You can make an appeal to the Tribunals Service by downloading a Benefit Appeals Form. Fill in the form and write down the reasons for your appeal.

This is important because the tribunal does not have to look at anything you do not mention. Make sure that you sign the form.

If you need help you can get it from:

• an advice centre;
• a Citizens Advice Bureau;
• a solicitor;
• the welfare rights service; or
• any housing advice service.

When you have downloaded and completed a Benefit Appeal form, send it back to us within one calendar month of the date on that letter.

When we have dealt with your claim for benefit we will send you a decision letter. The letter shows the information we have used to work out your benefit and you should check it carefully.

If you do not understand our decision or you want to know more, please get in touch with us and ask us to explain it. You should do this within one calendar month of the date on our decision letter.

If you ask us for more information after this time, we will still explain the decision to you but we may not be able to look at the decision again if you later decide that it is wrong.

We can explain our decision verbally, or if you want us to confirm it in writing we will send you a 'statement of reasons' explaining how we have worked out your benefit.

You can contact us by phone, by email or in writing, or you can call into one of our offices.

You should write to us within one calendar month of the date of the decision letter.

If you have only asked for a verbal explanation, we still count the one calendar month from the date of the decision letter. But, if you ask for a written statement of reasons, you will have the one calendar month from the date of the decision letter plus the time we took to send you the statement of reasons.

For example:

• Our decision letter is dated 1 April
• The one calendar month is 2 April to 1 May
• You asked for a written statement of reasons on 6 April and we sent this to you on 10 April
• The one calendar month is extended by five days, and now ends on the 6th May.

If there are special circumstances which mean you cannot contact us within one calendar month, we may still be able to change the decision.

Tell us what the special circumstances are when you contact us.

If you ask us to look at a decision again more than one calendar month after the date of the decision letter and you do not have special circumstances, we may still be able to change the decision. But this will usually only be from the date you write to us.

A member of staff who is responsible for making decisions will look at your case again. They will check your claim thoroughly and take account of any more information you have given in your letter.

We could then:

• decide not to change the decision;
• change the decision and pay you more benefit; or
• change the decision and pay you less benefit.

We will write to you and let you know what we have decided.

If we have not changed the decision, or if we have decided to pay you less benefit, we will automatically forward your case to an independent tribunal run by the Tribunals Service.

An appeal tribunal is made up of one or two members who do not work for us.

Tribunal members will be experts on the issues involved in your appeal, and all tribunals have at least one legally qualified member to help apply the law to your appeal. Tribunals may also include someone with financial qualifications.

If you miss the deadline, the Tribunals Service may not be able to accept your appeal if it is received more than one calendar month after the date on the decision letter.

They can only accept a late appeal if there are special circumstances for the delay. This could be something like:

• a death
• a serious illness
• absence abroad
• a postal strike; or some other special circumstance.

You should explain why you could not appeal in time on the benefit appeal form.

A legally qualified tribunal member will look at the reasons you have given for not appealing in time and will decide if your appeal can be accepted.

They will look at:

• whether there were special circumstances for the delay;
• the length of time since you received the decision;
• whether it is in the interest of justice that your appeal is accepted;
• whether your appeal is reasonably likely to succeed.

The Tribunals Service cannot accept a late appeal if the only reason is that you misunderstood the law, or interpretation of the law has changed since the decision was made.

Your appeal cannot be accepted if you appeal 13 months or more after the date on the decision letter.

We will also look at the decision again if we have not already done so.

• If, at this stage, we agree that the original decision is wrong and the new decision is to your advantage, we will send you a new decision and your appeal will stop
• If you do not agree with the new decision, your appeal rights start all over again
• If we agree that the original decision is wrong, but the new decision is not to your advantage, we will send you a new decision
• Your appeal will continue against the new decision and you will have another calendar month to comment on the new decision
• If we do not change the decision, we will send your appeal, along with an explanation of the law and the facts used to make the decision, to the Tribunals Service.

We will also include any other relevant papers.

We will send a copy of the appeal papers to you and your representative (if you have one). You will also receive a form called 'TAS1'.

You must fill in the TAS1 form and send it to the Tribunals Service within 14 days of the date the form was sent to you. If you do not, your appeal will stop.

The form asks you questions about how you want your appeal to be looked at. You can choose between an oral hearing and a paper hearing.

If you choose to go to an oral hearing, you will be able to deal with any questions or issues that arise. People who go to their hearing usually do better than those who do not.

Read the appeal papers very carefully. If you do not understand something, ask us, or an advice centre or solicitor, to explain.

It's an appeal hearing which you can go to.

At the hearing:

• the tribunal may ask you questions;
• you can ask questions;
• you can take someone with you to represent you;
• you can call witnesses to give evidence to the tribunal; and
• one of our representatives may be there and he or she may ask you questions and call witnesses.

If you choose an oral hearing but find you cannot go, you must let the Tribunals Service know straightaway.

