About your benefit claim - appealing

How do I know if my benefit is correct?

• If we make any decision on your claim we will send you a notification letter that tells you when your benefit starts, how your claim has been worked out and the amount of benefit you have been awarded
• You should always check your notification letters carefully to ensure that all the details are correct

What do I do if I think my benefit is wrong?

• If you think your benefit is wrong you should tell us as soon as possible
• You can do this by contacting the Benefits Office and someone will go through your claim with you straight away
• If you prefer you can write to the Benefits Office at the address on the left hand side of this page, telling us why you think your claim is wrong and we will look at your claim again

What if I do not agree with a decision?

If you do not agree with a decision you can ask for:

1. An explanation of that decision
2. For the decision to be looked at again
3. The Tribunal Service to look at your case

You must contact us straight away because you only have 1 calendar month from the date you were notified of the decision to ask us to look at it again or to appeal against it.

What happens if I ask for an explanation of the decision?

• If you would like a further explanation of the decision you can contact the Benefits Office and we will talk to you about the decision straight away
• If you prefer, you can write to the Benefits Office and we will either contact you by telephone or write back to you with a detailed explanation

What happens if I ask for the decision to be looked at again?

• If you want the decision to be looked at again you must write to us within 1 calendar month of the date you were notified of the decision
• We will make sure that a different person looks at your case again who will write to you about their decision

What happens if I want to appeal against a decision?

• If you want to appeal against a decision you must write to us within 1 calendar month of the date you were first notified about the decision telling us why you disagree
• We will pass your case to The Tribunal Service and they will contact you separately to arrange a hearing date
• The Tribunal Service will conduct a hearing at which you can be present to put your side of the case across and they will make an independent decision

Please visit our Related Downloads section for further information on revisions and appeals.

Last updated 06/01/2012