CCM4440 - Post-award examinations: Action: Claimant does not respond to opening letter
If the claimant does not respond to your opening letter by the date specified, you should:
- check to see if the information has been received in your office, but not yet passed to you
- consider whether there may be any exceptional circumstances preventing the claimant from replying, for example a postal dispute.
Where appropriate you should contact the claimant(s) by phone to
remind them of the need to deal with your query. If you think there
is a problem you can allow a further week or exceptionally more
than this with your manager’s agreement.
If the opening letter has been returned RLS or you know the
address is false – see
CCM5287.
In all other cases if you are satisfied the claimant(s) has
been given every opportunity to supply the information you will
have 3 options:-
- take no further action
- amend the award
- make a formal request for the information
and then if appropriate see (b) below.
Section 16 only allows you to amend an award where you have
reasonable grounds for believing the award is incorrect. A failure
to reply to your opening letter is not, in itself,
‘reasonable grounds’. You must consider the risk and
the evidence held. Where the risk is an Undisclosed Partner –
see
CCM15370. In other risks your options
are then:-
- Take no further action – where the evidence held is not
enough to support revising the award and you do not consider it
appropriate to issue a formal request for the information you will
close your examination as shown in
CCM4425.
- Amend the award – where the evidence is strong enough to
support revising the award – see
CCM4430.
- Formal request for information – where there is not enough evidence to support the revising award but you and your manager do not believe this should lead to no further action you will need to make a formal request for the information. Where you need to follow this route – see CCM5090.
