I was called to an interview at the police station in New Milton so I made arrangements to have a solicitor meet me there. The case had the potential to become quite serious however the solicitor wasn't interested in talking outside the station and away from the police, which would have been watching and listening. Whether that evidence would be admissible is besides the point, I want someone that actually cares about my safety. I then proceeded to tell him about what had happened and explained how I could easily avoid some of the charges. When I asked him about the legality of these things he looked at me like I was talking another language. I literally had to explain the laws to him. Even then he wasn't convinced I would get away with it and wouldn't even entertain the idea that I was right.
As it turned out, I was exactly right, the main charges were dropped and I went to court on very minor issues. Since the solicitor was so convinced I would end up in crown court and ultimately prison, the guy they sent to Southampton magistrates had no idea what was going on and only thought he was turning up for technical reasons as the case would then be heard in crown court. I had to explain to him this wasn't the case and he would be defending me as it stood in magistrates court. He then had to go over all the details of the case there and then, delaying the court by almost an hour and having to apply for legal aid on a laptop that didn't work.
The whole experience was shambolic to say the least. The initial guy (Brian McMonnies) had no idea what he was doing and then the guy at court (R Tan) had no idea why he was there. They seem to believe anyone that gets in to trouble with the police must be moronic and incapable of complex thought. To have to explain the law to a solicitor is ridiculous.
I could go on at great length about all the issues I had with this company but I will leave it there.
Avoid if you care about your rights and freedoms being protected.
