How to complain about a solicitor

Whether you are buying a house, dealing with a loved one’s estate or another life event, at some point or another we all need to use a solicitor. Most of the time this is a straightforward experience, but when it goes wrong what do you do? Here’s everything you need to know about how to complain about a solicitor.

Ruth Jackson-Kirby Personal Finance & Property Journalist

We set out everything you need to know about how to complain about a solicitor or licensed conveyancer, including the common reasons to complain, who to complain to, the steps to take, example complaints and compensation and any costs involved.

Reasons to complain about your solicitor

If you are unhappy with the service you have received from your solicitor or conveyancer you are not alone. The Legal Ombudsman accepted over 4,500 complaints for further investigation in 2020/21.

The largest number of complaints received relate to residential conveyancing involved when buying and selling properties. These complaints made up over 30% of total cases brought to the Legal Ombudsman in 2020/21. After that family law and personal injury cases were the next most complained about. The breakdown of number of complaints is largely due to the number of transactions in these areas, according to The Law Society.

It is hardly surprising that the most complaints about solicitors related to conveyancing. For most of us buying and selling a home is the only time we have to deal with legal professionals. Over 112,000 property sales completed in September 2022 alone, so there is plenty of opportunity for clients to be unhappy with the legal service they received.

Looking for a new conveyancing solicitor? Compare quotes & ratings from expert conveyancing solicitors that cover your area.

The most common complaints about solicitors

The Legal Ombudsman reports that these were the areas where they received the most complaints about solicitors in 2020/21:

1. Delay or failure to progress
2. Failure to advise or poor advice
3. Failure to follow instructions
4. Costs
5. Failure to keep clients informed
6. Failure to reply to clients

Case study – Complaining when your solicitor fails to advise you correctly

In one case that went to the Legal Ombudsman Mr W complained that his solicitor failed to advise him of his right to a statutory lease extension when purchasing a flat. As a result, he lost 84 years on a previous term by agreeing to a new lease.

The Ombudsman found that while the solicitor had successfully completed the purchase transaction they had “failed to give reasonable advice on the lease extension”.

Mr W was awarded £750 compensation.

How to complain about a solicitor

When you appointed your solicitor or conveyancer, they should have given you details about their complaints process. You should also be able to find information about the complaints process on their website. Use this as a starting point for how to make your complaint.

Make sure you keep a written record of your complaint containing all the pertinent details and how you would like the situation resolved. Ensure you include:

• What you hired the solicitor to do
• When you hired them
• Exact details of your complaint
• What impact the issue has had on you and anyone else affected
• Describe how you feel the solicitor should put things right
• Your contact details including your address and telephone number

Finish by explaining the timescale you want your complaint handled within. Say you shall follow up within seven days and lay out that you expect a response within eight weeks otherwise you will escalate your problem to the Legal Ombudsman.

You can download a complaint letter template from the Legal Ombudsman for free.

The Solicitor Regulation Authority and CLC vs The Legal Ombudsman

If you are unhappy with your legal provider here’s a breakdown of when to complain to the Legal Ombudsman and when you need the Solicitor Regulation Authority or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.

The Legal Ombudsman is there to help if you have a complaint relating to the service you received from your solicitor, conveyancer or other legal professional. This includes:

• Failing to respond to your calls and emails
• Not giving you clear advice
• Billing you more than the agreed amount or you expected to pay
• Failing to explain legal issues properly to you

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) are there to regulate solicitors. If a legal firm fails to comply with the SRA’s principles of behaving independently, fairly and with integrity to best serve their clients and the public interest the SRA can strike them off so they can’t continue to practice. In a nutshell, if you think your solicitor has behaved dishonestly then the SRA can help. Examples could include:

• Deliberately overcharging you
• Stealing from you
• Discriminating against you on the basis of your age, race, sex, disability or any other characteristic
• Shutting down their firm without telling you

The CLC (Council for Licensed Conveyancers)

If you think your Licensed Conveyancer might be dishonest,  or you have concerns about their behaviour, or you believe they may have breached the CLC’s Code of Conduct, the CLC will be able to look at your concerns. 

Examples of this sort of behaviour include:

• Losing your money
• Acting dishonestly in giving you advice
• Continuing to act for you when your interests conflict with those of your conveyancer or another client
• Discriminating against you

Case study – Solicitor encouraged clients into risky stamp duty avoidance scheme

The Solicitors Regulation Authority was involved in a case where two solicitors had introduced several conveyancing clients to a stamp duty avoidance scheme. The scheme carried “considerable potential risk and disadvantage to the clients” but it was highly profitable for the solicitors who pocketed commission and referral fees from the scheme’s providers.

The solicitors didn’t inform the clients of the risk or the fact they would profit personally if the client signed up. “In doing so they put the interests of their clients below their own for personal profit”.

The case went to the High Court and the two solicitors were prevented from practicing again.

What happens when you complain to the Legal Ombudsman

Once you have taken your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you will receive an acknowledgement either by email or post. They will then look to see if they can quickly resolve your issue by contacting your legal provider to see if an agreement is possible. If this is the case, a resolution is usually sorted out within five weeks. If not, someone is assigned to decide whether the Ombudsman can help with your complaint.

If your compliant is accepted, you will be assigned an investigator. You will then need to send in any key evidence and the investigator will speak to your solicitor. They will then try and work out a solution that both you and your solicitor agree to. This can take up to 12 months.

In cases where the investigator cannot resolve a situation, it is then passed on to an ombudsman. They will review the complaint and give a final decision.

What to do if you’re not happy with the Legal Ombudsman’s decision

There is no appeal process after the Legal Ombudsman has reached a final decision. If you are unhappy, you can reject the final decision. This means the solicitor doesn’t have to comply with the decision. You cannot bring the same complaint to the Legal Ombudsman once a final decision has been made but you can seek to take legal action against the solicitor.

If you are unhappy with the Legal Ombudsman’s decision you can get legal advice to discuss next steps. The decision can go to the High Court if it is legally flawed – this is known as a judicial review.

What happens when you complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the CLC

When you make a complaint to the Solicitors Regulation Authority you should receive an acknowledgement from them that will tell you what the next steps are based on your individual case. You can call them on 0370 606 2555 or email contactcentre@sra.org.uk if you need help with your case.

When you make a complaint to the CLC about a licensed conveyancer, they say they will always acknowledge initial receipt of your concern and aim to formally respond within 28 days. You need to submit a complaint form which can be emailed to clc@clc-uk.org.  Their response will confirm how they will handle the matter you have raised. This could include that they:

• Contact the practice or Licensed Conveyancer to ensure a breach does not happen again or to ask them to improve their processes or procedures;
• Pursue a detailed formal investigation which could lead to disciplinary sanctions and / or referral to other supervisory bodies;
• Decide no further action needs to be taken.

Case study – Complaining when your solicitor gives bad advice

Mrs E bought a two-bedroom leasehold property where one bedroom was an attic conversion. A year after completion she discovered that the lease did not allow for the converted attic room.

Mrs E had to pay to convert the attic back, incurred legal fees due to the unauthorised use of the attic and the value of her property fell by £25,000 as it was now a one-bedroom home.

She complained to the solicitor who had handled the purchase for her. She was unhappy with their response so escalated her complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman concluded that “advice on the terms of the lease was unreasonable.” They had expected Mrs E, a first-time buyer, to raise questions about the lease to them rather than them pointing out any issues.

“Expecting her to review the lease and flag any issues is unreasonable,” says the Legal Ombudsman. “The service provider has been paid for their expertise in this area.”

The Legal Ombudsman ordered the legal firm to pay Mrs E just over £40,000 in compensation.

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