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Not Happy With My Solicitor What Can I Do?

Not Happy With My Solicitor What Can I DoI’m not happy with my solicitor – what can I do?

When you hire a legal expert, you expect great service. In the rare event something goes wrong, you can be left thinking, “I’m not happy with my solicitor. What can I do?”

The short answer is quite a lot. There are several options open to you for making a complaint about solicitors you’ve used.

Let Solicitors Near Me find you the most suitable expert. Please give us a call on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry today.

Legal action will always be a final recourse. But before you go there, there are many ways you can make a lawyer aware you were dissatisfied with their service:

How to complain about a solicitor you’ve used

If you are very unhappy with your solicitor – perhaps you believe they ended up costing you unnecessary money or another kind of financial harm – it can be tempting to want to take them to court for some recompense immediately.

However, there is a set and expected series of escalations to the process of complaining about a solicitor. If you try to go straight to a legal remedy without at least attempting the other options listed here, you are likely to be told to try them first:

1) Express your concerns in an email or a telephone call

A phone call or email expressing your dissatisfaction is the place to start. In that call or email, be sure to include:

  1. Exactly what your problem was in precise terms
  2. When the issue happened
  3. What you would like them to do about it

You can then see what response you get. Any reliable solicitor will be horrified that you weren’t satisfied by their service and attempt to make amends if they accept the fault was theirs.

Most complaints with solicitors don’t go further than this step. As in most industries, reputation is vital to a legal firm and they will want a trail of satisfied clients behind them.

2) Raise it with the manager of your solicitor

Most individual solicitors work for a law firm of some kind. They may be small, local operations working within a narrow remit of legal areas. Others might be huge and sprawling national or multinational legal service providers.

Either way, your law firm’s website should contain details of their complaints procedure. It’s likely contained in the footer at the base of the page.

If your solicitor was unwilling or unable to resolve the situation to your satisfaction, taking it up the chain within the company is the next step.

3) Go to the legal ombudsman

Only if the law firm itself or your particular solicitor hasn’t made amends in a way that you feel is fair should you escalate your complaint to the legal ombudsman.

An ombudsman is an organisation that has been appointed (usually by the government) to look into complaints about companies or a certain type of professional. They are independent and impartial. The legal ombudsman is the organisation specific to legal service providers.

You can find their website online quickly and easily. It contains many helpful resources that will help you make a complaint in the way that’s most effective and most likely to get heard.

4) Sue for professional negligence if the parameters are met

If all of these methods fail, you can sue your solicitor for what is called “professional negligence”. This is a specific subset of negligence law that covers professionals who deliver services based on their expertise. These professionals are said to have a “duty of care” to their clients.

Solicitors are one of the types of professionals covered by this law. In order for your issue to be judged as professional negligence, all of the following must be true:

  1. A duty of care – professionals owe their clients a duty of care. Sometimes this must be proven, but for solicitors, it is already accepted.
  2. Breach of duty – you must be able to show how your solicitor failed in their duty of care. This might be either through action or inaction.
  3. Caused a loss or damage – their breach of duty of care must have caused you to experience some kind of (usually financial) loss.

There are many potential examples of this. You might imagine a solicitor who drafted a will incorrectly and caused you to lose out on your intended inheritance. Or maybe they gave you some bad legal advice – or failed to advise you when necessary – and it ended up costing you money.

I’m not happy with my solicitor – what can I do?

If you have already tried complaining to your solicitor, using their complaints procedure, and complaining to the legal ombudsman, the next step is to consider legal action. But where to start?

How about being connected with a friendly and approachable professional negligence specialist for FREE and with no obligation to use their services?

Let Solicitors Near Me find you the most suitable expert. Please give us a call on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry today.

 

Not Happy With My Solicitor What Can I Do?

How To Complain About Solicitors

How To Complain About SolicitorsIn an ideal world, the work of any legal expert you hire would be perfect every time. Occasionally though, things go wrong. Here’s how to complain about solicitors you’ve hired when you’ve not been satisfied with the service you’ve received:

Let us know a little about your situation on 0845 1391399 or by completing a Free Online Enquiry today and we can connect you with a legal specialist who can give you the kind of advice you’re looking for.

What Can You Complain About?

It’s important to know that all professional solicitors in the UK must comply with the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) code of conduct.

This code lays out the way a solicitor should act in the performance of their duties so that they are always fair and responsible.

Breaches of this code that you might wish to complain about could include situations where your solicitor:

  • Was dishonest in some way
  • Didn’t handle your case very well
  • Charged you too much for their services or had some kind of billing irregularity
  • Committed some kind of fraud
  • Discriminated against you in some way
  • Delayed progress on your case (either deliberately or through negligence)
  • Gave you bad advice or failed to advise you
  • Did not follow instructions you gave them
  • Did not keep you informed about the progress of your case
  • Did not reply to your communications

Where Do I Make Complaints About Solicitors I’ve Used?

