The Legal Aid Agency (the Agency) failed to deal properly with enquiries, and Mr S was kept waiting for legal aid.
What happened
Mr S's solicitor applied for legal aid on Mr S's behalf. However, the Legal Aid Agency refused the application, apparently because Mr S's solicitor had not provided all the necessary information.
The solicitor made several enquiries to the Legal Aid Agency to find out what information was needed but it did not respond. Eventually Mr S complained to the Legal Aid Agency and then to us about what had happened.
What we found
The Legal Aid Agency had never actually received Mr S's application (although, at around the same time, it had received and processed another application he had made). But because the Legal Aid Agency did not respond to his solicitor's enquiries, Mr S remained unaware of this until we investigated the matter.
Although Mr S still had the opportunity to submit the application, he could have done this so much earlier if the Legal Aid Agency had responded properly to his solicitor's enquiries.
Putting it right
The Agency apologised to Mr S and paid him £250 in recognition of the frustration and inconvenience it had caused him.
Legal Aid Agency
UK
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