Appeals
Introduction
This page provides information about appealing against decisions
relating to your Housing & Council Tax Benefit. The rules
changed on 2nd July 2001 and the information given in this page
applies from that date onwards.
Do you want more information about the
decision?
If so, you should ask us straight away because if you want us to
look at the decision again or if you want to appeal against it, you
must do so within one month of the date on the decision letter -
not the date you contact the office.
You can phone, write or visit us. We will explain the decision
to you and inform you of any further action you can take if you are
still unhappy with the decision. We will normally contact you by
telephone as it is easier to discuss all the issues this way. If we
cannot do this, we will write to you.
Do you want us to look at the decision again?
If so, you must write to us within one month of the date of the
notification letter. If you ask for an explanation first, the one
month is still counted from the date of the decision letter.
However, if you ask for a written explanation you will have the one
month from the date of the decision letter plus the time we took to
send you the explanation.
We will look at your case again. This will usually be by a
different officer than the one who made the original decision. We
will then write to you and let you know the outcome. We will also
let you know what further action you can take if you are still
unhappy with the decision made.
Do you want to formally appeal against the
decision?
If so, we will pass your case to The Appeals Service who will be
responsible for arranging an independent tribunal to review the
decision.
It is important that your appeal is received by us within one
month of the date of the original decision. If your appeal is late,
then you must show that there were special reasons why you did not
appeal in time.
You need to write down all your reasons for appealing against
the decision. This will ensure that the tribunal consider all the
relevant facts.
The Role of The Appeals Service
The Appeals Service will arrange for an independent tribunal to
hear your appeal. They aim to do this within 14 weeks of the date
they receive all the information. Tribunals can sometimes be held
sooner if you are genuinely facing eviction or for another urgent
reason.
Your appeal will be heard by an independent tribunal. Tribunals
have at least one legally qualified member.
You will be invited to attend the tribunal to suppo rt your
case. This is optional. We may also send one of our senior officers
to the tribunal hearing.
After hearing all the evidence, the tribunal will make a
decision regarding the issue under dispute. You will be told of
this decision in writing.
If the tribunal decides in your favour, we will change the
decision as soon as possible and write to you letting you know the
outcome.
If you do not agree with the appeal tribunal's decision, you may
be able to appeal to the Social Security Commissioners.
The Commissioners are barristers, solicitors or advocates of not
less than ten years' standing and are appointed by the Queen on the
advice of the Lord Chancellor. They are independent of both the
Department of Social Security and the Local Authority.
You can only appeal to the Social Security Commissioners if you
believe the tribunal has not applied the law correctly to your
case.
Further Information
Information
leaflet (available in multiple languages)
Tel: (01304) 872199
E-mail: revenues@dover.gov.uk
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