Conduct and service

Make your offer earlyIt has been said before and it should be said again: it is much better to deal with complaints quickly.

There...Make your offer earlyIt has been said before and it should be said again: it is much better to deal with complaints quickly.

There are several reasons for this.

Not only is a complaint more likely to be concluded successfully if it is dealt with promptly, at much less cost to the solicitor in terms of time and money, but the clients goodwill may also be retained.However, there is another, less widely known reason.

It should encourage solicitors not only to try and resolve the complaint, but also to be realistic and, if it is clear it has substance and the client is looking for compensation, to make a sensible offer.If a complaint reaches the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) and it is only then that an offer is made, and subsequently refused by the complainant, no matter how reasonable the offer may be the matter will have to be investigated fully, culminating in a decision by an adjudicator.

This will inevitably cause the firm inconvenience and cost.On the other hand, if the firm makes an offer while the complaint is still being dealt with internally, this is refused and the matter is referred to the OSS, which concludes that the offer was reasonable, the story ends there.

The OSS will decline to investigate further.In a recent case a firm complained of resisted all suggestions that its service had not been up to scratch.

This was all the more disappointing because, when the complainant took his complaint to the OSS, it was readily apparent that the service supplied to the complainant had left a lot to be desired.Eventually the penny dropped and the firm then made an offer.

It was adequate redress for the inadequate service, but the complainant was so annoyed by that stage that he rejected it outright.The firm was then embroiled in much additional work that was not only non-fee-earning, but also non-productive in the sense that by now there was no hope of being able to retain the client.

In the event, the OSS adjudicator awarded compensation in line with the offer the firm had belatedly made.The pity is, had the firm grasped the nettle and made the offer at the outset, it would probably have been accepted thus avoiding many wasted hours and possibly also retaining the clients goodwill.l Every case before the compliance and supervision committee is decided on its individual facts.

These case studies are for illustration only and should not be treated as precedents.