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Any person who is affected by one of our decisions
may be able to launch an appeal or can ask us to look at it
again.
This can include the claimant, a landlord or an appointee acting
upon someone else's behalf.
In all cases, we will advise you if you can appeal in our decision
letter.
If you receive a decision in writing it is usually because one of
the following things has happened:
- You claimed benefit
- You renewed an existing benefit claim
- Your had a change of circumstance affecting your benefit
- You have been told you have to pay back benefit
If you have been told you cannot appeal you can still ask us to
look at it again.
In these cases, you should contact us straight away and within one
calendar month of the date on your decision letter.
You can also request a written statement asking us to outline the
reasons for our decision.
A different member of staff will usually check the decision and if
it is wrong we will change it from the date of the original
decision.
This will happen as long as you have asked us to look at it again
within one calendar month of the date on the original decision
letter or had special circumstances which prevented you from doing
this.
These special circumstances can include the following:
- If you were in hospital and unable to contact us
- If you were unable to deal with your own affairs
If you ask us to look at our decision after one calendar month
of the date on your decision letter and did not have special
circumstances the decision will usually be changed from the date we
received your letter querying the decision.
However, if you do not agree with the new decision you can also ask
us to look at it again.
In cases where the our decision cannot be changed we will send you
a letter advising you of this and confirming our original
decision.
The letter will also tell you if you can appeal against our
original decision and if you can you will have one calendar month
of the date on your decision letter to do so.
For a full explanation of your rights of appeal download our
housing and council tax benefit leaflet. |