Complaints about solicitors should be made in one of the following ways:

  1. Complaints procedure – this is the place to start. Part of the way solicitors are supposed to operate ensures each law firm has an official complaints procedure. Other authorities will expect you to have at least tried to address your solicitor directly first.
  2. Complain to the legal ombudsman – if you aren’t happy with the way your solicitor handled your complaint, you can complain to the legal ombudsman (an independent, free, and impartial third party).
  3. Complain to the SRA – an alternative, if you have complained to your solicitor and were dissatisfied with their response, would be to complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

How Do I Make A Complaint?

There are a few things that remain true about making a complaint no matter where you want to make it:

  1. Make your complaint as soon as possible
  2. Be very clear about what the problem you experienced was
  3. Suggest how you would like them to resolve it
  4. Wait a reasonable time for their reply (eight weeks is usually enough)
  5. Only if you are still dissatisfied should you consider escalating the situation

What Are The Most Common Complaints About Solicitors?

Every time someone complains to the impartial legal ombudsman, they make a note of what it was about. The most common complaints about solicitors come from the following fields:

  1. Conveyancing – it won’t be a surprise to most that the lengthy residential conveyancing process is the source of a huge 1 out of 4 complaints about solicitors made in the 2018-19 period. However, it is important to note that this is one of the largest fields of law.
  2. Personal injury, wills and probate, and family law – are all responsible for around 13-14% each but they also make up a large amount of legal work carried out in the UK.
  3. Litigation – is just behind those as the subject of around 10% of all complaints received by the ombudsman.

Can I Uue A Solicitor For Professional Negligence?

Yes, if you meet the specific terms for professional negligence you can – after complaining to the legal ombudsman or the SRA – consider suing your solicitor.

This is only the case if you can show your solicitor breached what is known as their “duty of care” (i.e. they failed to deliver their services with the level of expertise you might reasonably expect) and that you suffered losses or damage as a result.

As of 2001, there is a special procedure in place to ensure that you can’t normally go straight into the litigation process. You need to first be able to show you tried other methods, such as your solicitor’s complaints procedure and appealing to the legal ombudsman.

How To Complain About Solicitors

If you aren’t sure of your legal position after making a complaint about your solicitor, the safest thing to do is get in touch with a lawyer that specialises in professional negligence.

Finding one doesn’t have to be difficult. Solicitors Near Me can find you a friendly and approachable expert for FREE and with no obligation to use them if you don’t want to.

Let us know a little about your situation on 0845 1391399 or by completing a Free Online Enquiry today and we can connect you with a legal specialist who can give you the kind of advice you’re looking for.

 

How To Complain About Solicitors

 

Solicitors Negligence

Solicitors NegligenceSolicitors, negligence, and making a claim

We all hope that we can rely on the solicitor we chose to guide us through legal situations. But what if mistakes are made? When it comes to solicitors, negligence is – thankfully – relatively rare. It’s not impossible though.

To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.

If you think you have suffered losses or damage because of actions your solicitor took (or failed to take), here is everything you need to know to start thinking about making a claim:

Solicitors, Negligence, And Duty Of Care

Solicitors are professionals. Under the law, this word has certain connotations. Chiefly, it means they have what is known as a “duty of care” to deliver their services to a certain standard.

If a solicitor fails to meet those standards (this is sometimes called “breaching their duty of care”) and their client suffers as a result, they may be guilty of what is called “professional negligence”.

This is a specific part of wider negligence law. There are many subsets of this kind of law. Medical negligence, for example.

In order for something your solicitor did or did not do to count as professional negligence, you need to be able to show that:

  1. There was a duty of care – some types of professionals (financial advisors, personal trainers, chartered surveyors, and more) have an established duty of care. Solicitors do, so this is a given.
  2. The duty of care must be breached – you must be able to show how your solicitor’s actions (or their lack of action when action was reasonably required) breached the duty of care you had a right to expect.
  3. The breach caused losses or damage – crucially, you must be able to prove that the breach of duty of care caused you physical damage or (much more likely for solicitors) a financial loss.

Can I Sue My Solicitor For Negligence?

Yes. It is possible to sue solicitors you may have used for professional negligence. This is because solicitors are in one of those professions that is recognised as having a duty of care to its clients.

The deciding factor is whether your particular situation meets the other two criteria on the list above, namely:

  • Did your solicitor’s actions, advice, or lack of action or advice fall below the standards you might have reasonably expected?
  • If so, did that “breach” of their duty cause you to suffer losses or damage?

