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1
Legal Ombudsman Complaint Handlers Guide
Contents
1. Summary 2
2. Jurisdiction 2
3. First Tier Complaints Handling 4
4. Investigating complaints 6
5. Additional information 10
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Legal Ombudsman Complaint Handlers Guide
1. Summary
The aim of this guide is to give legal service providers and complaint handling
staff a clear understanding of how we work. The guide includes information
about key elements of our process. We will add further guidance information
from time to time. If there are any topics that you would like to receive further
information on please let us know.
We hope that you will find this a useful guide to the Legal Ombudsman.
Anyone using this information should keep in mind that our powers are drawn
from the Legal Services Act 2007, and are set out in further detail in our
Scheme Rules. We have referred back to these documents where possible.
They can be found in full at:
Scheme Rules
Legal Services Act 2007, Chapter 6
2. Jurisdiction
The Legal Ombudsman’s jurisdiction is set out in the Legal Services Act (LSA) and in further
detail in our Scheme Rules. Here we aim to give you an overview of the key areas of our
jurisdiction.
a. Who can complain?
Over 90% of the complaints received by the Legal Ombudsman are from members of the
public. In addition we accept complaints from:
- Beneficiaries and personal representatives of an estate;
- Prospective clients;
- Small businesses with a staff of less than 10 and an annual turnover or assets of less
than €2 million;
- A charity, club or association with an annual income of less than £1million;
- A trustee of a trust that had an asset value of less than £1million.
Many providers do not realise that we can accept complaints from beneficiaries and
personal representatives. This power is set out in s.128(4)(c) of the Act. We expect legal
service providers to respond to complaints from beneficiaries and personal representatives.
For further information:
Scheme Rules 2.1
Legal Services Act s.128
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b. Who do we accept complaints about?
The Legal Ombudsman can accept complaints about all authorised persons covered by the
following regulators:
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
Bar Standards Board (BSB)
Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC)
CILEx Regulation
Costs Lawyers Standards Board (CLSB)
Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg)
Faculty Office
Claims Management Regulator (CMR)
Institute for Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW)1
Our jurisdiction is generally based on the entities2 or firms themselves. However, an
authorised person based in an organisation such as a law centre or consumer advice
organisation also falls within our remit.
The Legal Ombudsman will accept complaints about legal service providers that have
closed or where a successor firm has taken over from a previous service provider. Please
bear in mind that the Legal Ombudsman’s definition of a successor practice differs from the
SRA’s.
c. What can consumers complain about?
The Legal Ombudsman can investigate complaints about the service customers have
received from their legal service provider. For example, we can look at whether:
- customers received clear information about how much the work would cost;
- there was a clear understanding about the work that was taking place;
- there were unreasonable and unexplained delays;
- the customer was provided with sufficient updates along the way, particularly if there
has been a change in the circumstances.
1 The Legal Ombudsman has jurisdiction over ICAEW members who have been authorised to carry out probate activities. 2 An entity also includes barristers who are considered an entity as they are self-employed.
For further information:
Scheme Rules 1.7 & Legal Services Act s.18(1) - authorised
persons
Scheme Rules 2.9 and 2.10 and Legal Services Act s.132 -
successor practice
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While the Act allows us to investigate any activities undertaken by an authorised person, we
only look at complaints which relate to a legal service. This is usually quite straight forward.
However, in the case of alternative business structures (ABS) and multi-disciplinary
providers (MDP), accountants, and insolvency practitioners3 this may not always be as
straight forward. For further details on this please refer to the MDP policy.
d. Can consumers complain about negligence?
We are a lay organisation and therefore do not look at questions of law. However, we will
accept complaints which raise concerns about potential negligence. Rather than making a
legal decision on whether there has been negligence we will consider whether the service
has been reasonable. Often these cases highlight issues regarding professional advice and
judgement. Our test is to consider whether the advice was so unreasonable that no other
reasonable lawyer would have provided it.
e. Further areas for guidance
We have mentioned in this chapter, but not provided detail on the following topics:
- successor firms;
- beneficiaries;
- negligence.
Watch out for further guidance in these areas. In the meantime if you have questions on
these areas please contact [email protected].
