The process
Step 1
- You receive the decision about your claim. You have been told that you are not entitled to anything or you think you have been given the wrong rate.
- You have one month to ask for an appeal or for the DWP to look at it again. (If one month has already passed, see 'What if I've missed the deadline?' in How to ask the DWP to look at their decision again.)
- Get advice if possible - see 'What if I haven't got an adviser ?' in 'They've got it wrong!'.
- You can skip step 2 and 3 and go straight to appeal.
Step 2
- Ask for the DWP to look again at their decision - see How to ask the DWP to look at their decision again. (You can skip steps 2 and 3 go straight on to Step 4 if you prefer).
The DWP will look at your claim form again to see if they can change the decision.
Step 3
- The DWP will tell you their decision. If their decision has been changed and you are happy with it, you can stop here. Otherwise you have 1 month to ask for an appeal.
Step 4
- Ask for an appeal (see How to ask the DWP to look at their decision again.)
The DWP will look at your claim form again to see if they can change their decision. If they can, they will write to you with a new decision. If not, your appeal will be sent to the Tribunal Service.
Step 5
- The Tribunal Service will send you a form and a huge bundle of papers. (This can be very intimidating, but don’t panic). You must fill in the form and send it back within 14 days. See page 'I've received a huge pack of papers! What do I do?' for our advice.
Step 6
- You need to prepare for your appeal and get evidence. See 'What do I need to do before the hearing?' for details.
Step 7
- You will be told the date of the hearing. Ideally, you should send in your evidence a week or two in advance.
Step 8
- Your appeal will be heard by an independent panel. They will make a new decision. See 'What should I do on the day?' for details of what will happen and advice about what to do on the day.
If you were successful, you will usually receive your money in 4-6 weeks.
