no MR Notice

Has anyone had an appeal accepted without a MR Notice?

JC + decided telephoning my client to explain why they disagreed with the decision I challenged was enough and have not responded to my letter - which I know they received.

It is possible to appeal a decision without an MRN but it isn’t necessary in the vast majority of cases because you can just ask for a new copy of the MRN to be sent out.

In the case you describe, it sounds like the DM has phoned the claimant prior to deciding the MR. This is standard practice. The call will usually involve an explanation of the decision, the claimant being asked what they dispute about it and if they want a further opportunity to send in more evidence. Sometimes the DM will, quite controversially, ask if the claimant wants to withdraw their MR request.

The MRN will normally then show up 10 days or so after this phonecall unless the claimant either indicated they wished to withdraw their request or asked for time to send in evidence. Assuming its negative, you would then file the appeal.

I have managed to get an appeal (that had purportedly been struck out by a clerk) reinstated and eventually won by pointing out that all that is required is that the Secretary of State has “considered on an application whether to revise as decision under Section 9 of the act” as is required by Regulation 3ZA(2) of the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations 1999 SI1999/991 as amended..(Consideration of revision before appeal)

There is no provision in Regulation 3ZA which requires that a so called Mandatory Reconsideration notice must be issued before an appeal can proceed.  Indeed the words “Mandatory Reconsideration Notice does not appear anywhere in the legislation, although I will concede that Regulation 3ZA1(b) does refer to a notice which “includes a statement to the effect that there is a right of appeal in relation to the decision only if the Secretary of State has considered an application for revision of the decision”

The notice referred to in Regulation 3ZA(1)(b) is not the so called Mandatory Reconsideration notice (which would of course be issued after the application for revision had been considered). It is the notice of the disputed decision which would of course be issued under Regulation 28, not Regulation 3ZA(1)(b)

There is however rule 22(4)(a)(I) of the TP (FtT)(SEC) Rules 2008 that require “a copy of… the notice of the result of mandatory reconsideration” thus it’s important; if you’ve not got it, to ask for that requirement to be waived pursuant to rule 7(2)(a).

I’ve had a couple that have gone through without the MRN; at one point HMCTS had a procedure to check whether the recon had been considered where the MRN was missing; that seems to have gone by the wayside recently though as they’ve pushed back on a couple just lately.