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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Decision making and appeals  →  Thread

PIP appeal astray

ib
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Supervisor/caseworker - Malvern Hills District CAB

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Our client did not receive her appeal bundle - appeal sent Dec 2019.  it turns out she sent her appeal to the Bradford Tribunal Hearing Centre instead of the SSCS Appeals address on the SSCS1.  It was signed for at the centre but not passed on to the correct office.  What would you advise she do?  Should it have been forwarded?  Does she just have to re-send to the correct address and ask for a late appeal?  I would be grateful for your help.  Client is currently going through another PIP appeal and it is complicated and stressful for her. We were hoping to have both appeals heard at a single hearing if this is possible.  Many thanks!

ib
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Supervisor/caseworker - Malvern Hills District CAB

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Please, can anyone suggest what the best course of action would be?

BC Welfare Rights
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The Brunswick Centre, Kirklees & Calderdale

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The easiest thing to do would be to resubmit the appeal with an explanation of why it is late. I can’t see HMCTS refusing to accept it as a late appeal in these circumstances. Someone else may be able to give a more technical answer about what the legal position is.

Elliot Kent
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The procedure rules say that the appeal has to be lodged with “the tribunal” and not any particular office. The appeal sent to Bradford was valid. I would just ask for a judge to look at it and decide whether or not it is valid (and for good measure, get it linked to the existing appeal). If the judge says it isn’t valid then send in a another SSCS1 as a late appeal.

BC Welfare Rights
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The Brunswick Centre, Kirklees & Calderdale

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What about Rule 13? - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/2685/article/13/made

13.—(1) Any document to be provided to the Tribunal under these Rules, a practice direction or a direction must be—

(a)sent by pre-paid post or delivered by hand to the address specified for the proceedings;

I suppose (1)(c) offers a possible get out?

(c)sent or delivered by such other method as the Tribunal may permit or direct.

Edit - or is that just envisaging future ways of sending things?

[ Edited: 5 Jun 2020 at 04:29 pm by BC Welfare Rights ]
Elliot Kent
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I don’t see how an address can be specified for the proceedings before there are any proceedings, but maybe.

In any case, I would have thought that it is sufficient to send the appeal form to a local office and certainly I have infrequently started appeals in this way in the past (usually where they are related to another appeal which is already going on).

[ Edited: 5 Jun 2020 at 04:37 pm by Elliot Kent ]
ib
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Supervisor/caseworker - Malvern Hills District CAB

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Thank you for replying, that does look the simplest and quickest solution.  I don’t see why someone at the TS could not have forwarded the appeal to the correct office for her though.