Examples Of Professional Negligence By Solicitors

These are some potential examples of professional negligence by solicitors:

  1. Bad legal advice – if your solicitor advised you to do something (or not to do something) and it caused you a financial loss.
  2. Failure to offer legal advice – a failure to act can be perceived as negligence just as easily as an act. For instance, if a solicitor failed to offer advice when you might have reasonably expected them to, it could be negligence if you suffered a loss as a result.
  3. Not issuing a claim in time – if your solicitor did not issue a claim in time and you missed out on compensation as a result.
  4. Not drafting a will correctly – if your solicitor drafted a will poorly and you missed out on inheritance intended for you as a result.
  5. “Under settling” compensation claims – if your solicitor successfully helped you claim compensation for personal injury but then settled for less than you were due.

This list is by no means complete. If you think your solicitor has acted in a way that has caused you to suffer a loss, why not reach out to Solicitors Near Me to get matched with friendly legal advice for FREE and with no obligation to use a service?

It only takes a moment to complete a Free Online Enquiry for professional negligence?

Yes. A successful professional negligence claim – where you proved that your solicitor breached their duty of care and caused you a loss – can result in them paying you compensation.

The level of compensation you can receive isn’t set. Most likely, you can expect it to be around the amount of damage or losses you suffered as a result of their negligence.

Are There Any Other Options Besides A Professional Negligence Claim?

Your solicitor may also be in breach of contract if there is a written contract between you. This may be something written in the contract or something the law applies to all contracts of that type.

This sort of claim can be in addition to or instead of professional negligence and is often worth exploring with any legal expert you consult.

How Do I Start A Negligence Claim Against My Solicitor?

First things first. You’ll need to get specialist legal advice from a solicitor skilled in negligence law.

Why not let Solicitors Near Me find an expert near you? We do it for FREE and with zero commitment to use them.

To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.

 

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What Is Professional Negligence?

What Is Professional Negligence?What is professional negligence? (And what can we do about it?)

If you have experienced harm because of the action (or lack of action) of a professional, you may have been the victim of professional negligence. But what is professional negligence?

Because this term is often used quite loosely – or in circumstances when it doesn’t actually apply under UK law.

To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.

Here is everything you need to know about professional negligence to start working out whether you might have a potential claim or if someone has a claim against you:

How Do I Know If I Have A Claim For Professional Negligence?

Professional negligence means that a certain type of “professional” person or organisation has failed in what is called their “duty of care” to one of their clients.

A “professional” is often defined as someone who is considered to have “expertise” in the service they are providing. A professional has to deliver that service to a certain standard – the standard that their client might reasonably expect. If they don’t, they may have “breached” that duty of care.

This goes beyond someone making a mistake in the workplace. In order to qualify as professional negligence, three things must be true:

1)The Professional Must Owe A “Duty Of Care”

A “duty of care” is a legal obligation to achieve a set standard of care in order to avoid “careless acts that could foreseeably harm others”.

Many types of professionals – including solicitors, accountants, financial advisors, architects, chartered surveyors, personal trainers, and many others – owe their clients a duty of care.

Many professionals have a duty of care that is already recognised in law. Establishing that a certain professional owed their client a duty of care is the first fact that must be proven if you want to claim professional negligence occurred.

2) They Must Have Breached That Duty Of Care

If the professional owed a duty of care to their client, it must be shown that they breached it.

This could be either by something they did (for example, give bad financial advice) or something they failed to do (for example, give no financial advice when they reasonably should have done).

3) That Breach Of Care Must Have Caused A Loss

Finally, the person making a claim of professional negligence must show that they suffered loss or damage as a result of that breach of duty of care.

This could be physical harm or it could be financial harm they would not otherwise have suffered if the breach did not happen.

What Is Professional Negligence? Some Examples

Those rules are all very well, but the actual circumstances that professional negligence laws cover are so broad that they can be difficult to picture. They cover numerous situations in a wide range of industries.

Let’s take a look at some hypothetical examples of the kind of circumstances that could qualify as professional negligence:

  • Solicitor – if a solicitor drew up a will incorrectly and their client missed out on inheritance.
  • Personal trainer – if a personal trainer failed to enquire as to previous injuries and their client was injured during their workout.
  • Charted surveyor – if a surveyor failed to identify structural problems in a building that later needed to be rectified at great cost or caused injury or damage.

What Is The Difference Between Negligence And Professional Negligence?

Negligence, in legal terms, covers a wide range of areas. It means that someone had some kind of duty towards someone else and they managed to breach or fail to uphold it.

Professional negligence is one of these areas. If you hire a “professional”, you expect them to deliver services of a certain standard. They have that “duty of care” towards you.

There are several other key areas of negligence law. One of the most important is the specific type covering healthcare professionals. This is called medical negligence and has its own subset of law.

Is Negligence A Professional Liability?

