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Complaints so far this year:-

a) a bankrupt, who took advice to seek an adjournment at the petition hearing and raise funds to pay the debt, and who did seek such an adjournment but then still refused to pay the undisputed debt (an adverse costs order from a 2005 claim he brought), and was made bankrupt. He is complaining (18 months later, having had his bankruptcy discharge suspended for refusing to co-operate) that we failed to attend court with a letter from the Abbey National Building Society from 1992 which would have "proved" his innocence. A letter we never had. (and which of course he could have brought to the adjourned hearing had he so wished). He is also complaning that a predecessor firm was slow in executing a transfer we have never even heard of, in 2003, that has never been mentioned before.

b) A person who paid £200 on account of costs, plus the court fee (of , for us to issue a protective High Court claim, which we did to stop limitation running) who says we were going to run a £155,000 commercial dispute in the Mercantile Court for that £200 fee (presumably including VAT), who complained when we sent him his client care letter and asked for the rest of the money on account.

c) A person who came in for a £60 fixed fee interview, and instructed us, gave us £100 in total (not sure why actually, but there you go), then changed his mind the next day, after which we refunded his £40. He wants ALL the money back, because we have done "nothing".

d) A person who won't pay us the disbursements we require in a complicated construction / asbestos claim and counterclaim, that we did on a CFA basis, and who refuses to give proper instructions because the claim is "a joke" and "a waste of time", and the judge only needs to listen to him to know that "she" (the opponent) is talking rubbish. If we want to incur experts fees, we should pay them ourselves, because he doesn't want any of that. We therefore had to consider the retainer terminated both through breakdown in relationship and failure to pay / give instructions. Off he trots to LeO seeking payment from us of the amount of his claim, plus reimbursement of all the legal costs he's paid to date (which is bugg*r all, because it is a CFA).

All of them of course demanding their right to go to the Legal Ombudsman (at a cost to us of £400 each), and all of them also throwing in that they will complain to the SRA / Law Society / Daily Telegraph / Watchdog / etc.