If you do not let the Tribunals Service know you cannot go to the hearing, the tribunal may hear your appeal without you.

Oral hearings are usually open to the public, but anyone who goes o the hearing will usually be involved in the appeal. You can ask to have your appeal heard in private.

If you live abroad and want an oral hearing, let the Tribunals Service know you want to go to the hearing or want to send someone to represent you.

The Tribunals Service can then arrange for your appeal hearing to be:

• as near as possible to the place you arrive in Great Britain;
• as near as possible to your representative, if you have one; or
• delayed until you are in Great Britain.

The Tribunals Service may pay some of your expenses for going to the hearing, for example, travel costs.

If you want more information about expenses, please contact the Tribunals Service office that is handling your appeal.

If you live abroad, you will have to pay your own fares to and from Great Britain. You may be able to get expenses while you are in Great Britain and the appeal hearing is going on.

This is an appeal hearing that you do not go to.

You should use the form we send you with the appeal papers to add any more information that you think will help your case.

Do not delay sending information as you will not be told the date of a paper hearing. The appeal will be heard, and the Tribunals Service will send you the decision.

If the tribunal think they need you to go to an oral hearing, they can refuse your request for a paper hearing.

If you choose a paper hearing but change your mind, you can choose to have an oral hearing. You should write to the Tribunals Service straightaway.

Please remember that it might be in your interests to go to an oral hearing because you will be able to deal with any questions or issues that arise.

Whether you have an oral or a paper hearing, you will be told of the result the same way.

• You will be given a decision notice explaining the tribunal's decision as soon as possible after the appeal hearing.

The Tribunals Service will send a copy to the office that made the original decision.

• You can also ask for a statement of reasons.

This gives an explanation of the tribunal's decision, including the facts and the law used.

You must ask for a statement of reasons within one month of the date you are given, or sent, the decision notice.

You must have a copy of the statement of reasons if you appeal to the Social Security Commissioners.

• If you want a record of the appeal hearing, you can get a copy of the record of proceedings up to six months from the date of the hearing
• If your appeal is successful, we will usually put the decision right as soon as we receive our copy of the tribunal's decision
• We may not put it right straightaway if we are not happy with the tribunal's decision and decide to appeal to the Social Security Commissioners.

You can appeal to the Social Security Commissioners. The Commissioners are barristers, solicitors or advocates with at least 10 years' experience and are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Lord Chancellor. They are independent of both us and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Who can appeal to the Commissioners?

Appeals can be made by:

• By anyone who has already appealed to the Tribunals Service
• By us
• By The Department for Work and Pensions.

What can I appeal to the Commissioners about?

You can only appeal to the Commissioners on a point of law. You cannot appeal to the Commissioners about:

• a question of fact; or
• a tribunal's findings or conclusions

How do I appeal to the Commissioners?

• Your decision letter from the Tribunals Service will tell you what to do if you are not happy with the decision and how to appeal to the Commissioners. Read it carefully - it tells you important time limits for your appeal
• You cannot appeal unless you first get the statement of reasons for the tribunal's decision
• You should read the statement of reasons carefully
• If you think the tribunal did not apply the law correctly, you can apply for leave to appeal to the Commissioners. You must do this within one month of the date the statement of reasons was sent to you
• If you appeal to the Commissioners, you must send the statement of reasons with your application
• If you do not, your application may not be looked at
• A legally qualified tribunal member will decide if your appeal can be sent to the Commissioners or whether it should be looked at again by a different tribunal
• You can ask an advice centre, solicitor or another suitable person or organisation to help with your application

What if my application for a statement of reasons or my application for leave to appeal to the Commissioners is late?

If your application for a statement of reasons, or for leave to appeal to the Commissioners, is late, it can only be accepted if there are special circumstances or special reasons that caused the delay.

You will need to show why you were not able to make your request on time.

You can get help from the following places:

• Citizens Advice Bureau
• Age Concern
• Shelter
• Trafford Welfare Rights
• Trafford Law Centre

They can represent you and help you understand the reasons for decisions about Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

They can also help you to fill in forms or to write a letter, and they will sometimes go with you to the tribunal that hears your appeal.

It will help if you show them any letters you have about the decision that you think is wrong. Sometimes, trade unions may also offer free advice to their members.

They may also be able to speak for you at the tribunal that hears your appeal. You can check your local phone book or library for details of all the above organisations above.

Solicitors

You may be able to get advice from a solicitor, but check with them whether you can get any help with your costs or whether you'll have to pay. You cannot get any money for things like solicitors' fees from us or the Tribunals Service. If you do decide to use a solicitor, you may not get any help towards their costs if they represent you at a hearing.

For details of solicitors you should contact the Community Legal Service Directory on 0845 608 1122.

You can ask someone in Great Britain to act for you. They may be able to get help from a solicitor under the Legal Advice and Assistance Scheme, but the scheme does not cover the cost of a solicitor to help you at a hearing.