CCM4720 - Examinations: Pre-award penalty cases: Penalty following appeal

Once you have settled your appeal against the revised decision you will need to consider any penalty.

If you have now accepted the entire original claim, there will not be a penalty.

If the claimant has provided some new information and you have accepted part of the claim you must decide if a penalty is due based on the adjusted details – see CCM4310.

• If a penalty is no longer appropriate – close the case on TCW – see CCOM21215.
• If a penalty may still be appropriate – see below.

If a penalty may still be appropriate you will need to consider the type of discrepancy and the claimant’s behaviour which led to the incorrect claim – see CCM10710. In deciding the category of the penalty you will need to take into account any explanation the claimant has given regarding the error. If you do not have enough information to decide on the category or cannot be certain there is at least neglect, you will need to contact the claimant to discuss why they made the error in their claim.

If you decide there is no fraud or neglect there will be no penalty. Close the case on TCW – see CCOM20475.

If you decide to charge a penalty you must write to the claimant(s) to explain your settlement proposals. See CCM4670.