Firms could be required to inform clients about the complaints process at the start and end of a matter under proposals mooted by the Legal Services Board today.

In a consultation paper, the oversight regulator says a ‘step-change improvement’ in the resolution of first-tier complaints is needed because current practice is not meeting consumers’ expectations as well as it should.

‘A sizeable proportion of legal service users are dissatisfied with the service they have received but do not raise this with their legal service provider (so-called “silent sufferers”),' the paper states. 'Recent research shows that legal service users can lack confidence that their complaints will be taken seriously and consider that making a complaint will be an arduous process.’

Complaints file

The LSB says the process for resolving first-tier complaints needs to be improved

Source: iStock

Proposals include requiring firms to provide complaints information not just when they are instructed, but when the client matter has concluded. Complaints would be acknowledged within five working days. The complainant would be given a named contact they can speak to and timeline for resolution.

The consultation paper states that the current requirements and guidance are silent on language and tone, yet these have been observed by the legal ombudsman as potential weak spots in the handling of first-tier complaints. Clients’ perception of power imbalance ‘can be exacerbated where overly complex language and/or legal jargon is used by the provider’, the consultation paper adds. Under the LSB's proposals, firms would speak to complainants 'clearly, using plain and appropriate language’.

The consultation closes on 17 November.

Richard Orpin, the LSB’s director of regulation and policy, said: ‘A fair, efficient and effective redress system is crucial to ensuring access to justice and safeguarding the public interest. Our proposals are designed to support a culture in which the sector responds positively and proactively to complaints, and embraces consumer feedback to learn lessons and raise standards. This will help increase public trust and confidence in the sector.’

 

This article is now closed for comment.