I expect that you already know this but anyone having a specific broadband issue (speed, cutoffs, MAC etc), might like to visit the forums here (registration required), where other folk with similar problems are usually only too happy to help - Broadband Forums :: think broadband

First posting here to you good people and a complex one! I hope someone can help as I am getting very stressed about this now. I can't get any Legal Aid of any sort as I own my own house and absolutely nobody will give me any advice (the CAB are totally useless), and the Court is falling over itself to be unhelpful claiming that even telling me which forms I should use constitutes 'free legal advice'. I'm up against the same old walls of officialdom and using unlimited taxpayers money to beat the poor who can't find back. However, if I successfully challenge this it could mean a change in the way our Councils can walk all over us and get away with it so please bear that in mind before you start throwing brickbats as this could help many people not just me. My Council recently issued a Liability Order (for Council Tax), against me for well over £2000 which was due to be heard a few weeks ago despite knowing I have no savings or income and am disabled and that they owe me a lot of money (long long story). Because of their prolonged dirty-dealings, which I can't go into, I have had to wait until they took this step before I could take any action myself. In turn I issued a Claim against them for Human Rights abuse on a CPR part 8 and at the same time an Injunction along with it to have the Liability Order halted until the Human Rights issue was dealt with, as the question of whether they correctly assessed (fiddled), my liabily for CT is a part of that Human Rights claim as is the Liability Order itself among other things. Having all my worldly goods seized by bailiffs is hardly conducive to fighting a major Court case. The Injunction was thrown out because the Judge felt it would be imprudent to interfere with a lower Court (!), and because, as he said, I had 'the right' to defend the Liability Order. I pointed to the section that said I had NO right to defend it unless I had one of the 'listed' defences, but was overruled. I later attended the Liabilty Order proceedings and convinced the magistrate to give me a few weeks to get things properly sorted out, that time is fast running out. I am now considering an appeal against the refusal of the Injunction as I believe the Judge was wrong in his conclusion. He also refuses to release a transcript of the Injunction hearing unless I appeal it, the reason I wanted a transcript was that I was not happy about the very chummy way he dealt with the barrister from the Council (I now have to pay his costs too), and pre-judging the Human Rights aspect between them (which I had to outline), while constantly telling me that he couldn't give me any advice or guidance. I have even been told that the Human Rights part of my action died along with the Injunction but the Court will not even verify or deny this. Form your own opinions as to why. My question is this: I need to know if the Judge was correct in telling me I CAN defend the Liabilty Order (other than for the reasons on the list), because I maintain that there is NO defence as this is purely a rubber-stamping exercise en masse. If I CAN defend it, does anyone know where it's specifically written down that I can. Thanks for any replies and for the help that you are all giving to people in need in this forum.