“Best Christmas gift we could get” :

603 Legal Aid helps seniors recover $27,000 from scammers

603 Legal Aid’s limited resources mean that even if someone is eligible for legal aid, we can’t always provide them our full scope of services. Often, people come to us because they don’t know where else to turn.  When this occurs, our staff find creative ways to promote equal access to justice so the playing field is level.

Karen and Wayne are two such individuals—seniors, who thought they were buying a time-share in a warmer state, only to learn that the scheme was a scam and they were out $27,000. Devastated, they came straight to the 603 Legal Aid office seeking legal help.

Although this legal matter is beyond the scope of 603 Legal Aid’s work, 603 LA’s Client Intake and Engagement Specialist Shayder Gately provided Karen and Wayne a customized referral and resource list they could use to navigate toward appropriate legal advice.

A week later, the couple returned to 603LA with excellent news: They had called the NH Bar Association Lawline and received legal advice on how to void the bank transaction and they successfully recovered their funds!

“This is the perfect example of how we can be impactful in creative ways,” says Gately. “Our mission is about empowering the public and providing information they can use to turn an unjust situation around.”

Karen and Wayne relayed their appreciation with freshly baked cookies. “They appreciated how respectful we were and told me ‘this is the best Christmas gift we could get!’.”