FILING A COMPLAINT

In October, I submitted a claim for assessment of costs in a civil action against police case with my correspondence files and paperwork to the Legal Services Commission (LSC) in the naive expectation that I might receive some, if not my reasonable, costs.In December, the LSC returned my original letter and one piece of paperwork indicating that the bill and correspondence files were not enclosed.

I carried out a search in my office to no avail and wrote back indicating as such, saying that I was sure the files were enclosed originally and asking that the LSC carry out a search in its office.

I said that if the files were not there I would have to try and reconstitute them.

The response I received was that the LSC does not have the facility for storing files in its offices.

Meanwhile, a rather eager counsel's clerk had written a letter of complaint to my senior partner complaining that he had not been paid in full.Having embarked upon the process of reconstituting the files and corresponding with the LSC, imagine my annoyance when it returned my bill and correspondence files with a point which could have been dealt with by picking up a telephone.To add insult to injury, it also enclosed the original of a claim for a completely different firm of solicitors with my paperwork.

Has there been a change of policy of the LSC? Rather than arbitrarily slashing solicitors' costs by disallowing work reasonably carried out at already low hourly rates, has it decided it is simpler all round to lose our files and deny responsibility?John Williams, Ormerods, Croydon.