The Legal Ombudsman provides an independent and impartial scheme to help resolve disputes about the service provided by firms in the legal sector. It is free to members of the public.
When should you contact the Legal Ombudsman?
If you need to complain, you must firstly complain to the firm that has been doing your legal work. They should take steps to resolve your complaint.
If your complaint is not sorted out by the firm so that you are satisfied with their decision, the firm must:
- inform you that you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman
- give you contact details for the Legal Ombudsman
- give you details of the time limits for making contacting the Legal Ombudsman
Time limits for complaining to the Legal Ombudsman
The firm has up to eight weeks to respond to you after you have complained to them. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint if:
- you are not happy with the firm’s decision about your complaint
- the firm does not respond to you within eight weeks of complaining to them
You must contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint within six months from:
- the date of the final decision you receive from the firm
- eight weeks after you complain to the firm if you do not receive a decision from them.
It is sensible to contact the Legal Ombudsman straight away. If you do not complain to the Legal Ombudsman within these time limits, they may not be able to investigate your complaint.
Generally, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to look at your complaint if you are referring your complaint to them within either:
- six years of the problem happening
- three years from when you found out about it (if it took place more than six years ago)
You can find out more information from the Legal Ombudsman’s leaflet Here to help.
Legal Ombudsman contact details
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Calling from overseas: +44 121 245 3050
NGT Lite users: 18001 0300 555 0333
Minicom text phone user: 18002 0300 555 0333
Write to: The Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
