Legal Ombudsman Problems

paraza

Does anyone have any experience of a Legal Ombudsman complaint being dismissed under their Scheme Rule 5.7?

I waited 2 years for the Ombudsman to contact me. 

A further 6 months for them to investigate my complaint. 

To then be told my complaint would be dismissed under their Scheme Rule 5.7.

I’ve now been advised that the Ombudsman is such a poor service that I should instead raise a Legal case against the firm I complained against for negligence. 

Any thoughts? And should I approach a no win no fee firm, as opposed to instructing a solicitor and running up more litigation costs. 

Thank you for any advice you may have 🙏🏻

Diamandis

These are the reasons given for dismissal in 5.7

Grounds for dismissal42

5.7 An ombudsman may (but does not have to) dismiss all or part of a complaint

without considering its merits if, in his/her opinion:

a) it does not have any reasonable prospect of success, or is frivolous or 

vexatious; or

b) the complainant has not suffered (and is unlikely to suffer) financial loss, 

distress, inconvenience or other detriment; or

c) the authorised person has already offered fair and reasonable redress in relation 

to the circumstances alleged by the complainant and the offer is still open for 

acceptance; or

d) the complainant has previously complained about the same issue to the 

ombudsman service or a predecessor complaints scheme (unless the 

ombudsman considers that material new evidence, likely to affect the outcome, 

only became available to the complainant afterwards); or

e) a comparable independent complaints (or costs-assessment) scheme or a 

court has already dealt with the same issue; or

f) a comparable independent complaints (or costs-assessment) scheme or a court 

is dealing with the same issue, unless those proceedings are first stayed (by the 

agreement of all parties or by a court order) so that the ombudsman service can 

deal with the issue; or

g) it would be more suitable for the issue to be dealt with by a court, by arbitration 

or by another complaints (or costs-assessment) scheme;43 or

h) the issue concerns an authorised person’s decision when exercising a 

discretion under a will or trust; or

i) the issue concerns an authorised person’s failure to consult a beneficiary before 

exercising a discretion under a will or trust, where there is no legal obligation to 

consult;

j) the issue involves someone else who has not complained and the ombudsman

considers that it would not be appropriate to deal with the issue without their 

consent; or

k) it is not practicable to investigate the issue fairly because of the time which has 

elapsed since the act/omission; or

l) the issue concerns an act/omission outside England and Wales and the

circumstances do not have a sufficient connection with England and Wales;44 or

m) there are other compelling reasons why it is inappropriate for the issue to be 

dealt with under the ombudsman scheme.

What has actually happened and why do you think 5.7 doesn't apply? 

Of course you can still take legal action if you wish against the company you had an issue with. Whether a no win no fee comparable would take on your claim will depend on how likely they view your case to be successful. 

Undervalued

paraza said:

Does anyone have any experience of a Legal Ombudsman complaint being dismissed under their Scheme Rule 5.7?

I waited 2 years for the Ombudsman to contact me. 

A further 6 months for them to investigate my complaint. 

To then be told my complaint would be dismissed under their Scheme Rule 5.7.

I’ve now been advised that the Ombudsman is such a poor service that I should instead raise a Legal case against the firm I complained against for negligence. 

Any thoughts? And should I approach a no win no fee firm, as opposed to instructing a solicitor and running up more litigation costs. 

Thank you for any advice you may have 🙏🏻

Without knowing the strength (or otherwise) of you case it is difficult to give much useful advice.

One general point. If you go down the "no win no fee" route (assuming you can find a firm to take it on) be very, very sure you fully understand the agreement. Plus, you must give them all the information and not be tempted to hide anything that you feel doesn't help your case. If you do that you should be protected from any costs if you lose. Strangely though it is sometimes possible to "win" (a partial, small or purely technical win maybe) and end up significantly out of pocket.

Another nasty situation is if you want to pull out of the case for any reason (health, personal etc) you may be liable for significant costs.

user1977

OP, you'll need to tell us the subject matter of your complaint for anybody here to give useful advice.

TELLIT01

Disagreeing with the Ombudsman ruling does not automatically mean that ruling was incorrect.

sheramber

Is this to do with the solicitor payment  dispute in your post of 2018

Manxman_in_exile

sheramber said:

Is this to do with the solicitor payment  dispute in your post of 2018

Do you mean about the divorce and whether or not a solicitors' bill was full and final?

Just looking at that again (I actually posted on it but didn't make this point) I wonder who told the OP that it was a final bill?

The OP has firm XYZ acting for them in their divorce, and their solicitor is B.  B decides to leave XYZ and the OP decides to transfer their case along with B.  OP asks for a final bill for the work done by XYZ, gets one, pays it, but then XYZ send another bill.

I would have thought it depended upon whom the OP asked for a full and final bill.  If it was the individual solicitor B whom they asked, I think it might depend on whether B still worked for XYZ, or whether they were working for themselves at the time.  Similarly, if the OP was assured by B that it was a full and final bill, was B still working for XYZ at that time, or for himself?

user1977

Manxman_in_exile said:

sheramber said:

Is this to do with the solicitor payment  dispute in your post of 2018

Do you mean about the divorce and whether or not a solicitors' bill was full and final?

I looked at their posting history too, but I guess it isn't that, given the reference to a potential negligence claim in this thread.

Manxman_in_exile

To have a problem with one solicitor may be regarded as a misfortune, but to have a problem with two looks like... er... negligence.

porkisnotmeat

Manxman_in_exile said:

To have a problem with one solicitor may be regarded as a misfortune, but to have a problem with two looks like... er... negligence.

It's not negligence to have a problem with two solicitors.  It's a problem with the OP, who is the common denominator.

paraza

Thank you for your reply. I was charged way above my cost estimates (£50,000 more than the estimate), and my Form H for court was missing £10,000’s of my fees, and I was never shown it before or since. It is a legal requirement for your solicitor to give you and to talk through this form. And it has now gone missing from the file. I was charged for assistants that I was told we work experience and free. And I had important letters not answered by the firm. 

My case is complicated, and I’ve been advised that the investigators at the ombudsman aren’t legally qualified. So when a complicated case ends on their desk, they commonly dismiss it by using a Scheme Rule 5.7. It’s basically a cop out. 

Hope that helps. And thank you!