Vee2
I think that you may have missed one of the edicts of BALPA in that THEY decide whether you get legal assistance regardless of the length of membership or if you were a member at the time.
It may well be that had you been a member when your initial problems arose they would have declined to help. That is something we will never know! If in THEIR opinion you haven't got a cat in hell's chance of winning.....
In the meantime, hang in there and don't lose faith, difficult but it's worth it in the long run.
MP
