Consumers: 67% of new cases must be resolved within three months from April 2007


The Legal Services Complaints Commissioner last month raised her expectations of what the Law Society must achieve in its complaints-handling operation.



Unveiling the Society's targets for the year from 1 April 2007, Zahida Manzoor put pressure on the Consumer Complaints Service (CCS) to resolve more complaints within three months - the target is 67% of all new cases, compared to 57% in the current year - and stiffened the targets for providing complaints with a response accurately identifying the issues.



There is a new target requiring that 93% of complainants are acknowledged within five days, and the targets for keeping in contact with complainants have been upped.



While the 2006/7 plan focused on wiping out almost all complaints more than 15 months old, the 2007/8 plan moves on to a similar goal for complaints that have been open for a year or more.



In all, there are 13 targets relating to the speed and quality of resolving complaints, as well as the Law Society's financial and resource management, and its ability to implement change.



Ms Manzoor said: 'I have been pleased with the constructive work between my office and the Law Society which has led up to the setting of these targets.'



Failure to meet the targets can be punished by a fine, and Ms Manzoor's most recent report indicates the CCS is falling short in relation to the majority of the 2006/7 targets.



CCS chief executive Deborah Evans said: 'The new targets follow an extremely constructive period during which the commissioner's office and the CCS worked closely together. We are now looking forward to delivering them.



'I believe the Consumer Complaints Board will also welcome these targets, given that they closely mirror its thinking as to the standards it would like to see achieved at this time in the area of legal consumer redress.'



The CCS will shortly be renamed the Legal Complaints Service.



Neil Rose