Waiting Tribunal Date

bELINDA7758

My son in law has Charcot Marie tooth and has had to undertake the whole process for  mandatory reconsideration and is now awaiting a tribunal date.  It has been six months and they are now taking his car back on Monday.  How long does he have to wait for the tribunal.  I am very worried about mental state in waiting for this appeal, he is very depressed, they have two toddlers 18 months and 3, and currently feels very "useless" the car gives him something that he can contribute to the family (my daughter doesn't driver) but she has to help them all get dressed do up shoes etc etc.  I am very worried about them and the stress this is causing them as a family.  Is there any way that we can find out how long the tribunal will take to come around or anyway of keeping his car until the tribunal date.   Thanks for any advice

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @bELINDA7758, welcome to the community!

Sorry to hear about your son-in-law and the family's situation. A benefits advisor will hopefully be able to advise you further on this: they're receiving an increased number of enquires at the moment, but will get back to you as soon as possible.

I have everything crossed that you manage to get the situation resolved as quickly as possible. In the meantime, there is some great information and advice on supporting somebody struggling with low mood and depression on MIND's website, which may come in useful for both yourself and your son-in-law.

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi bELINDA7758,

Unfortunately appeals are dealt with in date order of receipt and in my area especially it is taking 5 months from the date of appeal being submitted until the date of the hearing.
If your son in law completed the approved SSCS1 form to submit his appeal it will have asked on there whether he wants a short notice hearing in case of any cancellations. If he didn't complete this form and appealed on a normal piece of paper he should write in again and ask to be considered for a short notice hearing then he might get one quicker. If he wants to find out how long he has to wait for his appeal he can always call them on 0300 123 1142 to find out the current waiting times.
Apart from that I would advise him to contact his Local Authority's Welfare Rights team if they have one, or the CAB for practical assistance with the appeal process. He needs to ensure that he has provided as much medical evidence about his health problems and more importantly how they affect him to complete all the daily living and mobility activities that the benefits covers (these would all be on his decision notice). Good luck!

Lee