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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.
“I’m not happy with my solicitor, what can I do?” is sadly quite a common complaint. So we’ve 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.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received from your solicitor or conveyancer you are not alone. The Legal Ombudsman accepted over 6,600 complaints overall in 2023/24.
The largest number of complaints received relate to residential conveyancing involved when buying and selling properties. Some 2,197 complaints were accepted, making up around a third of total cases brought to the Legal Ombudsman in 2023/24. The Legal Ombudsman says, ‘This likely reflects the fact it’s an area of legal services that relatively high numbers of people engage with each year, with high volumes of transactions.’
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. Some 93,000 property sales completed in November 2024 alone, according to the Land Registry. So there is plenty of opportunity for clients to be unhappy with the legal service they received.
The Legal Ombudsman reports that these were the areas where they received the most complaints about solicitors in 2023/24:
In one case that went to the Legal Ombudsman, Mr G complained his firm failed to advise him about a deed of variation stipulating ground rent would increase on a sliding scale, or about outstanding service charge and ground rent fees. He said he wouldn’t have bought the property if he had known this ‘as he would not be able to sell the property later if he wished’.
The Legal Ombudsman concluded that the firm’s service was unreasonable for both complaints and proposed approximately £18,000 should be paid to Mr G, including costs to:
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:
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.
If you make a complaint to your solicitor and they either don’t respond or you are not satisfied with their response you can escalate your complaint. In most cases the Legal Ombudsman should be your next stop. They deal with complaints about poor service such as:
The Legal Ombudsman handles complaints about any legal services provider including:
You can contact them by:
However, if your complaint involves your solicitor failing with its professional obligations such as keeping your case private or acting honestly then you may need to complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) instead. They will investigate and could prevent the solicitor from practicing in the future.
You can contact the SRA by calling 0370 606 2555 or emailing report@sra.org.uk. You can download and fill out their report form to ensure you give them all the information they need.
If you are unsure who to complain to don’t worry. The Legal Ombudsman will tell you if your complaint should go to the Solicitor Regulation Authority and vice versa.
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:
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:
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:
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.
Here’s the process of what happens when you complain to the Legal Ombudsman:
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.
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:
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.
You can minimise the chance of problems with your solicitor from the very first step. Start by shopping around for a solicitor and going with someone with a good reputation and who, ideally, comes recommended. If you can’t get a recommendation from a friend or relative try using our online tool to compare quotes from our panel of quality assured and regulated solicitors and conveyancing firms.
Not only do we show you what you can expect to pay we also include a rating for each legal firm. These are based on feedback from other users on how satisfied they were with the service they received. You can organise your results by price or rating. Try to balance the two to minimise your chances of needing to complain.
Another way to reduce the risk of problems is to opt for a conveyancing solicitor who has an online case tracking service. This allows you to log in at any time and see what is happening with your case, what areas have been completed, what documents your solicitor might be waiting for and what still needs to be done.
If you are embarking on a house purchase or sale you can find out more on keeping things on track with our guide on how to speed up conveyancing.
Another common complaint about solicitors is a failure to communicate with their client. If you are struggling to get a response when you are buying or selling a property speak to the estate agent. They often have someone in the office known as a sales progressor, it is their job to chase solicitors to ensure sales go through. Get them on the case as they may have more luck than you.
Keep trying to contact your solicitor by phone and email and ask them for regular progress updates. When you do get hold of them agree a date in the diary for another update, that way they know you expect some progress to have been made by then and to expect another phone call or email from you.
The Legal Ombudsman gives the example of ‘Mr G’ who complained to his solicitor, and then the Ombudsman, that he was always having to chase his service provider for updates.
While the transaction was completed without delay the Ombudsman found “there was a lack of client care” as Mr G was not kept up to date and out of ten calls he made only one was returned.
The Ombudsman awarded Mr G £200 to “acknowledge the upset and frustration caused”.
It is free to complain about your solicitor to the Legal Ombudsman. The costs are covered by legal firms through case fees and subscriptions.
This is a free service.
It is unlikely that the Ombudsman will be able to help if you have accepted a resolution from your solicitor. However, you can still approach the Ombudsman and explain why you feel you still need their help. They will then decide if they can accept your complaint.
The ombudsman aims to deal with complaints within 90 days, but it can take up to two years depending on the complexity of the case.
If the Legal Ombudsman finds in your favour, they can award up to £50,000 compensation. However, in most situations the case is settled for less than £1,000.
If you complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and believe a solicitor regulated by them owes you money you may be able to get your money back through the SRA’s Compensation Fund.
You should complain to your solicitor as soon as you realise there is a problem. If you are unhappy with their response, you have up to six months from their final response to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. This is extended to six years if you discover new information.
Yes. And the process for doing so is quite simple, though you will have to pay for any legal work your solicitor has done to date. Read our guide Can I Change Solicitors? for more.
Yes. The SRA Code of Conduct, which solicitors must adhere to, contains provisions relating to informing clients about fees – it states clients should receive the best possible information, both at the time of engagement and when appropriate as their matter progresses, about the likely overall cost of their matter. Solicitors must clearly explain their fees and if and when they are likely to change.
The Law Society’s website also says that it is a solicitor’s responsibility to keep you informed of costs and to give you a clear bill which shows the work done and the amount charged.
Write to the solicitor to say that you are not happy with the fees and ask to have a detailed breakdown – as soon as possible – and, if you are not reassured, you can start the complaints procedure as set out in this guide.
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