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Resolving complaints about solicitors

Common Questions - Complaining about a solicitor

 

What do I have to do to complain about a solicitor?

The first thing to consider is if your complaint is about a solicitor who practises in England or Wales, or a registered European lawyer, or registered foreign lawyer.

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What if I want complain about a solicitor who doesn’t practice in England and Wales?

We cannot investigate your complaint if it is to do with a solicitor who practises outside of England and Wales. You may need to contact one of the following organisations:

Isle of Man Law Society
27 Hope Street
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM1 1AR
Phone: 01624 662910

Jersey Law Society
PO Box 493
St Helier
Jersey
JE4 5SZ
Phone: 01534 613920

Law Society of Northern Ireland
Law Society House
98 Victoria Street
Belfast
BT1 3JZ
Phone: 02890 231614

Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
The Stamp Office
10-14 Waterloo Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3EG
Phone: 0131 528 5111

Law Society of Ireland
Blackhall Place
Dublin 7
Ireland
Phone: 00353 1672 4800

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What if I want to complain about a solicitor who worked for someone else?

If the solicitor you want to complain about has not worked for you, then you should contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Their contact centre can help with most queries:
0870 606 2555 (inside the UK), 09.00 to 17.00, Monday to Friday

Main postal address:
Solicitors Regulation Authority, Ipsley Court, Berrington Close, Redditch, B98 0TD or DX 19114 Redditch

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If I want to complain about my own solicitor – what should I do first?

First of all you must tell them about your complaint.

  • Complain as soon as possible after the event and make it clear it’s a complaint.
  • It’s usually better to put your complaint in writing.
  • Cover all the relevant points, but be as brief as you can.
  • Use numbered paragraphs and headings to highlight the important issues; it is much easier to remember all the details if you do.

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How long does the firm have to reply?

The LCS suggest that you give the firm 28 days to reply although the firm might ask you to give them more time. You should give them a reasonable amount of time to do so.

The Legal Ombudsman allows the firm 8 weeks to handle your complaint.

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What if the firm does not respond or I am not happy with their reply?

Before 6 October 2010 – you can refer your complaint to LCS or you can decide to wait until after 6 October and ask the Legal Ombudsman to look at your complaint, but you should bear in mind their timescales will apply.

After 6 October – you can refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

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Is the LCS closing?

Yes, we are. We will not accept new complaints after 5 October 2010. We will stay open though to finish investigating any complaints that we started to investigate before 6 October 2010.

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How are your powers different to the Legal Ombudsman?

The Legal Complaints Service only handles complaints about solicitors in England and Wales, whereas the Legal Ombudsman handles complaints about all lawyers in England and Wales.

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What are the timescales in which I should complain within?

We require you to have been through the solicitors’ own complaints process and then tell us about your complaint within 6 months of the end of your retainer or within 6 months of you finding out that there was a problem. You can use the latest date when contacting us, but if you go past these limits we may refuse to look at your complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman requires you to have been through the solicitors’ complaints process and then tell them about your complaint within 12 months of you finding out that there was a problem. If you wait any longer than this the Legal Ombudsman may refuse to look at your complaint.

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How long will LCS continue to operate after the Legal Ombudsman opens?

At the moment we expect to continue to investigate any complaints that we started to look at before 6 October 2010 until they are resolved. We hope to resolve all of those complaints by 31 March 2011.

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What happens if my complaint is not concluded by 31 March 2011?

Any complaints that we haven’t finished will be transferred to the Legal Services Ombudsman, who will finish investigating your complaint by the end of 2011.

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Will I lose the right to refer my complaint to the Legal Ombudsman if I wait too long?

Yes you might. If it is more that 12 months since you first knew about the problem it may be too late to complain. The Legal Ombudsman’s web site will help you understand this further.

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What if my complaint is about another type of legal service provider?

We only investigate complaints about the service provided by a solicitor or solicitors’ practice in England and Wales. Until 6 October 2010 if you have a complaint about another type of legal provider they are likely to be regulated by someone else.

For example, barristers:

Bar Council
289-293 High Holborn London WC1V 7HZ
DX: 240 LDE
Tel: 020 7242 0082
Fax: 020 7831 9217

A more complete list of organisations that might be able to help you is provided on our other organisations that can help page.

