We can't charge clients for complaints - ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman has insisted it cannot start to charge members of the public for bringing complaints – as fees for lawyers on the receiving end are set to rise steeply.

Chief ombudsman Phil Cain said the question of charging consumers was by far the most frequent point raised in consultation responses since the fees proposal was made in June.

The Office for Legal Complaints, which oversees the ombudsman, proposes to make lawyers and law firms pay £1,500 if a final decision is made and £750 for cases which go to investigation. The fee for cases resolved early would be £200.

Currently, a flat fee of £400 applies to those being complained about where cases are accepted.

In an article published on the ombudsman's website, Cain said it was simply not possible to charge consumers to bring a complaint – neither legally nor morally.

He pointed out that Legal Services Act 2007 explanatory notes say that if a complaint is not resolved satisfactorily in-house, the consumer can bring it to the ombudsman scheme free of charge. This entitlement is also referred to in the Ombudsman Association’s terms and rules.

Cain added: ‘Charging consumers creates a barrier for people who can currently access the Legal Ombudsman because the service is free at the point of use. For many consumers, particularly those who are vulnerable, on low incomes, or already experiencing financial hardship as a result of the issues they are complaining about, even a relatively small fee could discourage them from pursuing a complaint.

‘This risks creating a situation where access to redress is influenced by a person’s ability to pay, rather than the merits of their complaint.’

All extra fee income (applying the proposed fees to 2024/25 would have generated £3.5m_ will be used to offset the levy paid by the legal profession to fund the ombudsman.

Cain denied this was a money-making exercise for LeO, pointing out that case income will only be put towards reducing the overall levy contribution made by the legal profession to pay for the organisation. This would reduce the proportion funded by the profession from 95% to 80%.

A case fee can be waived where the complaint is resolved in the lawyer’s favour or dismissed, and where the ombudsman is satisfied that they took all reasonable steps at first tier.

Cain said the fees are designed to be proportionate to the cost of resolving a complaint, and that the proposed £1,500 case fee was still lower than the average cost.

He added: ‘We know service providers are concerned that consumer will try to push a complaint all the way through our systems so that their service provider incurs a larger fee, but the changes we’re proposing to our scheme rules will prevent this from happening.’

The consultation runs until 2 September.