The OFT has published research looking at levels of dissatisfaction with the legal profession. Only one in eight (13 per cent) dissatisfied customers goes on to make a formal complaint. The low level of complaints was found to be largely due to uncertainty about how or where to complain and scepticism about whether complaining is worth the effort.
The research also shows that around 460,000, or one in seven, of the three million people using the UK’s legal profession each year are dissatisfied with the service they receive.
The Legal Ombudsman has also posted information about changes to its complaints scheme. The following changes will be put in place from 1 February 2013.
- – time limits for accepting a complaint will increase to six years from the date of act/omission, or three years from when the complainant should have known about the complaint. This new limit will be introduced gradually and we will not accept complaints where the act or date of awareness go beyond 6 October 2010.
- – financial limits will increase from £30,000 to £50,000.
– Accept complaints from prospective customers who could reasonably have expected to receive a service or were unreasonably offered a service they did not want.
From 1 April 2013 all complaints the LeO investigates will incur a £400 case fee, but if a firm follows a reasonable first tier complaints process they may be eligible for the case fee waiver.
