CONDUCT AND SERVICE

Put it in writing - and miss the pointSolicitors often make the mistake of insisting that complaints are made in writing.

They say that this practice enables them to be certain what the complaint is about.

However, because clients are not familiar with legal procedures, they often perceive such complaints wrongly.

If the solicitor then deals with the complaint with which he is presented, he will be puzzled and indignant when the client says the complaint has not been answered.

But he fact is, he has not.Such a case occurred when a complaint came before an Office for the Supervision of Solicitors adjudicator.

Having read the papers, including the OSS report, he suspected that the complaints presented by the client did not represent the real cause of his concerns and called for the solicitor's file.This made things clear.

The solicitors had acted in a domestic conveyancing purchase, which resulted in the client complaining about inadequate information, delay, failure to release the client's papers and failure to obtain a remuneration certificate.The file showed that the solicitor's costs information was defective and he had ignored what should have been interpreted as a request to obtain a remuneration certificate.

The real cause of the problem was the lack of explanation given by the solicitors, both with regard to the nature of the documentation the client was asked to sign, and the sum of money the client was asked to pay to complete the matter.

The solicitors had quoted a fee of 200 net of VAT and disbursements: 430 gross.

However, not only did the solicitors seek to invoke a higher fee, they gave as a reason something they had not warned the client about, and which was untrue.

Also, before completion was due, they had asked the client for 1,300 so they could complete - without giving an explanation why.When the client said he could not pay the sum requested, it being far larger than he had been led to expect, the solicitors immediately terminated the retainer and told the client's mortgagees they had done so.

Had the solicitor bothered to meet the client, he would have discerned the real problem.

He could then have addressed the real complaints and saved himself both wasted time and the compensatory order which followed.l Every case before the adjudication panel is decided on its individual facts.

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

LawyerlineFacing a service complaint? Need advice on how to handle it? Contact Mike Frith at LAWYERLINE, the support service offered by the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, tel: 0870 606 2588.