What you might need to know

Conduct
– see Potential misconduct

Costs information deficient

• • No information was provided about costs.
• • The costs charged were more than the estimate and the complainant wasn't notified.
• • The complainant wasn't told about specific extra costs, such as disbursements.
• • Allternative funding options available to the complainant were not mentioned.

Costs excessive

• • VAT has been charged when it is not chargeable.
• • The same piece of work or payment has been charged more than once.
• • There are errors in the invoice calculation.

Criminal activity

• • Theft of a complainant's money.
• • Forging a complainant's signature.

Data protection/breach of confidentiality

• • Information being disclosed to a third party without the complainant's consent.

Delay

• • Taking an unreasonable amount of time to carry out a specific task.

Discrimination

• • The complainant makes a claim of discrimination by the lawyer. This will be referred to the approved regulator.

Failure to advise

• • Legal advice, which would reasonably be expected, was not given.

Failure to comply with agreed remedy

• • After agreeing to a remedy to resolve a complaint, the remedy has not been implemented. This can be a remedy agreed with or without the involvement of the Legal Ombudsman or a predecessor complaints handling body.
  
  

Failure to follow instructions

• • Failure to follow a specific instruction or request from the complainant.
  
  

Failure to investigate complaint internally

• • Failure to provide details of their internal complaints procedure.
• • Delay in responding to the complaint.
• • Only responding to part of the complaint.

Failure to keep informed

• • Failing to keep the complainant informed of progress.

Failure to keep papers safe

• • Loss of specific documents or a file.
• • Damage to specific documents or a file.
• • Loss of property.
• • Damage to property.

Failure to progress

• • Failure to act as would reasonably be expected to move a complainant's case forward.

Failure to release files or papers

• • Refusal or failing to release files or papers.

Failure to reply

• • Failure to respond to telephone calls, emails or letters.

Potential misconduct

• • The complaint is about a potential breach of the professional rules of conduct. A potential misconduct complaint will often be accompanied by another complaint type concerning service that can be investigated.

Other

• • If the complaint raised does not fall into one of the above categories, this option is used.