Making An Appeal

Appeals against your Benefit

If you think your benefit is wrong
After the amount of your benefit has been assessed, we will send you a letter notifying you of how that amount has been arrived at.

If you are unhappy with the amount or think it has been worked out incorrectly, you should contact us within one month of the date of the letter advising you of your benefit entitlement and we will look at your claim again. If you are still unhappy with the decision after this, you have the right to appeal against it.

An explanation of the decision
If you require additional details on how the amount of your benefit has been calculated, or you do not understand  the letters that have been sent to you, you can ask for an explanation or a written statement. If you are still unhappy with the way your benefit has been worked out, you can dispute the decision and ask us to look at it again.

Looking at your benefit again
If you would like your claim looked at again, you should contact us within one month of the date on the original letter advsing you of the amount of benefit to which you are entitled

If you ask for an explanation about your claim, the one month limit still counts from the date of the original notification letters.

If you do ask us to look at your claim again, the original decsion will be checked, by a different officer to the one who did the first assessement, to see if it is correct. If it is found that the original decision is wrong we will change it.

If the decision is changed
Where a decision is changed, this will normally be from the date of the original decision. You will be sent a new letter notifiyng of the change and if you do not agree with this one, you can still ask for it to be looked at again

If the decision cannot be changed
You will be sent an explanation of why it cannot be changed, but you can still appeal against it. If you wish to appeal, you have one month from the date of this new letter confirming our decision.

How do I appeal against the decision?
You need to write to us within one month of the date on our letter advising you of you entitlement to benefit, making it clear what decision(s) you are appealing against and the reasons why you disagree.  The appeal must be signed by the person who is allowed to appeal.

In order to assist you with lodging an appeal with us, please follow the link on the right of this page, to a form which can be completed with the required details. This should be printed, signed and returned to us at the address shown on the form

Who can appeal?
If you are the claimant or have been appointed on behalf of a claimant you can make an appeal. If you are a Landlord you can appeal a decision. However, a Landlord can only appeal against:

• The recovery of an overpayment from them; or
• Against the decision not to make Housing Benefit payments direct to them        

After you have appealed
After your appeal has been received, it will looked at by a different officer to the one who made the original assessment.  If the original decision is wrong and the new decision is to your advantage, we will write and tell you our new decision and your appeal will stop.

If you do not agree with this new decision, you can appeal again against this new decision.

If we agree the original decision is wrong but the new decision is not to your advantage, we will send you a new decision letter and your appeal will continue against the new decision. If your appeal continues or we do not change our original decision, your appeal will be sent to the Tribunals Service, along with the Council's submission of the details of your case.

A copy of our submission will also be sent to you with a form (TAS1) which you must complete and send to the Tribunals Service within 14 days. If you do not return the TAS1 form to the Tribunals Service, your appeal will stop.

The form will ask you if you would like to come to the hearing or have the appeal looked at based on the reasons given in your letters. If the Tribunals Service accept your appeal they will advise you of the date and place of hearing.

The Tribunals Service
The Tribunals Service is an agency of the Department of Constitutional Affairs. It is responsible for the appeals on all Social Security matters through independent tribunals. For any enquiries about your appeal or general information about the Tribunals Service call

Tel 0115 909 3600 or (Minicom 0115 909 3692)

What if I make a late appeal?
If there are special circumstances why you could not submit an appeal within one calendar month. A late appeal may be accepted. If you send in a late appeal you should explain why you could not appeal within time.

A legally qualified person from the Tribunals Service will decide whether your appeal can be accepted. The Tribunals Service will not accept a late appeal if the only reason is that you misunderstood the law. The maximum period for accepting a late appeal is Thirteen months after the date of the original decision.

At the tribunal hearing
Although the tribunal may include more than one person to hear your appeal, it is usual for only one legally qualified person [not from the Council] to hear it. If you attend the hearing you may be asked questions, but you will also be able to ask questions, you can take someone with you to help you. A person from the Council may also be present.

If you had planned to attend the hearing but cannot, you must inform the Tribunals Service straight away. If you do not, your appeal may be heard without you. If you have asked for a paper hearing you will not be asked to attend.

The outcome of the hearing
Whether you have an oral or paper hearing you will be sent a written decision explaining the tribunals decision. A copy will also be sent to the Council.

If you disagree with the tribunal’s decision
You may be able to appeal to the Social Security Commissioners. However, you can only appeal to the Commissioners on a point of law. Your decision notice from the Tribunals Service will tell you what to do if you are unhappy with their decision.