DLA WAITING TIMES THREAD 66

[zoeybrooks45]

Please feel free to add your scan date and whether it's a new claim/mandatory reconsideration/change of circumstances or renewal.
New claims (NC) - people are being told the wait time has increased to 25 weeks! I would say most are done before this though around the 20 week mark?
Mandatory reconsideration (MC) and Change of circumstances (COC) is around 20-25 weeks.
Renewals tend to be between 15-20 weeks.
If you disagree with the outcome of an MR you can appeal and go to court (tribunal)
Scan date is the date DLA scan your application forms on to their system, if you downloaded your application forms then this will be from when your award will be backdated from. If you called up for forms then the date on those is the date yours will be backdated from.
If successful and claiming universal credit (UC) please update them as this will entitle you to disabled child element adding extra to your award.

Yeah same here 😂 makes you crazy
Mine coc was in March last year then MR Sept I think then I tribunal 20/12 🤯

@Kittenheaven23 That's alot of waiting 😩
Was your MRC LRM awarded as a result of the MR or has that always been in place and they've not changed it on the COC or MR?

Yeah they asked me for my old address. Said I have to wait up to 25 weeks to hear anything. They called me back after I posted this and said it was just a courtesy call 🙄

I no and yes that's always been in place and theyve not changed it on both coc and MR.

@Kittenheaven23 Ahh okay so at least if you win appeal it will be backdated to march 24 🤞🏼 fingers crossed

Hi, can anyone help?. I posted the DLA form for a new claim for 6 year old DS on 6th March. I haven’t had any notification to say it’s been scanned yet. Is this usually on a letter or text or email? I couldn’t send it recorded delivery, the post office wouldn’t let me because I had used the freepost address so
maybe I should have used a different address :( a bit worried that it’s got lost. Is the scan date usually quite a while after being posted?

Yes hopefully 🤞ive read on here somewhere sometimes dla change there minds before appeal i hope this is the case 🙏do you no of anyone that has contacted dla before a tribunal to ask them could they look at it again or do you think it's best to just leave it as it is and just wait it out x

Hello .
I had a letter about 2 weeks after being sent off. Sometimes it's longer from what iv hurd from others. Maybe give them a call next week.

NC SD 22/11
Having noticed a few November decisions I'm jumping on the list - I did call on Friday and got straight through (very odd) and was told 25 weeks minimum and don't call again until after that 🫣 it was my first call for an update after the original "15 weeks to make a decision" letter so I don't think I was being unreasonable calling for an update at 16 weeks 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Kittenheaven23 I'm not sure what you mean by "do you no of anyone that has contacted dla before a tribunal to ask them could they look at it again"?

If you've done a MR and had your reconsideration decision notice through the post that's the dla final decision they won't look at that again for you.

If you've sent your appeal to HMCTS they would have checked the appeal and asked the DWP to provide a written response to your appeal they have 28 days from receiving the appeal to respond.

Sometimes during this time DLA will overturn their decision and provide a different award usually well within the 28 days they will send you a letter to your address.

If not they will respond direct to HMCTS and HMCTS will send you a copy of their response and details of what happens next including the hearing date and location ect.

Once you've submitted your appeal you can't ask DLA to look at it again but they already look at it again to be able to provide a written response direct to HMCTS if that makes sense, but they are replying to them not you in theory but depending how strong they feel your appeal case is sometimes they change the award and overturn it to prevent having to have a hearing. I hope that makes sense. 💫

Yes thank you i didn't mean as in person do you no of anyone i should have worded as anyone like posted online that you no of i🤪 im sure I've read online in forums that dla have changed there decision so many months into tribunal or something like that x

Sorry - as I’m sure this will have been asked and answered numerous times.

SD December 24. NC.

I have more evidence and have not made any calls/contact to the DWP. If I wish to send this extra evidence - do I just send it to them and ask for it to be included with a cover letter explaining and ask for it to be scanned/included for the DM accessing the application? Or do I need to call DWP and let them know I’m sending this extra evidence to be included with the application? Thank you.

I called them to let them know I was sending extra evidence in and they made a note. Just make sure you right your childs full name and date of birth. And your national insurance number. I also write extra evidence at the top of the page x

@Sunflower1650 i received a letter 4 weeks after scan date to confirm they had received the form

Hey I wouldn’t worry, it took 4 weeks before we got a letter confirming they had received our claim xx

@Sunflower1650 we also just used the freepost address. It took about 2 weeks to be scanned onto the system from posting and then another couple of weeks to receive the confirmation letter x

I'm waiting for an MR decision for DD, SD 30.09. I'm pretty certain they'll decline again, as I didn't have any new evidence, just told them I didn't think they'd read what we'd sent the first time properly in relation to their decline comments.

I did say that if all 11 year olds had her (lack of) sense re road safety, which they claimed, that there'd be swathes of Y7s being run over (she doesn't stop / look before crossing roads), when there isn't! But we shall see.

I don't know if I'll appeal if we're declined again though. I'll have to think about it.

Good luck! We're 4 days behind you, hope you get a decision this week.... its taking so long 😩

@PositivityRipples I wonder if you could answer a question for me please? Asking as I know you are very well informed in all of this.
I've been looking back on what I wrote in application and worried it could be rejected because of technicalities in my wording of some of the answers.
So my daughter is on pathway for adhd, asd and dcd which I have stated but then when writing some of my answers I've put things like "because of her autism" or "due to her developmental disability" and I'm worried they might take this as stating she's been diagnosed which she hasn't yet. Would they use that as a reason to decline, something along the lines of 'mum states child has a disability that she has not yet been diagnosed with and so information provided is inaccurate, misleading or false'.
I have been clear she's on the pathway but I'm just worried they might take sentences like that and use them against my childs claim. Or am I just overthinking?
Thanks in advance

I've decided not to ring, so I'll either get money or the rejection letter!

Good luck to you too. 🍀 🤞

@DrGee I was told the same on Monday (sd 29/10). With all the awards made with early Nov scan dates I called again on Friday to be told it has actually been with a decision maker since last Thursday. I don't think calling once/twice a week is unreasonable after the 15 weeks it says on the letter!

Renewal due 05/06
Scanned 18/02
Longggggg wait ahead

@Kidsanchaos Don't worry you've wrote nothing " wrong" in your eyes the child does have a disability / asd / adhd/ symptoms / needs and extra care due to these things which is why the child is being investigated and assessed as you know the child best and whoever sent the referral through for assessment also suspects the child may be on the spectrum or adhd or other.. The fact you've wrote because of the child's disability or because of the child's autism highlights that these things you're mentioning isn't choice behaviour and it's because the child is struggling because of a undiagnosed disability that the child does infact have it is just taking 67 years to get assessments help support and diagnosis 🙏 you're all good don't question yourself you've wrote everything correct to the best of your knowledge. Good luck with your claim keep us all posted xx

Thanks so much, I'm just sending myself into a spin because I know it's with the decision maker. Thank you again, I'll try and stop worrying and I definitely will keep you posted when I get the decision x

NC sc 10/2/25 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ it wasn’t like this when I claimed for my older DD about 5 years ago, heard nothing unsurprisingly