because Abbey threatened repo,i transferred my mortgage i asked for a redemption figure,however when the transfer was done and dusted i recieved a final statement upon reading i found that they had deducted an extra £1750.00 for legal costs.this was for an invoice submitted at the last moment by Halliwell Landau for legal costs back dated for three years this was ontop of costs deducted during the duration of the account.

i threatened court action to the Abbey and they settled out of court but could only pay me £1000 as this represented the profit part of Halliwell landaus bill.

i accepted this and then pursued the remainder from Halliwell landau who refused to re pay me the money.

not being able to afford a solicitor i took them to court for the remainder, in reply to my claim against them they applied for a summary judgement,this i found out was so they could claim costs,as they would not been able to do so if my claim was heard,i waited 3 months and did not get a date for a hearing,they applied for summary judgement and got a hearing date within 1 week of their application.its not what you know,but who you know within the courts system.

they got my claim dismissed and now i have to pay thier court costs £1500, within 3weeks of that they issued a statuary demand and now threatening me with a bankruptcy petion

can anybody help

-- mark lancaster (titfortat1@aol.com), April 24, 2003

Answers

Mark,

I think you need to fight fire with fire here and get good legal help. Although, I'm afraid I'm very sceptical about "British Justice" these days. You may be able to get legal aid (even if you are working, as I understand it, depending on your income). Bear in mind though that LSC funded services for civil cases are only available from solicitors or advice agencies which hold a contract with the Legal Services Commission. Perhaps you could obtain 'full representation' and a barrister. Take a look at the Legal Services Commission site "www.legalservices.gov.uk" and particularly the section entitled "A Practical Guide to Community Legal Service funding by the Legal Services Commission April 2003" The following is taken from the guide mentioned previously, it will give you an idea:

2.4 Do I qualify financially?

You must be able to show that your capital AND your income are within the current financial limits. If you are married or living with someone as a couple, your partner's capital and income will be included unless:

You live apart because your relationship is over There is a conflict of interest between you in the matter for which you are seeking help (for instance if you want advice about a divorce).

2.5 Capital: do I qualify?

Work out your disposable capital (see Section 7 of this guide). If this exceeds £3,000 you will not be eligible.

2.6 Income: do I qualify?

If you are receiving income support or income based jobseeker's allowance you will be eligible on income but your capital will still need to be assessed.

If you are not receiving one of these benefits your solicitor will take the actual gross income in the past month of yourself and your partner (see Section 7). If this exceeds £2,288 you will not be eligible. A higher limit applies if you have more than 4 dependant children in your family for whom you receive child benefit (see table in Section 7). If your gross income is £2,288 or less your solicitor will then calculate your disposable income (see Section 7). If your monthly disposable income exceeds £621 per month you will not be eligible.

Hope this is of some use. Good Luck.

Mark.

-- M Amos (idgroms@hotmail.com), April 25, 2003.