Emma
Shocked
Someone close to me was represented at the police station. At this time the treatment of this person whilst in custody was disgusting to say the least and after discussion from the representative of HJPV it was agreed a complaint should be made after release. No charges were made at the time but we tried to contact the representative repeatedly after for an update on if charges were to be brought and also for advise in raising the complaint there was never a response from the person we were trying to contact eventually got through to someone else at the office who gave what help he could not being aware of the circumstances. He did promise to get the person we were trying to contact to contact is back – but this never happened. Fast forward charges are brought and we inform the solicitor, there is very little communication at this time to the point we are sat in the court waiting room for at least 30 minutes unsure who, if anyone is coming which did not add anything to reassure us at this obviously stressful time. When the representative did arrive we explained our concern that previous emails and attempts at contact had been ignored , she laughed and by way of explanation stated that the person in question was over 70 , word to the effect of ‘just waiting out his time’ and couldn’t open a laptop, this was said with a tone of amusement. I do not feel my suggestion that ,although this may be amusing to the office staff it has a serious impact and effect on the company’s clients so perhaps if he was not able to fully and competently fulfil his role maybe this should be looked at. We were honoured with a meeting after the first plea hearing, although again with another random person, it later became apparent that he had failed to inform us to gather information which may help the case – we found this out 24 hours before the final court case and only because we contacted them to suggest this!!!! At the sentencing hearing I could not help but feel during an adjournment that the barrister in question had offered very little mitigation or defence , in fact without a doubt more defence had occurred in the hallway to ourselves than was presented in the court room. This feeling was justified when we returned to the court room and the JUDGE had to remind her that she had forgotten to mention the one mitigating factor that could lead to a reduction in any sentence of 25% - so forget defence, the basics ( which can be found on google ) weren’t even fully and comprehensively covered. Would all of this changed events – who knows? but I feel that anyone using the services of a legal professional should at least have the reassurance of their competence and receive a something near to an acceptable customer service in what is always a difficult time . When looking for a solicitor if this is important to you maybe look elsewhere.