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What are the types of complaint the LCS look at?

We will look at a complaint from any client of a solicitor, but there are some exceptions. These are listed in our complaints acceptance policy.

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What can you do to help if the complaint is from a company?

If a company has suffered inconvenience as a result of poor service we can reduce the solicitor’s bill or award compensation for financial effects. We can also tell the solicitors to take specific action to put something right.

We cannot award compensation for distress to a company as that type of compensation can only be awarded to individuals.

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I am a beneficiary under a will. Can you help me?

In all probate cases, the solicitor's client is the executor or administrator. We will do our best to help with these types of complaints even if the handling of the estate is not finished. If you're not a solicitor's client, for example, a beneficiary of an estate, what we can do to help you is limited.

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How long does it take to investigate a complaint?

We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible, wherever possible informally and by agreement. The vast majority of complaints are resolved within 3 months. We also have a target to investigate all complaints within 12 months.

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What if the solicitor’s firm closes?

We aim to resolve complaints about closed firms by investigating and then making a formal decision about whether the service has been reasonable. We are not able to guarantee that any awards we make will be paid and our customers may need to claim from the solicitors’ insurers.

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How will the new Legal Ombudsman be different?

The Legal Ombudsman has different rules about who can complain. These are set out in their Scheme Rules, which are available as a PDF on their website and include dealing with complaints from:

  • a micro enterprise (e.g. a business of five or less employees);
  • a charity, club, association or society with an annual income less than £1 million;
  • a trustee of a trust with a net asset value of less than £1 million; and
  • the personal representative or residuary beneficiary where a person with a complaint died before referring it to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman, too, intends to adopt an informal approach and they hope to sort out the majority of complaints quickly. You will need to speak to the Legal Ombudsman about how they can help you if an award is not paid. Contact their helpline on 0300 500 0333.

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Can I start my complaint with LCS then transfer it to the Legal Ombudsman?

No. The Legal Ombudsman is a break with the old system.

But if we decide that we cannot deal with your complaint at the current time (for example, because other action needs to be finished, or because evidence is not available) and we close your file on this basis, you may be able to refer your complaint to the new Legal Ombudsman later.

However, if we are not able to complete our investigation of your complaint before we close on 31 March 2011, we will refer your case to the Legal Services Ombudsman to finish if you agree.

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Can I withdraw my complaint from LCS and start a new one with the Legal Ombudsman?

Unless there are good reasons for stopping your complaint, it is highly unlikely that the Legal Ombudsman will accept a complaint that has already been referred to us.

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If my complaint has already been dealt with by LCS can I ask the Legal Ombudsman to look at it too?

No. The Legal Ombudsman will not deal with any complaint that we have investigated.

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What if I want LCS to reopen a complaint they’ve closed before 6 October 2010 for another reason?

Sometimes it is appropriate for us to reopen a complaint where, for example, you provide new information or additional evidence which makes it necessary to do so. We will consider reopening a complaint after 6 October (and until 31 March 2011) but please read the information above if your complaint was closed without us deciding the outcome of the complaint, as you will need to go to the new Legal Ombudsman instead.

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What happens if the solicitor doesn’t comply with the agreement that the LCS helped us reach?

If your complaint was resolved by conciliation (agreement) it is very unusual for a solicitor not to comply with an agreement they have reached with our involvement. It does sometimes happen if the firm close down between resolution and complying with the agreement. If this does happen before 31 March 2011 you should contact us. We will reopen your file and start a new investigation.

After 31 March 2011 we will not be able to take any further action and you will need to contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority to see if there is anything they can do to help you. Their helpline number is 0870 606 2555.

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Is there a charge for using the LCS or Legal Ombudsman?

Using LCS and the Legal Ombudsman is free of charge to consumers.

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So who should I complain to - LCS or the Legal Ombudsman?

We can receive complaints until 6 October 2010. If we receive complaints after this date, they will be forwarded to the Legal Ombudsman. There is a lot more information on the LCS and the Legal Ombudsman websites that might help you.

All service complaints must first be made to the solicitor. You need to give the solicitor enough time to reply before you refer it to us or the Legal Ombudsman. We have set out above how long we and the Legal Ombudsman give firms to reply to your complaint.

Any new complaint made after 5 October 2010 must be made to the Legal Ombudsman.

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