What Do I Do If I Think The Decision Is Wrong?

If you think the decision about your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit is wrong you can ask us to explain it to you. You may also request a statement of reasons, which is a letter explaining the breakdown of how we calculated your benefit. If you think the decision is wrong, you can ask us to look at it again – we will check to make sure that the decision is correct. If you still disagree with our decision you can appeal to an Independent Tribunal who can change the decision if they agree that it is wrong. You must contact us within 1 month of the date on the decision letter if you want to appeal.

How do I get more information about the decision?

If you want more information about your Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit you must contact us as soon as you receive your decision letter. We may then send you a statement of reasons to explain the decision. Although you can do this up to 1 month after the date of the decision letter, if you then want us to look at the decision again, the quicker you ask us for a statement of reasons, the longer you have to decide whether you think that we have got it wrong.

Do you want us to look at the decision again?

If you disagree with the decision about your benefit you can ask us to look at the decision again. You must do this within one month of the date of the decision letter.

• We will check to see if the decision is correct.
• A different member of staff will review the decision and if the decision is wrong, we will change it.

If you have asked for a statement of reasons, we will extend the 1 month you have to ask us to look at your decision again or appeal against the decision, by the amount of time we take to send you a statement of reasons.

If there are special circumstances, which mean you cannot contact us within 1 month of the date on the decision letter, we may still be able to review the decision. You must tell us what the special circumstances are when you contact us.

If we agree that you had special circumstances, which meant you could not contact us within 1 month and we agree that the decision is wrong, we will change the decision from the date of the original decision. (We may still be able to change the decision if you ask us to look at the decision again after 1 month but the change will only apply from the date you contact us)

If the decision cannot be changed, we will send you a letter to explain this and confirm the original decision. The letter will tell you if you can appeal against the decision to an Independent Tribunal. If you can appeal against the decision, you must do so within 1 month of the date of the letter confirming the original decision.