The Legal Ombudsman has warned that people may be left
stranded with no effective way of making complaints, if they use non-lawyers to
carry out legal work.
An independent report commissioned by the Ombudsman found
that people buying wills, getting advice about employment issues, building plans
and debt management plans, and people using ‘DIY’ legal documents are at
particular risk. There are similar problems with using online services, and
those provided by companies such as the AA where it is often now clear whether
the company is providing legal advice or not.
Elizabeth France, who is Chair of the Legal Ombudsman’s
board, states that “Buying legal advice is to some
extent a lottery for consumers who are understandably confused about whether
the people providing it are up to standard”
James Hollis, Senior Partner at FDC Law, explains “As Solicitors, we are regulated by the SRA,
and our clients have access not only to our own internal complaints process,
but to the Ombudsman, who is independent, if they are not satisfied with how we
have dealt with any problems. In addition, and unlike unregulated
organisations, because we are required to have appropriate insurance and
because we are regulated by the SRA, even if a firm of solicitors closes down,
their clients are still protected, and documents such as Wills or Deeds which
are held will be safe”
In addition to having clear and binding processes for
dealing with any complaints, Solicitors are required to maintain their
expertise by regular training. At FDC Law we are also proud to hold the Lexcel
quality mark which means that we are inspected and re-assessed on an annual
basis.
We provide all of our clients will full details of our
complaints process and the options for taking matters further when we are fist
instructed, and operate a clear, open complaints procedure so that in the
unlikely event that you are not happy with our service, you know exactly how to
proceed.