3. First Tier Complaints
Handling
a. Signposting requirements
All authorised persons are required to have and follow a complaints handling process. This
is set out in the Legal Services Act, by the LSB, and in your regulatory code of conduct. The
key signposting requirements are that service providers must notify clients:
a. at the time of engagement,
of their right to make a first-tier complaint
how they can make a first-tier complaint and the details of who that complaint
needs to be made to
of any rights to make a second-tier complaint to the Legal Ombudsman if they
are not satisfied with the response from the authorised person
the point at which a second-tier complaint can be made to the Legal
Ombudsman, and
full details of how to contact the Legal Ombudsman.
3 ABS – Alternative Business Structures, MDP – multi-disciplinary practice, accountants – ICAEW accountants licensed to undertake probate activities, insolvency practitioners – those who are dual regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority as well as an insolvency practitioner regulator.
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b. that if after eight weeks following the making of a first-tier complaint, it has not
been resolved to the client’s satisfaction, the final complaint response must say,
that the client may have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman
the time limit for doing so, and
the full details of how to contact the Legal Ombudsman
If you do not provide this information in your final response, or do not send a final response,
then you will be charged a case fee.
c. How long do I have to respond to a complaint?
All customers are required to complain to their legal service provider before taking a
complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. Our scheme rules state that legal service providers
have eight weeks to review complaints at the first tier. We can begin an investigation after
this eight week period has finished, or once you have sent a final complaint response (if this
is within the eight weeks).
In exceptional cases the Legal Ombudsman can consider the complaint earlier; for example,
if the relationship has broken down or if we consider that there is potentially a serious
situation developing where it is in the public interest to investigate.
d. EU Alternative Dispute Resolution
You may also be aware of a recent EU Directive and UK regulations on Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) which came into effect on 1 October 2015. Further details on your
obligations to signpost to an ADR entity are available through your professional
association4. If you decide to use an ADR body the Legal Ombudsman can still consider
complaints that have previously been considered by an ADR entity.
e. Best practice in complaints handling
The Legal Ombudsman publishes a range of information, which you can use to inform your
complaints handling. Links are included below.
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4. Investigating complaints
a. Time limits for accepting complaints
The Legal Ombudsman’s timescales for accepting complaints are set out in detail in our
scheme rules. They are:
For further information:
Scheme Rules Chapter 3, 4.1, 4.2
Legal Services Act s.112 - complaints procedures of authorised
persons
Resources
Guide to Good Complaint Handling
Signposting pack – including suggested wording
CPD courses
LSB Policy
Complaints data
For further information:
Scheme Rules Chapter 4 – time limits
a. The customer must refer the
complaint to the Legal
Ombudsman no later than six
years from the act / omission.
b. If the complaint happened more
than six years ago, then the
customer must have found out
about the problem in the last three
years.
c. The customer must refer the
complaint within 6 months of
receiving a final response from the
legal service provider (as long as
the consumer is told about this time
limit in the final response letter).
or
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b. Assessing complaints
Complaints are initially dealt with in our assessment centre (AC). They do the following:
Assess whether complaints are in jurisdiction. Checking timescales, who is
being complained about, and whether the customer has received the service
themselves.
Advise on premature complaints. We receive a high level of calls from
customers who have not yet complained directly to their service provider. If
this happens, our assessors will refer them back to you, and, if the customer
wants, they will let you know that we have received a possible complaint. They
will remind customers that their service provider has eight weeks to deal with
complaints.
o At this stage the AC may, if requested by the customer, send you a letter
to let you know a customer has contacted us. This letter is to make you
aware that you are likely to receive a complaint, that we have not accepted
the complaint for investigation, and that you do not need to contact us.
Accept complaints for investigation. If a customer has received a final
complaint response, or the eight week complaint period has passed, the AC
will accept a complaint for investigation.
o Once a complaint has been accepted for investigation you will receive a
letter to confirm it. If the customer has not provided it, the AC will contact
you to obtain a copy of the complaint and your final response. If you do not
provide this information it could lead to a misconduct referral to your
regulator.
o A complaint will be put into the queue and allocated to the investigator in
due course.
