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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Decision making and appeals  →  Thread

DWP refuses to comply with Directions Notice asking for confirmation of appointee

adele
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I have a PIP appeal for a client who died in May and her family is carrying on with the case. The DWP has confirmed over the phone with me that my client’s son is now her appointee, though it took me six months of letters and phone calls to get this sorted. I asked for confirmation in writing but that was refused (for no apparent reason). I sent details of all my correspondence to HMCTS and directions were issued that the DWP needed to confirm in writing with HMCTS that the son had been appointed. As expected, mid-November came and went and we haven’t heard a peep.

I would normally ask for the case to be listed and take all the usual steps, or ask the Judge to look at Rule 7/ 8, but this strikes me as a different kettle of fish because the issue is who the appeal actually belongs to now. Am I barking up the wrong tree and should be approaching this in the same way as any other case where the DWP ignores directions? Any advice would be greatly appreciated - this family just needs a decision as soon as possible.

ClairemHodgson
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i’d be inclined to get it listed

more generally, the only person/people entitled to pursue the case for the deceased are the PR’s.  So if the “appointee” is the PR there’s no particular problem.  if he isn’t, there may be depending on what view your tribunal judge takes

Peter Turville
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SS(C&P)Reg. 30(1) and UC etc (C&P)Reg. 56(1) allows the SSWP to appoint such person as the SSWP thinks fit to proceed with a claim, revision, supersession or appeal. It does not require that person to be their personal representative, hold letters of administration, probate etc.

In practice in my experience the biggest difficulty is getting DWP to do anything with a request to continue with the case (because staff in the relevant benefit office haven’t got a clue about the provision - surprise, surprise Pension Service being the most difficult).

Its certainly worth trying to get the case listed. I would suggest you forward to HMCTS a copy of the request to the DWP to appoint a person whilst pursuing the DWP to make the appointment. I would also ask DWP to send confirmation to HMCTS that a person has been appointed. DWP don’t appear to have a standard form on which to request that someone is appointed.

However if the SSWP fails to appoint someone I would suggest the tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal until someone has actually been appointed by the SSWP because until that has been done the person does not have standing to continue with the appeal.

I have a case at present where it took months of complaints before PS finally appointed a person to continue with the appeal. That person was not the personal representative dealing with the estate but another relative who lived much closer to the deceased, our office & the local tribunal venue.

In your particular case if DWP have failed to respond to Directions to confirm that X has been appointed your only route may now be to involve the MP or serve notice before action on the DWP solicitor (which is usual a most effective tactic).

[ Edited: 3 Jan 2019 at 12:54 pm by Peter Turville ]
adele
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However if the SSWP fails to appoint someone I would suggest the tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal until someone has actually been appointed by the SSWP because until that has been done the person does not have standing to continue with the appeal.
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In your particular case if DWP have failed to respond to Directions to confirm that X has been appointed your only route may now be to involve the MP or serve notice before action on the DWP solicitor (which is usual a most effective tactic).


Thanks, both. Peter, this is what I was thinking. Although they say they have appointed someone, they won’t actually confirm it in writing which is why there hasn’t been any movement with the case. I’ve asked for a hearing with the DWP directed to come and provide evidence that there is an appointee, but I don’t think HMCTS will go for that. Sigh.

ClairemHodgson
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mmm

if the appeal were successful such that the DWP owed backpayments to the deceased estate, the only people who legally have authority to receive and deal with same are the PR’s.  so if the apointee is someone different - and the more so if DWP wanted to give any money to appointee post appeal - that would create difficulties.  Not forgetting they are unlikely to be able to do a BACS direct into the deceased’s account, which really should be closed by that time…

Dan_Manville
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But they could make a payment into the estate’s account on the instruction of the person appointed to deal with the appeal and wouldn’t that, then, square the circle?

ClairemHodgson
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Dan Manville - 04 January 2019 01:41 PM

But they could make a payment into the estate’s account on the instruction of the person appointed to deal with the appeal and wouldn’t that, then, square the circle?

possibly, assuming the appointee does as they should.

for all the DWP know, there could be a massive family dispute about the will, or an intestacy that it going to take the patience of job to sort…

it’s not safe for anyone except the appointed PR to deal.

But since when do the DWP care much about such things?

Elliot Kent
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ClairemHodgson - 04 January 2019 02:43 PM
Dan Manville - 04 January 2019 01:41 PM

But they could make a payment into the estate’s account on the instruction of the person appointed to deal with the appeal and wouldn’t that, then, square the circle?

possibly, assuming the appointee does as they should.

for all the DWP know, there could be a massive family dispute about the will, or an intestacy that it going to take the patience of job to sort…

it’s not safe for anyone except the appointed PR to deal.

But since when do the DWP care much about such things?

Regs 30 and 56 of respectively the old and new C&P Regs specifically differentiate between (1) a person appointed to deal with a posthumous appeal (who need not be the PR) and (2) the person who actually gets paid the money (who must be the PR or someone else with an interest in the estate). They do not need to be the same person and the DWP would have no authority to pay the money to someone solely on the grounds that they are acting under (1).