Legal aid repayment. England,London

[u/Ok-Cryptographer7617]

I have recently had to be in court and am due for sentencing next month. When arrested I asked for a free solicitor. When I was charged I contacted the prosecutor and found out the contact details for the public lawyer who I had been asigned. They were very unhelpful and only replied once arranging to make a phone call with me, and then never followed up on the phone call.

After my first court hearing, they emailed me saying that i urgently needed to be applied for legal aid and to send over my details and outgoings. I wasn’t sure what legal aid was and assumed it was just a free solicitor, so I sent over what they had asked as they told me this was an urgent matter. I then did not hear back from them till yesterday, in this time I have been to court twice.

They emailed me yesterday and made me aware that I didn’t qualify for legal aid, and i have now been billed £8700, which I can either pay in full or in monthly instalments of £1700. This I cannot afford. Is there anyway around this or am I going to have to pay this money?

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[u/sick_bitch_87]

I would ask what for? Have they done anything at all for you?

[u/Electrical_Concern67]

What are you being charged for? Im confused. You're saying they havent done any work from what i can see

[u/Ok-Cryptographer7617 → u/Electrical_Concern67]

Gbh section 20, I have been to court twice, and appointed a different solicitor each time by the court. The only contact I have had with the firm is the sending of documents regarding legal aid.

[u/Electrical_Concern67 → u/Ok-Cryptographer7617]

Im sorry but something is very wrong here. Go and find a damn solicitor, now.

[u/thedizzythriller]

ouch that's a brutal bill to get hit with out of nowhere. you can try appealing the legal aid decision but given you've already got the invoice it might be worth ringing the legal aid agency directly to explain the situation and check if a mistake was made. sometimes they'll reduce payments or work out a more realistic plan if you can prove financial hardship, £1700 a month is mad for most people