Respond to early challenges to jurisdiction. (see page 12)
c. Investigating complaints
The role of the investigator is to listen to both sides, look at the facts of the case, review
the evidence, decide whether the service has been reasonable, and then to try and help
the parties agree a resolution.
Evidence review:
Once a complaint has been accepted for investigation an investigator will
usually contact both the customer and firm within five working days to
introduce themselves.
They will undertake an initial review of the complaint to assess the key
questions which need answering, and gain an understanding of the complaint
and views of both parties. They will confirm the complaints they are
investigating and ask for relevant evidence. The nature of the complaint
determines what evidence the investigator will need to see. We rarely need to
see the whole case file, and the investigator will ask for specific documents.
Sending unrequested documents will only slow an investigation down, and an
investigator may request you to re-send the specific items.
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Legal Ombudsman Complaint Handlers Guide
We usually ask for evidence to be submitted within 10 working days. If you
have trouble meeting this deadline please contact your investigator who can
consider an extension.
When we receive information your investigator should acknowledge this and
provide you with an estimate of how long it will take to review the information.
This will vary depending on the amount of information provided.
Once an investigator has reviewed the evidence, assuming they have seen all
the key documents, they will set out their views on a complaint and whether
the service was reasonable. Once both parties have heard the initial views
they may wish to submit additional evidence, if so this will be taken into
consideration.
What happens if evidence is not provided?
Request, remind, proceed. We will make a request for evidence to both
parties. If this is not provided within the specified time we will remind the
relevant party of the request for evidence and provide a further extension. If
we do not receive the evidence within this time we will proceed with our
investigation and make our decision based on the evidence which is available
to us (scheme rule 5.32(a)). We may, in certain circumstances, draw adverse
inferences from the failure to provide the requested evidence (rule 5.32(b)).
If we do not receive evidence from the lawyer within the requested timescale
we will make a report of potential misconduct to the relevant approved
regulator for failure to cooperate with our investigation, as per LSA s.145. Any
evidence submitted after this may be taken into consideration but we will use
our discretion to decide whether it is appropriate.
d. Resolving complaints
Informal resolution
Throughout the investigation our investigators will review whether it is possible
to informally resolve the complaint. Informal resolution means that the
investigator is able to either assure the complainant that there has been no
poor service, or, negotiate a remedy which is acceptable to both parties. This
will be confirmed in writing. An informal resolution is an agreement that both
parties have agreed to accept. It is not legally binding, so complainants can re-
open a complaint if the informal agreement is not maintained, and the process
continues.
Preliminary decision
If informal resolution is not possible the investigator will prepare their
preliminary decision on the investigation. This details the complaints, the
evidence we have reviewed, and our conclusions based on the evidence.
The preliminary decision is sent to both parties for comment with 10 working
days to provide their views.
If both parties agree with the preliminary decision the complaint is resolved by
informal resolution at this stage.
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If either party disagrees it will proceed to an ombudsman decision. If the
complainant rejects the complaint we will ensure that the lawyer has the
opportunity to provide their comments.
If the complainant fails to respond we will consider closing the complaint under
rule 5.20. If this happens, and a remedy had been recommended, the lawyer
will not have to undertake the remedy.
If the lawyer fails to respond and the complainant has responded the
complaint will be referred for an ombudsman’s decision.
If neither party responds we will treat the complaint as informally resolved by
the preliminary decision (scheme rule 5.20).
Ombudsman decision
When an ombudsman reviews the case they will look at the case file,
preliminary decision, and views of both parties to come to their own conclusion
on the case.
If they agree with the investigator they will issue a final decision stating why.
If the ombudsman’s views differ greatly from the preliminary decision they will
set out their views in a provisional decision, which will be sent to both parties
for comment, before a final decision is made.
Once a final decision has been made it is sent to both parties. If the customer
decides to accept the decision it is binding on the legal service provider. If the
customer does not agree then there are no further steps to our process. Both
parties have 10 working days to respond to the final decision.
