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Yesterday I received a Capital contribution order letters from Marston.
This is after me and my husband (who is in prison right now & until apr 25) were convicted in crown court over six months ago. He was initially arrested in May 2020 and then was on bail until Sept 2023. The trial was at the end of Sept 2023 where he was taken to custody directly from court.
The letter is regarding the legal aid costs. Me and My husband both had separate solicitors who in my opinion hardly did much work. The breakdown of the cost given on the letter is as following
For my case - Total over £81,000 (approx)
Barrister £21k & solicitor £60k
For my husband's case - Total - over £40000 (approx)
Barrister £20k & solicitor £20k
From solicitors, we were always told that the legal aid is free because our income is low. We were never made aware that there would be this huge bill due to us owning the property that we live in. I just had a call with my husband's solicitor and she still was confused why we received this invoice so clearly she had no knowledge about this and hence never explained it to us.
How is it possible that the bill for the solicitor who did more work is less compared to the one hardly did any work for us? Is there anything I can do about this on the basis of them not making us aware of this cost. I might have taken a different approach if I had been made aware that this would end up costing more than a private solicitor.
Is there anything that can be done about? I am so stressed out right now that I am unable to think properly and do the normal work as my mind cannot think anything else other than this.
This is after me and my husband (who is in prison right now & until apr 25) were convicted in crown court over six months ago. He was initially arrested in May 2020 and then was on bail until Sept 2023. The trial was at the end of Sept 2023 where he was taken to custody directly from court.
The letter is regarding the legal aid costs. Me and My husband both had separate solicitors who in my opinion hardly did much work. The breakdown of the cost given on the letter is as following
For my case - Total over £81,000 (approx)
Barrister £21k & solicitor £60k
For my husband's case - Total - over £40000 (approx)
Barrister £20k & solicitor £20k
From solicitors, we were always told that the legal aid is free because our income is low. We were never made aware that there would be this huge bill due to us owning the property that we live in. I just had a call with my husband's solicitor and she still was confused why we received this invoice so clearly she had no knowledge about this and hence never explained it to us.
How is it possible that the bill for the solicitor who did more work is less compared to the one hardly did any work for us? Is there anything I can do about this on the basis of them not making us aware of this cost. I might have taken a different approach if I had been made aware that this would end up costing more than a private solicitor.
Is there anything that can be done about? I am so stressed out right now that I am unable to think properly and do the normal work as my mind cannot think anything else other than this.
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