Lydia’s story

Lydia came to her appointment requesting support in relation to her finances. She had received a letter from a bailiff stating that she needed to pay £5,000 to the Legal Aid Agency as she did not submit proof of her income. Hibiscus’ Project Worker called the bailiff and explained the situation and she managed to get an extension to submit the documents requested. Lydia was able to gather some evidence but not everything that was requested: she needed to submit a bank statement but her account had been closed a long time ago so she could not provide it. During our appointments we called the bank several times but because she did not have an account the customer service could not help her. Hibiscus’ Project Workers were eventually able to contact the branch and advocated on Lydia’s behalf; the bank eventually issued a statement, which was forwarded to the Legal Aid Agency. As a result Lydia’s debt was written off.