Finalising complaints
Once a complainant has received a final decision they are passed through to
our Resolution Coordination Team. They are responsible for:
o confirming whether a case fee is payable;
o closing cases when remedies have been undertaken;
o confirming the details which will be published for ombudsman decision
data (see next section).
e. Practical details
How long will it take to resolve the complaint?
The length of a complaint will vary depending on the issues and the complexity of the
case. Most cases are resolved within three months and over 90% are resolved within
six months. All cases are usually resolved within one year.
How to send information
We prefer information to be sent by email directly to your investigator. Alternatively you
can send information by post, quoting your case reference number. Our postal address
is:
Legal Ombudsman, Po Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
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Please do not send original documents. All documents are scanned into our system
and originals may be destroyed.
f. Further areas for guidance
We have mentioned in this chapter, but not provided detail on the following topics:
Evidence and deciding on poor service
Remedies
Watch out for further guidance in these areas. In the meantime if you have any
questions please contact us at [email protected].
5. Additional information
a. Publishing decisions
The Legal Ombudsman publishes summary information about all complaints which have
received a final ombudsman decision. This information is published every three months
and contains decisions from the last twelve months.
b. Case fees
The Legal Services Act requires the Legal Ombudsman to set a structure for charging a
case fee. The case fee is currently set at £400.
Chapter 6 of the scheme rules sets out the rules for case fees, the situations when it is
not chargeable (rule 6.1 a) and b)) and when it may be waived (rule 6.2 a) and b)). Case
fees can be waived in certain circumstances and depend upon the outcome of the
complaint and how well the complaint was dealt with at the first tier. If you consider that
For further information:
Scheme Rules chapter 5 - How we investigate.
Legal Services Act, s.144-146 - Co-operation with investigations s.144-146,
Legal Services Act, s.147-152 – Information
For further information:
Ombudsman decision data - http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/raising-
standards/data-and-decisions/#ombudsman-decision-data
Scheme rule 5.55 – publication of decisions
Legal Services Act s.150 – reports of investigations
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Legal Ombudsman Complaint Handlers Guide
a case fee has been incorrectly applied you should let your investigator know, setting
out how your situation fits with rule 6.2.
c. What to do if your indemnity insurer is aware of the complaint
Under the Legal Services Act you have a statutory obligation to cooperate with the
Legal Ombudsman. However, we are aware that indemnity insurers place different
obligations on you around informing them about complaints, particularly when there may
be a negligence issue, which can provide conflicts for legal service providers and
difficulties around cooperating with our investigations.
If this happens please contact your investigator to discuss the issue so all parties can
work together to address the complaint.
d. How to raise jurisdiction questions
If you think a complaint is:
outside of our jurisdiction (as per chapter 2 of our scheme rules); or
outside of our time limits (as per chapter 4); or
should be dismissed for any other reasons,
then you have the right to challenge our decision to accept a complaint for investigation
under scheme rule 5.4.
If you wish to challenge whether a complaint should be investigated it is helpful to put
this in writing highlighting the relevant rules. If we receive a challenge we will always
ask the customer for comments, and once these are provided the information will be
sent to an ombudsman for consideration. Once it has been sent to the ombudsman we
expect to make decisions within 14 days. However, this timescale can vary.
e. What to do if you are not happy with our service
Our aim is to provide a fair, independent and effective service for all parties and we
have a set of service principles which set out what you can expect from us.
If you are not happy with the standard of service you have received during your
investigation you should raise this with us as soon as possible, and firstly with the
investigator involved. Full details of our service complaints procedure are on our
website. This process allows you to raise concerns about the service that you have
received from us, however it will not look at issues such as the outcome of the legal
complaint.
For further information:
Scheme rules, chapter 6
Legal Services Act, s.136 – charges payable by respondents
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How to contact us
We are open Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 5.30pm
If you are calling from overseas, please call +44 121 245 3050
For our minicom call 0300 555 1777
You can call us on 0300 555 0333
(Calls to the Legal Ombudsman cost the same as a normal 01 or 02 landline number,
even from a mobile phone, and are recorded for training and monitoring purposes).
You cal also email us at
If you want to find out more about us and what we do, please visit
www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Write: If you prefer, you can write to us at
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