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AA, MR and ‘written explanations’
Note from a colleague. I shall be writing a nice letter to AA. Any thoughts?
Following a clear, written request from us for an MR for an AA client, we received a reply headed “Written Explanation for Attendance Allowance”. It tells us that we asked for a written explanation (no we didn’t) and that they would not look at the decision again unless we contacted them.
On speaking to AA about this, I was told that they ALWAYS do this. If a cl rings, they are told that the original decision maker will look at it again and if they cannot change their own decision, then the client must ring them again to ask for a second decision maker to look at it. As AA claimants are likely to be the most vulnerable to persuasion by figures they perceive to be authoritative, this means that a lot of MRs will never even be recorded, let alone actually carried out.
I cited and quoted their own Gatekeeper Memo and they have of course had to accept that they must do an MR for this client….
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
looks like more of the three stage challenging decisions process -
I came across a recent case where DWP issued a PA4 medical report instead of a MRN.
This happened to one of my clients.
After a MR was requested in writing by me, she was phoned at home by someone who said they were the original decision-maker who advised her that they weren’t going to change their decision and did she want to continue with her ‘appeal’? She told them that she didn’t see the point.
Within 24 hours she phoned me and I advised her that this wasn’t how it was supposed to work and that her case was meant to be looked at by a different decision-maker, even if they would probably just confirm the decision. She asked me to press for the MR to be completed properly so that she could appeal if required (as we’d discussed). So I wrote to them.
We’ve now received the MR decision which refers to the conversation where she apparently said she was ‘happy with the explanation and did not wish to continue with a Mandatory Reconsideration’. Not quite what would be the point in continuing with it? from someone having a bad day.
That’s the appeal in now….....
There is no legal requirement for a different decision maker to look at the reconsideration but the expectation is that it should be a different decision maker. Complaint in my case, has been lodged and now with the Independent Case Examiner. They will probably say the same.
I’m so glad I read these posts as I now know I’m not going completely mad. I applied for AA for a visually impaired client in March, had the refusal in April sent a letter asking for a MR got a letter of explanation. Sent another letter clearly asking for a MR got nothing back. Phoned DWP to be told it had gone to the disputes team. Waited another couple of weeks, rang again to be told they couldn’t find the paperwork could I fax the letters again!! Which I did finally got the MR 2 weeks ago. Needless to say they have refused the application. The appeal paperwork has been sent. The letter of explanation was not clear on what the options were and when I rang was told they had tried to contact the client (difficult as he has no phone) and so had sent the letter of explanation despite it clearly stating that he wanted a MR.
I think you have to be a really ‘special’ kind of person to work for DWP??