The complaint

Mr I and his sister were executors of his family member’s estate. Mr I instructed firm A to act for him, and his sister instructed firm B.  

Mr I was not happy with the service provided by firm B. He said the firm made errors and had failed to respond to him which caused him significant stress.  

The firm did not respond to Mr I’s complaint, so he contacted the Legal Ombudsman. 

The outcome

A review of the file identified that the case was out of our jurisdiction.  

This is because Scheme Rule 2.8 states that:  

2.8 The complaint must relate to services which the authorised person: 

1. provided to the complainant; or
2. provided to another authorised person who procured them on behalf of the complainant; or 
3. provided to an estate of a person who is deceased where the complainant is a beneficiary of that estate; or 
4. provided to (or as) a trustee where the complainant is a beneficiary of the trust; or 
5. offered, or refused to provide, to the complainant.

Mr I was complaining about a service that was provided to his sister, so his complaint did not meet the above criteria and he could not bring his complaints to this office.  

We informed Mr I and the firm of this, and the case was closed.   

Guidance:

Guidance: Scheme Rules FAQ | Legal Ombudsman