Life Over now, scared and feel sick!

Wol2

Hi Jim

I strongly advise you to ensure you are represented when you go to court.......you
need to approach a solicitor who is registered with the Criminal Defence Service. You committed the offence while your judgement was impaired....and your state of health at the moment is such that you should not be expected to defend yourself.

Who has told you you are not eligible for legal aid - criminal cases are different to civil cases.......
Are you going to Magistrates Court or Crown Court as this also affects your entitlement to legal aid

Taken from the Legal Services Commission/Legal aid web site -

Testing eligibility for criminal legal aid

In magistrates’ courts, legal aid can be granted to defendants who could be imprisoned.
Defendants need to pass a financial means test. Some people automatically pass this test:

• those who are under the age of 16
• people aged 16 or 17 with no income and living with their parent or guardian
• people under 18 and in full-time education
• those on unemployment benefits.

There is no financial means test for cases heard in the Crown and higher courts. Legal aid can be granted to all defendants. The court can issue an order to recover legal aid costs if they believe a defendant could have paid for their own defence.
Read more on the Criminal legal aid eligibility pages.


There are also a couple of pdf brochures on the website reagrding the Criminal Defence Sevice that are useful reading

http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/public/help/information_leaflets.asp


I have just rung the community legal aid helpline and they have given me a telephone number you can ring to access the Criminal defence System, explain your situation and determine if you are eligible for legal aid in this particular situation..hopefully they will also advise you of your rights and course of action.....I will PM you with the number and I really hope they can help you

Good luck
Wol2
xxx

loupee

Hi,
I dont know much about the legal stuff so I wont try, but just wanted to give you my emotional support.
Its all too easy for this to feel like the end of your life as you know it, but it won't be, and you know yourself you will come out of this wiser and stronger. I don't like talking about my feelings, but at my lowest points I've found it helpful to email the samaritans, [EMAIL="jo@samaritans.org"]jo@samaritans.org[/EMAIL] and if you feel you cant talk to anyone they are a great place to start.

Good luck, and I hope i didnt sound too patronising!

FlyingDonkeys

Hi,

Good luck, take it day by day do the footwork, like calls etc and let go of the rest. I know its easier said than done, but do the little things to look after yourself. Maybe someone like MIND can help you. They are quite strong on helping people who have had issues like you have described and provide good support. They have an extensive network and lots of know how.

movingforward2010

good luck, and as already said its unlikely you will go to jail for £1300!!

JoolzS

You say that you don't qualify for legal aid - has a solicitor actually told you that? If so, try another solicitor. Try another 50 solicitors - a lot of lawyers have a free half hour interview service. Or try phoning a few of the legal helplines listed in your yellow pages.

Chances are that you may not qualify for legal aid - but that is, in its own way, good news. Legal aid has so little money available now that in criminal cases it is usually only offered when the defendant's liberty is at stake - in other words, if the defendant is likely to go to jail if found guilty.

You sc***ed up, you are willing to make good (when you can) - don't give up on life because of a stupid mistake.

Not quite the same, but my DH got a ban on his driving licence when he reached 21 points (that's not a typo - I didn't mean 12 - he got 21). He was an HGV driver at the time, but was really, really stupid (I will mention that none of those points were for anything overtly dangerous because I don't want the thread to drift). Those points went away over time and he did a few rubbish jobs whilst banned from driving and for a year or so after he got his licence back. Fifteen years or so on, it is ancient history - he's an HGV driver with a very good reputation in the industry.

The world turns, life goes on, and nothing is the same after one, two, or however many years.

Julie

jimbraund

I've tried the legal aid calculator and i don't qualify for it as i cant afford the solicitors fee's i will ring the cab and see what they say. Thanks for all the kind words on here and i just feel so scared that i will be sent to jail for this.

I was charged with 4 counts of fraud and 13 taken into consideration. but the 4 counts are for the one period that i took the money over. I will try to stay strong and i'm going to the docs today for some anti depressants as i feel sick with worry and am starting to panic again.

ladybez

Jim, just wanted to ad my support. Going to the Doc is a good idea, hopefully you will begin to see things clearer soon. Please bear in mind that if s/he does prescribe anti-depressants, they do take a few weeks to start making a difference but they do help. I would think it highly unlikely that you would be sent to jail, otherwise they would be full of MP's who had just "made a mistake". There are very few people around who have never made a mistake, as is said "to err is human". Good luck with everything and please keep posting. Hugs

catspaw

Hi, just wanted to add my support along with everyone else. Don't panic, go see your Dr. let us know how it goes.

ILW

jimbraund wrote: »

I've tried the legal aid calculator and i don't qualify for it as i cant afford the solicitors fee's i will ring the cab and see what they say. Thanks for all the kind words on here and i just feel so scared that i will be sent to jail for this.

I was charged with 4 counts of fraud and 13 taken into consideration. but the 4 counts are for the one period that i took the money over. I will try to stay strong and i'm going to the docs today for some anti depressants as i feel sick with worry and am starting to panic again.

You WILL NOT go to prison over a piddling couple of grand expenses fiddle.

MessyMare

I think the most important thing is to not panic. If your girlfriend leaves you over this then perhaps it's for the best (and I speak from the experience of standing by someone who was in court for MUCH more serious charges than you). Stay calm, don't go in without a solicitor- do you have anyone who can help you out with some money to pay for one? And make sure that solicitor knows EVERYTHING about your situation both then and now- don't hold anything back from them as if they don't know, they can't help.

Good luck, my thoughts are with you xx