Post
by LivingFree2025 » Wed Jun 11, 2025 10:50 pm
Application: 25 April 2025
Biometrics: 19 May 2025
Submission of evidence by solicitor: PENDING/UNSUBMITTED
I am working with a solicitor who has been verbally abusive, unethical, unsupportive, and unreliable and who I believe is sabotaging the progress of my application. Their unreliability includes going up to three weeks at a time, not responding to emails, and the unethical behaviour involves being verbally abusive when I have expressed concerns.
They first took me on for reduced fee. Despite my complete financial destitution at the time, I agreed to pay in arrears, because I had no other otpion, and had failed to find legal aid or get thorugh to Women's Aid immigration line or Citizen Advice despite numerous efforts. 3 days before my MVDAC expired, the solicitor unexpectedly told me that they were going to charge me 3 times the agreed fee, and threatened not to submit my application if I did not agree to pay.
Their reason for doing this was that they recommended I go to a refuge that they were associated with; I turned down this refuge because of facial discrimination I had experienced from the manager when I had gone there for help earlier that year. When my solicitor learned that I didn't want to go to this refuge, they said they were no longer willing to offer me a reduced rate if I did not accept to seek refuge with their affiliate organisation, and were going to charge me a full rate for their services. It felt arbitrary and illegal, and when I protested, I was ganged up on during a phone call and accused of not wanting to pay. At a loss, I accepted, as I had only 3 days left before I could apply for my DVILR, otherwise risk being a overstayer.
I have been struggling to get legal aid elsewhere because I no longer feel my current solicitor has my best interests in mind, and I feel completely blindsided by this. It will be almost a month next week since my biometrics were done, and two months since I applied, and they still have not processed the evidence that I provided.
I finally identified and moved into a refuge of my choice in April, but after a series of abuses, neglect and mistreatment by refuge staff, including service charges so high that I was unable to pay for groceries, or pay legal fees, I was forced to move back in with abusive ex two months later, or face certain homelessness (because the refuge staff told me no other refuge would accept me if I left them). I have informed my solicitor today about this for transparency's sake, as I have not reconciled with my ex but have done this out of necessity. However, I am afraid that they will continue to delay my DVILR application. I am especially afraid that my ex will find out what I am doing somehow in the meantime even though I explicitly asked for not police or Home Office involvement in the relationship. My solicitor has not proven to be trustworthy or interested in my wellbeing so far.
I am continuing to search for legal aid so that I can change my legal representation to someone who has my best interests in mind. But I feel terrified. Since I've returned, my ex is love-bombing me, convincing me he's turned over a new leaf, and trying to convince me that he loves me and wants to be my friend, and wants me to stay in the UK, and that basically the abuse is all in mind. And longer this goes on, the more self-doubt, guilt and confusion I feel. I know that this is part of the abuse, and why it was so hard for me to leave and recognise the abuse in the first place.
Has anyone else had to deal with dodgy solicitors? I am struggling to accept that it has taken almost two months for the solicitor to submit my evidence. To be fair, I submitted over 100 pages of evidence from close to a decade of abuse. I understand that a reasonable amount of time is needed to process it, and that my solicitor has other clients and responsibilities. But I started submitting evidence more than a month before the application was made on 25 April 2025, and it feels like they are deliberately dragging it out until I am able to finish making the increased service payments. I also believe that if we were on more open and transparent terms, it may be easier for me to understand. But I feel totally in the dark.
It would be helpful to know if anyone else has submitted large amounts of evidence to their solicitors, and how long it took before their solicitors actually submitted the file to the Home Office. I know the Home Office needs up to 12 weeks themselves once they've received the evidence, so the delay in my solicitors actually getting the evidence to them is really discouraging. I'm so scared of being found out by my partner, or betrayed somehow by my solicitor in a way leaves me at the mercy of the UK government.
I have been really shocked, disturbed and disheartened by the amount of abuse happening in refuges and perpetrated by solicitors themselves, particularly when it comes to handling victims of abuse and migrants. And am really struggling with feelings of hopelessness and depression. It is very painful to have no choice but to work with a solicitor who has broken my trust. I am considering withdrawing the application and leaving the country altogether because the fear and pressure are too much, but I have no home or money to go to outside the UK and am estranged from my family of origin because of family-based domestic abuse. I don't want to give up, but it all feels so precarious right now.
I need mental health support, but I've been on the waiting list for an NHS psychologist since September 2024, and have been forced to manage my mental health on my own.
I am looking for similar experiences that may be helpful and help me realise that I am not alone. Please be respectful. We are all going through different things here. Thank you
