are challenging the decision late. HMRC may not accept this reason although you can challenge their refusal to accept your reasons. This would be a separate appeal to the original decision you were trying to appeal.
Reasons to request a Mandatory Reconsideration
The most common reasons to ask for a mandatory reconsideration is because:
- you’ve been refused tax credits or Child Benefit
- you think you’ve been paid the wrong amount
- your tax credits or Child Benefit has stopped
- HMRC thinks you’ve been overpaid when you haven’t
- your claim has been backdated to the wrong date
If the decision letter was more than 13 months ago, but less than 5 years ago, HMRC will only change the decision if there was ‘official error’. Possible examples of official error include:
- HMRC made a mistake when calculating your tax credits
- HMRC overlooked a piece of evidence you sent them
- They misunderstood some evidence you sent
- They got a fact or point of law wrong – for example, if they didn’t take all of your children into account or include a disability payment
How to request a Mandatory Reconsideration
You can request a mandatory reconsideration online or in writing. Ideally, do this within 1 month of the date on the decision letter. If you are outside of this timeframe, you will be asked to give a reason why it is late.
You can use an online or paper form here. It will be quicker to use the online application form. You will need to have a Government Gateway user ID and password. If you do not have one already, you can set one up when you start the application.
We would advise you to keep a copy of your form for your records.
You should explain what you disagree with and why and you should provide evidence to support your reasons. This could be by sending copies of letters, or evidence of other contact you previously had such as webchat or phone calls to HMRC; evidence of who you do or do not live with; evidence about your income.
HMRC should make a decision within about 2 weeks. They may contact you for further information, but this doesn’t always happen.
Once a decision has been made, HMRC will send you a mandatory reconsideration notice informing you of the decision they have reached and why.
If you are still not happy with the decision made by HMRC you can then go on to appeal to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Appeal
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) are independent of HMRC.
Again, you have 1-month from the date of the mandatory reconsideration notice to submit your appeal. This cannot be done by phone but can be done totally online here or using the SSCS1 form which can be found here.
Your appeal may not be very different from the details you provided for the mandatory reconsideration. The mandatory reconsideration may provide additional information which you can refer to in the appeal.
As before, you should provide specific details about what you disagree with and why.
You will be given the option to have a hearing based on the papers or in person. An in-person hearing could take place over the phone, video or physically at a location such as a court. In person appeals are statistically more likely to succeed than paper appeals because the panel can ask questions and seek clarification and so where at all possible, we would advise you to choose an in-person appeal hearing.
Appeals take a lot longer than mandatory reconsiderations to be heard. At the moment in the West Midlands appeal wait times are about 6 months.
Telford and Wrekin Council Decisions
Use this guidance for
- Housing benefit
- Discretionary Housing Payment
- Council Tax Reduction and Support
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction are administered by Telford & Wrekin council, and they have their own appeals processes although they are similar to those used by both the DWP and HMRC.
Housing Benefit
If you disagree with a decision made by Telford & Wrekin council about your Housing Benefit award you must do so in writing within one month of the date on the decision letter or award notice. You can ask for an explanation of the decision or award over the phone or in writing, but any challenge must be done so in writing.
Time Limit
You have 1 month from the date on the decision letter or award notice to challenge the decision. If you make a request after this you will be asked to provide a reason as to why you have not done so before. The absolute time limit is 13 months from the date of the decision letter or award notice.
Reasons
You will need to provide details about what you disagree with and why. It is not enough to just say you think the decision is wrong. It could be that the council have used an incorrect income figure to calculate your award and so you should send things like payslips or bank statements showing how much you have actually been paid.
How to challenge a decision
As mentioned, any challenge must be in writing. You can use a form found here to challenge the decision or you can write to the council with the details of your challenge to the following address:
Telford & Wrekin Council
Revenues and Benefits Service
PO Box 249
Telford
TF3 4LP
Appeal
If the council are unable to change their decision your case will be forwarded to HMCTS. The council will send your paperwork challenging the original decision plus their response to the tribunal.
You will be written to by HMCTS to ask if you would like to attend a hearing or if you would like the decision to be made on the papers provided.
In person appeals are statistically more likely to succeed than paper appeals because the panel can ask questions and seek clarification and so where at all possible, we would advise you to choose an in-person appeal hearing.
Council Tax Reduction
If you disagree with a decision made by Telford & Wrekin council about your council tax reduction you can request that the decision be looked at again at any time. There are no time limits for asking the council to change a decision about Council Tax Reduction.
Reasons
You will need to provide details about what you disagree with and why. It is not enough to just say you think the decision is wrong. It could be that the council have used an incorrect income figure to calculate your award and so you should send things like payslips or bank statements showing how much you have actually been paid.
How to challenge a decision
As mentioned, any challenge must be in writing. You can use a form found here to challenge the decision or you can write to the council with the details of your challenge to the following address:
Telford & Wrekin Council
Revenues and Benefits Service
PO Box 249
Telford
TF3 4LP
Appeal
If the council are unable to change their decision you can appeal to the Valuation Tribunal Service who are responsible for appeals of council tax decisions.
If you have not had a response from the council to your challenge within 2 months, you can proceed to the Valuation Tribunal Service without waiting for a response from the council.
You can find more information about the Valuation Tribunal Service and appealing council tax reduction decisions here.
HMRC Decisions
Use this guidance for:
- Statutory Maternity Pay
- Statutory Sick Pay
[insert guidance text]
If your employer refuses to pay you a statutory benefit which you believe you are entitled to you can contact the HMRC for their Stautory Payments Dispute Team to make a decision. If you disagree with HMRC’s decision, you can appeal.
Asking for a decision from HMRC
You should contact the Statutory Payments Dispute Team on 0300 322 9422 or via textphone on 0300 200 3212 after you have tried to resolve this with your employer.
You may be asked to send further information to HMRC which may include medical documents.
A copy of HMRC’s decision will be sent to both you and your employer and if HMRC decide that your employer should pay you they will be given a time limit in which to do this.
Appealing a decision
If you or your employer disagree with the HMRC decision, there is a right of appeal. If your employer appeals, they do not have to pay you until a final decision is made. You need to appeal within 30 days of the HMRC decision.
You must appeal in writing, explaining why you disagree with the HMRC decision and send this with any supporting evidence to:
HMRC Statutory Payment Disputes Team
PT Operations
NE England
BX9 1AN
HMRC will ask if you want them to review their decision or go straight to a Tribunal. If you agree to have the decision reviewed by HMRC and you still disagree with their decision you can then appeal to Tribunal yourself. This needs to be done within 30 days of the review decision.
How to Appeal
You can appeal to the Tribunal online here or you can download the application form here. You can also call 0300 123 1024 and have the form sent out to you in the post.
The address to send the appeal form is:
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber)
PO BOX 16972
Birmingham
B16 6TZ