Introduction 

A central aim of the Legal Ombudsman’s 2024-2027 strategy is to share learning and insights that help lead to better legal services for clients.

In line with that strategic aim, we are publishing our first quarterly complaints data. The data release covers the first quarter (Q1) of the 2025/26 financial year: 1 April to 30 June 2025.

The release includes data on the volume of complaints the Legal Ombudsman accepted and resolved in that period, and insight into the themes evident in those complaints.

All data is provisional and subject to confirmation in the final figures to be published in the Legal Ombudsman’s annual complaints data and insight report for 2025/26, due to be published in 2026.   

Q1 at a glance   

  • 1,730 new complaints were accepted either as an early resolution case, or for in-depth investigation.  
  • 50% of the complaints we accepted were assigned to early resolution.  
  • 49% of the complaint types we accepted were about poor communication (26%) and delay and failure to progress (23%).  
  • 574 of the complaints accepted (33%) were about Residential Conveyancing, the most complained-about area of law in Q1 2025/26.   
  • 2,026 complaints were resolved.  
  • LeO found evidence of poor service in 72% of investigative outcomes in Q1 2025/26, and evidence of poor complaints handling in 46%. 
  • Wills and Probate had the highest evidence of poor service findings from complaints with investigative outcomes at 81%.
  • Over the quarter, LeO awarded £935,435 in remedies to put things right. 

About our process   

All the complaints that the Legal Ombudsman receives are initially assessed by a senior ombudsman. Each case is then assigned either to our early resolution team or passed on for in-depth investigation.    

A case that is sent for full investigation requires evidence to be submitted by both the consumer and service provider, which is reviewed by one of our investigators. Following the evidence review, the investigator's findings are shared with both parties. If either party does not agree to these findings the case may be passed to an ombudsman for a final decision. 

*Consistent with our aim to resolve all complaints as early as possible, we only assess the reasonableness of providers’ complaint handling and service where relevant. For example, we do not assess this in complaints that are resolved through early resolution, that have come to us prematurely, or in complaints we find to be out of jurisdiction.  

How many complaints did we accept?  

  • In Q1 2025/26 we accepted 1,730 complaints. Of these, 869 (50%) were accepted as an early resolution case.
  • The area of law that saw the most complaints accepted in Q1 was Residential Conveyancing with 574 complaints (33%), followed by Wills and Probate with 255 complaints (15%), and Personal Injury with 243 complaints (14%).
  • While Residential Conveyancing was the largest area of demand in Q1, we recognise that this area of law sees a high volume of transactions, which will in part account for the higher number of complaints generated.   

Complaints accepted by areas of law:

  • Residential Conveyancing (574)
  • Wills and Probate (255)
  • Personal Injury (243)
  • Family law (198)
  • Litigation (138)
  • Property (91)
  • Criminal Law (56)
  • Immigration and Asylum (47)
  • Employment Law (52) 

How were complaints resolved in Q1?   

  • 953 (47%) complaints were resolved by early resolution. Resolving complaints quicker and reaching agreement in this way benefits both consumers and the service providers, as well as reducing the resource impact on our service.
  • 1,073 (53%) complaints needed an in-depth investigation to resolve, a 3 percentage-point increase on the previous quarter (50%).
  • Of the 1,073 complaints resolved by in-depth investigation, 337 (31%) were resolved by investigators, with 478 complaints (45%) needing ombudsman decisions following investigation by an investigator. 
  • The largest number of complaints we resolved (either by early resolution or by an in-depth investigation) were about Residential Conveyancing (578 complaints), followed by Personal Injury (304 complaints), and Wills and Probate (301 complaints). 

Did we find evidence of poor service?*    

  • Evidence of poor service was assessed in 638 complaints in Q1, and we found evidence of poor service in 458 (72%) of these complaints.
  • The area of law with the highest evidence of poor service was Wills and Probate (81%).
  • The second highest evidence of poor service was found in Residential Conveyancing (80%); followed by Personal Injury (76%). 

Evidence of poor service found by area of law: 

  • Wills and Probate (81%)
  • Residential Conveyancing (80%)
  • Personal Injury (76%)
  • Immigration and Asylum (75%)
  • Litigation (73%)
  • Family law (67%)
  • Criminal Law (54%)
  • Property (54%)
  • Employment Law (44%) 

What were the most commonly upheld complaint types?  

Upheld complaint types are captured and recorded in in-depth investigation cases only, as not all the complaints we receive will require a full investigation. For example, we do not record this in complaints that are resolved through early resolution, that have come to us prematurely, or in complaints we find to be out of jurisdiction.   

Many complaints involve more than one issue. For example, a single complaint might cover delays, communication problems, and concerns about costs. When we find evidence that poor service has occurred, we identify and record the specific types of complaints that were upheld in each case. 

  • Poor communication remains the largest complaint type upheld (25%), despite a 2% decrease on the previous quarter (27%).
  • We are seeing higher numbers of Delay and failure to progress being upheld (18%) which has seen an increase each quarter, 15% in Q2 of 2024/25, 17% in Q3 of 2024/25, and just under 18% in Q4 of 2024/25.
  • Failure to advise complaints accounted for 11% of the complaint types upheld, up from 9% in the previous quarter.
  • Complaints relating to costs (12%), up from 11% in the previous quarter. 

Was the complaint handling by the service provider (first-tier) reasonable?*  

  • 46% (293) of complaints with an investigative outcome showed evidence of poor complaint handing.
  • Wills and Probate recorded the highest proportion of poor complaints handling at 58%. Wills and Probate poor complaint handling rates have seen a notable upward trend, increasing from 47% in Q3 2024/25 to 52% in Q4 2024/25, and now reaching 58% in Q1 2025/26.
  • Residential Conveyancing was the second largest area of law with poor complaint handling (54%), followed by Immigration and Asylum (50%), and Litigation (46%). 
  • Residential Conveyancing continues to be a significant contributor to the overall percentage of poor complaint handling within the sector. However, incremental improvements have been observed over the past three quarters: from 60% in Q3 2024/25, decreasing to 57% in Q4 2024/25, and further declining to 54% in Q1 2025/26.
  • Complaint handling in Criminal Law has steadily improved, with complaint rates dropping from 39% in Q3 2024/25 to 29% in Q4 2024/25, and now to 21% in Q1 2025/26.
  • While complaint handling in cases we see relating to Personal Injury remains an area for development, there has been progress compared to the previous quarter: the rate decreased from 59% to 40% in Q1. This represents the lowest recorded rate of poor complaint handling in this area over the past year. 

Poor complaint handling found by area of law: 

  • Wills and Probate (58%)
  • Residential Conveyancing (54%)
  • Immigration and Asylum (50%)
  • Litigation (46%)
  • Family law (40%)
  • Personal Injury (40%)
  • Property (39%)
  • Employment Law (25%)
  • Criminal Law (21%) 

How did we put things right?

  • A total of £935,435 was directed in remedies to put things right in Q1.
  • Among these complaints, compensation for emotional effects was awarded in 87% of the complaints where evidence of poor service was found.
  • A refund, reduction or a waiver of a service provider’s costs is the second most common remedy; awarded in 30% of the complaints where evidence of poor service was found, followed by compensation for financial loss (13%).
  • Compensation for emotional effects is frequently the most overlooked remedy at first tier. A significant number of complaints may have been resolved earlier had appropriate compensation for emotional effects been offered when service failings were acknowledged.