If you have complained about a solicitor and heard nothing back, the Legal Ombudsman has a proposal you may like: a £400 charge to the firm for leaving you waiting.
It sits inside a consultation on Legal Ombudsman case fees, Scheme Rules and the publication of ombudsman decisions, which closes at midday on 2 September.
Complaining stays free
The most common question the Ombudsman says it has been asked is why it is not charging consumers to bring a complaint. Its answer is that it cannot. The Legal Services Act 2007 explanatory notes say a consumer whose complaint is not resolved in-house can bring it to the ombudsman scheme free of charge, and the Ombudsman Association’s rules say the same.
It also gives the practical reason. A fee, even a small one, would deter people who are vulnerable, on low incomes, or already in financial hardship because of the very thing they are complaining about. This would mak access to redress dependant on ability to pay rather than on the merits.
Some schemes have started charging professional representatives. None charge the consumer.
What would the £400 fee do?
Around a quarter of complaints the Ombudsman receives each year involve consumers saying they never got a final response from their provider, roughly 2,000 cases in 2024/25 and 2,300 in 2025/26.
Those cases cost more to resolve, because without a response there is nothing to resolve early and the complaint needs a full investigation. The proposal is that the firm, rather than the rest of the profession through the levy, carries that cost.
Other proposed fees are steeper. A case resolved by early resolution costs the Ombudsman around £500; a full ombudsman decision is proposed to carry a £1,500 fee. The Ombudsman says the model is not about revenue as case fee income can only reduce the levy the sector pays, and would take the levy-funded share of its costs from about 95% down to roughly 80%.
The part that affects your complaint
Alongside the fees, the Ombudsman wants to change its Scheme Rules so it can focus on complaints involving real impact or detriment. It puts the ask plainly: of consumers, to be clear about the detriment they have experienced.
That should sound familiar. From 1 October the Financial Ombudsman gains powers to dismiss complaints where there has been no financial loss or material distress or inconvenience. Two separate schemes, weeks apart, moving the same way.
The lesson is the same in both places. Saying a firm handled things badly is no longer enough on its own. Say what it cost you and what it did to you. The money, the time, the consequences that followed, as that is increasingly the thing that decides whether anyone looks at the merits at all.
The consultation closes at midday on 2 September and anyone can respond. If you are mid-complaint, our guide to writing a complaint letter covers what to include, and what to do when they don’t reply covers the eight-week point.
Common questions
Does it cost anything to complain to the Legal Ombudsman?
No, and it is not going to. The Legal Ombudsman has ruled out charging consumers, pointing to the Legal Services Act 2007 and Ombudsman Association rules that a complaint should be free at the point of use.
How long does my solicitor have to respond to a complaint?
Eight weeks. If you have not had a final response by then, you can take the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.
What happens if my solicitor ignores my complaint?
You can go to the Legal Ombudsman after eight weeks. Under the proposals a firm that has not issued a final response in that time would face a fee.