It is slightly more than two weeks since I visited QualitySolicitors Freeman Harris in the Lewisham Shopping Centre in London. As a result of this trip, the firm has taken on one of my cases: a dispute with the police over a Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority award. That is to say, I am now a client.

I visited the firm’s ‘legal store’ on Wednesday 17 November. On the morning of Friday the 19th, I received a voicemail on my mobile phone, left by the same solicitor who discussed my case in the store. I called back and we arranged a visit for Wednesday 24th at Freeman Harris’s main office in Bermondsey.

I did all this in the knowledge that my cover had almost certainly been blown by my last blog. Not that this mattered: whatever happened after my visit to Freeman Harris’s shopping centre store was not intended to be part of the ‘mystery shop’. But it is worth making a few observations about my experiences following that visit.

Freeman Harris’s main office is nearly five miles away from Lewisham Shopping Centre. I consulted the Transport for London journey planner before setting out from my house, and discovered that the journey would require two bus journeys – including one infrequent, local service – and take around three-quarters of an hour. I decided to drive instead, which is a luxury that many Londoners do not have.

Half an hour later, and after Southwark Council had extorted £2.40 from me for an hour-long pay-and-display ticket, I stepped out of the car in Bermondsey. Expecting to find a building plastered in pink and black QualitySolicitors branding, I found myself instead walking down a council estate road, past a plastic laminated Banksy, and lost.

After consulting a map on my iPhone (another luxury), I found that I was in fact standing directly opposite Freeman Harris’s office, something that became clear when I spied a QS sticker on a first floor window. There was a QS banner inside the office block’s entrance lobby, but this was not clearly visible to any passers-by.

Inside, some of the Freeman Harris staff were dressed in QualitySolicitors fleeces, and most wore smart-casual clothes. Stacks of branded business cards adorned the odd desk in a busy open-plan office. The atmosphere was more relaxed and welcoming than stuffy. I won’t go into detail about my consultation, except to say that I felt very comfortable talking to the solicitor in charge of my case, and was happy to sign up to a contingency fee agreement.

Overall, then, I would say that the experience was a positive one, with the main downside being the distance between the shopping centre store and the office – which might prove a sticking point for those without cars, or with limited mobility. It might also deter the casual consumer.