If you are a professional and negligence – that you have breached your duty of care – has been proven, you can be held professionally liable.

Depending on your industry, you may have to have insurance protection in place specifically because you are held to certain standards.

How Much Can I Claim For Professional Negligence?

There isn’t really an agreed amount for how much you can claim for professional negligence. The amount you might be due will likely be linked to the scale of the damage or loss that the professional’s breach of duty of care caused.

For instance, imagine you had received bad professional financial advice that caused you to miss out on tax relief for your business. As a result, you ended up overpaying tax. Any professional negligence claim would likely be set around the amount of tax you overpaid.

How Do I Make A Professional Negligence Claim?

Your first step should always be to seek expert legal advice as to the strengths of your case. It’s wise to consult at least a couple of specialists to get more than one opinion. But where do you start?

Let Solicitors Near Me find you the ideal friendly and approachable negligence solicitor near you for FREE and with no obligation to use their services afterwards.

To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.

 

Remortgage Solicitors

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Suing A Solicitor For Negligence

Suing A Solicitor For NegligenceSuing a solicitor for negligence in the UK – what you need to know

Like many professionals, solicitors owe you a duty of care. If they fail in that duty, it is possible to sue them for the losses they have caused you. But how does suing a solicitor for negligence work in the UK?

Is there a timeframe? What are your odds of success? How do you prove that the fault was theirs? How do you even start?

To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.

Here is what you need to understand about professional negligence claims and how to begin yours:

On What Grounds Can You Sue A Solicitor?

Poor-quality service isn’t serious enough grounds on which to sue your solicitor for professional negligence. Frustrating as it might be, just because they failed to keep in touch with you or didn’t mention a certain fee when you instructed them doesn’t mean they are negligent.

To consider suing a solicitor for actual negligence, you need to be able to prove that you suffered a loss because of their actions or lack of action. This latter was confirmed in a 2015 court case – in negligence cases, failing to act is often perceived as just as bad as acting poorly.

Some of the most common examples of professional negligence on the part of solicitors include things like:

  • Offering you bad or incorrect legal advice
  • Drafting a legal document (such as a will or contract) improperly
  • Failing to secure the correct damages for you from a successful case
  • Not acting within legal deadlines so you lose your chance to claim or act
  • Not carrying out sufficient property searches during a house purchase

How Do You Prove A Solicitor Is Negligent?

Professional negligence cases of all kinds need to hit three separate legal targets in order to be successful:

  1. Duty of care – this must be owed by the professional in question. Solicitors do owe this.
  2. Breach of duty – your solicitor must have breached this duty of care.
  3. Caused a loss – the way they breached their duty of care must have caused you some kind of loss.

How Much Can I Sue My Solicitor For?

The amount you can try to claim from a solicitor that may have been professionally negligent will usually be tied to the losses their breach of duty of care has caused.

For instance, if they badly drafted a will that meant you lost thousands of pounds of inheritance, you might sue them for those thousands of pounds plus any other associated costs.

Or perhaps you bought a house and later found out that your solicitor failed to complete a search on the property that has led you to need to pay for building work to repair the problem. Maybe you also ended up paying a higher asking price than you would have done if you’d known.

In short, there isn’t really a fixed amount or limit on how much you can sue your solicitor for. However, any amount you get is likely to be tied to the amount of damage they caused.

How Long Do You Have To Sue A Solicitor For Negligence?

All professional negligence claims are time-limited to whichever is the later of:

  1. Six years after the date the act of negligence allegedly took place
  2. Three years after the date you found out about the negligence (with a possible “long stop” of 15 years after the date of the negligence)

How To Sue A Solicitor For Professional Negligence

The process for suing a solicitor for professional negligence normally works something like this:

  1. Get expert legal advice – this will help you know whether this complaint might or might not be worth pursuing and where you might start.
  2. Request a quote on solicitor’s fees – be clear about the way your new solicitor is charging you for their work. Some professional negligence solicitors work on a “no win no fee” basis.
    Others charge differently.
  3. Legal letter of claim – once you have instructed a solicitor, their early steps will likely be to collect evidence and then notify the negligent solicitor of your intentions and the strength of the case against them.
  4. Aim to settle out of court – going to court is the most expensive part of any legal process. Most solicitors will want to avoid it. A strong legal case can mean that your previous negligent solicitor will settle out of court.
  5. Go to court if necessary – if your possibly negligent previous solicitor believes they have a strong defence, they may resist your claim meaning you have to go to court.

Suing A Solicitor For Negligence In The UK – How To Get Started

The first thing to do is to find a professional negligence solicitor to represent you. This doesn’t have to be difficult, but it’s important to work with experts you trust.

Solicitors Near Me can find you the best choices for your specific needs for FREE and with no obligation to use them.

To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.

 

Remortgage Solicitors