Is It Worth Contacting The Legal Ombudsman

[Sarah0412]

I have been treated very badly by a solicitor and it has cost me financially and emotionally. I complained to the firm but they didn't respond. Everyone I have spoken to about the Legal Ombudsman say that they are not worth bothering with as they side with law firms and the compensation they do hand out is very little - basically a token to make the problem disappear. Can someone please advise me. Thank you

[factor-fiction]

I suggest you follow the route set out here
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/get-in-touch/complaints/
I'd recommend doing this first.
You could ask a solicitor to advise on whether you could sue your solicitor but that may be difficult and I wouldn't go down that route

[Sarah0412]

Thank you, I definitely do not want to throw good money after bad and sue him. The Law Society has handed complaints over to the Legal Ombudsman which is why I am seeking info on them.

[factor-fiction]

Have you already been through these stepa:

Making a complaint
At the Law Society, we aim to provide the highest standards of service. However, there may be occasions when you feel that we have failed to meet your expectations. We want the opportunity to put things right for you as quickly as we can and take steps, where appropriate, to make sure that any mistakes don't happen again.

Our internal complaints process
If at anytime you have cause for complaint, the first step is to contact the relevant unit manager, either in writing or by telephone. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days of receipt and will provide a detailed response within 20 working days of the acknowledgement. Some complaints may take longer to process, but we will keep you informed of this, reasons for the delay and revised time scales.

We will aim to resolve your complaint at this stage, and we hope that you will not then need to progress beyond this first step. However, if you remain unhappy, we want you to let us know so that your complaint can proceed quickly to the next stage.

If you remain unhappy with the response provided, you can ask for your complaint to be reviewed by a head of business unit. The executive review will look at any additional concerns you have and a response will be provided using the same timescales as above. We treat complaints seriously, and we expect that this final stage will bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

[murraymints]

In Scotland the law society exists for this purpose...I had cause to complain once and they handled the matter very well...all was sorted very quickly merely by phone calls between all parties and I was not charged at all. The risk of being investigated and struck off was too great for the offender to chance...result !

[Sarah0412]

Thank you both factor-fiction and Murraymints. I thought the law society process above referred to complaints against them not a solicitor. I am encouraged by murraymint's response and hope England has the same high standards.

[factor-fiction]

I may have misled you. Follow this for complaints in England/Wales:

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/for-the-public/faqs/complaining-about-a-solicitor/
They are helpful

[Sarah0412]

Thank you, very helpful.

[buildersmate]

I think you will find that it was the Government that demanded that the Legal Ombudsman be established - perhaps because of the perception in the public mind that the Law Society did exactly as you suggest - sided with the legal profession when investigating allegations of poor conduct or malpractice.
Don't know what rates of 'compensation' they have so far determined.

[tonywiltshire]

Your Solicitor owes you a fiduciary duty and if in this instance you believe it has not been provided you first written complaint should be to the senior partner (or nominated person) in the firm who employ the solicitor and they must provide an answer, if you find this answer is unsatisfactory you can then address your complaint to the Ombudsman, I think you may have some difficulty with the Ombudsman if the practice have not first considered your complaint. Do not be put off the firm or sole solicitor must provide an answer to your complaint.

[Sarah0412]

Thank you both buildersmate and tonywiltshire. I wrote a detailed letter of complaint 4 months ago and did not hear back. I will give the ombudsman a go. Fingers crossed they are fair

[buildersmate]

In that case the Ombudsman should be interested.

If you wrote a letter of complaint to the practice involved and they failed to reply AT ALL (as distinct from you being unhappy 'cos they failed to uphold your complaint), the practice is in breach of the code of practice by which the profession operates.

[tonywiltshire]

If your letter detailing your complaint was received 4 months ago and no reply, or even an acknowledgement, has been received this is totally unacceptable and must be pursued.

[Sarah0412]

Again, thank you to both of you. I did receive an acknowledgement letter but nothing else. I will send the paperwork to the ombudsman and hopefully he will take a dim view of the lack of response. Thanks again. S

[Sarah0412]

BTW can you give me an idea of what the outcome would be for breach of conduct please? There are other points I have raised and need to be dealt with but this gives me a starting point. Thanks S