Ombudsman decision data

We publish data about the final decisions made by ombudsman.

The data is for the last 12 months and is updated on a quarterly basis. Our Policy Statement sets out why we publish this information.

We are currently publishing two data sets.

1. Ombudsman decisions made between 01 January 2020 and 31 March 2020. The CSV file for this information can be found here.

The information published in this file is based on whether a case fee was applied (whether the service provers complaint handling was found to be unreasonable). If a case fee was not charged then all fields report "n/a" and contain no further data about the complaint.

2. Ombudsman decisions made between 1 April 2020 and 30 December 2020. The CSV file for this information can be found here and in the data table below.

Last year the OLC decided to change how we publish the data in order to be more transparent about the complaints and our decisions. If the ombudsman upholds a complaint then the details of the complaint and remedy will be published. An additional field has been included to show whether the service providers complaint handling was reasonable.

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General information

The information in the table below shows:

• Name of the service provider.
• Total decisions about the service provider in the last 12 months.

Click on the name to find the details of each complaint.

• The remedy for each complaint.

If there is no remedy this means we decided that the providers service was reasonable, or, that they offered a reasonable remedy when the complaint was first made to them.

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Choosing a service provider

This information can be used to look at the record of service providers. When you look at the information it's useful to ask:

• Does a complaint mean the firm provides poor service?

No. It's important to check the data and see if we decided whether the service was reasonable or not.

Also take into account that everyone makes mistakes from time to time. When this happens it is important how the service provider responds to the complaint. The data will also show you whether we thought their own (first-tier) complaints handling process was reasonable or not. You should be able to find information about their complaints process on their website.

• How big is the provider?

If a provider has more than one complaint with us, it could be because they are a big provider and deal with thousands of cases. In this situation it is not unusual for them to have a few complaints listed with us. Always look at the decision we make, not just the number of complaints.

• What type of work do they do? 

We know that some legal work, such as personal injury, litigation and criminal work, can be more complex for people to understand and the outcomes might not be what people want. This means that complaints could be more likely, but always check what the outcome of the complaint was first.

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Downloading data

If this information is used, for example on comparison sites, we encourage you to signpost to the Legal Ombudsman so consumers have the opportunity to find out more about the complaints data.

 

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Please click on the green cross in the table below and this will give you more information about the legal service provider and the total decisions made in the last 12 months.

You will find the green cross in front of the name of the legal service provider.