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The Legal eXchange The "Regulators" - the truth?... |
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The Legal eXchange The "Regulators" - the truth?... |
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On this page...
[Complaints] [Law Society] [Bar Council] [OLSO] [OLSC] [Courts] [SDT] [DCA] [Police] [MP's] [Press]
This page currently has no fixed abode... consider it another links page if you will, though you will find most of the links elsewhere on the site. However, staying "on-topic" and collecting some "bits" under the same banner...
Who do you complain to when things go wrong? Sadly, this page might prove less useful than you may be hoping...
The whole purpose of the Legal eXchange is to to ensure that (if you're lucky) things DON'T go wrong in the first place. In time we may make a positive difference but only if our Members help and only if you've found us BEFORE things go wrong. Sadly, some will arrive here looking for redress. If you are very lucky you may find another Member who has suffered at the hands of the same Firm or individual... then, possibly, by comparing notes two may achieve redress where the individual is doomed to failure. So what do you do when things have gone badly for you?
In theory (at least) all Legal Professionals are regulated. First you must complain to the firm or individual. When this yields nothing you can then complain to the regulator (i.e. the Law society for a solicitor, the Bar Council for a barrister). The problem is the Law Society is both "regulator" and (effectively) "trade union" ... so in practice many people report that these so-called "regulators" at best ignore complaints and at worst actively collude with the guilty Professional to get them off.
It's all supposed to be changing following the Clementi Review http://www.legal-services-review.org.uk/ - there's even supposed to be draft legislation in place. The problem is ... we've heard it all before ... we can HOPE... but must remain realistic.
Discuss them all (and whatever may replace them) on our Regulators? Forum Board
>>> The Regulators? Your Views and Experiences <<<
Currently...
The Firm's Complaints Procedure
The first step is to complain to the Firm concerned - all are supposed to operate a complaints procedure. In practice you may find you complaints ignored or briefly dismissed by the very person your complaint is about. Of course, if it's serious you're very unlikely to get very far. You may find they close ranks, lie and (even) threaten you...
Many - more than 40 per cent - of those who said they’d received poor service failed to complain. The main reason given was that they felt there was no point, but some people said they’d have found it too stressful or upsetting. A few even felt threatened – one said she didn’t want to complain for ‘fear of repercussions’. Almost all those who did complain to their solicitors’ practice were unhappy with the way their complaint was dealt with. Nearly three quarters said their complaint wasn’t resolved. Source Which?
After you've been given the brush-off by the Firms internal complaints system you are free to take matters (if your complaint is about a solicitor) to the Law Society. The department used to be called the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) but, in April 2004, it was re-branded as the Consumer Complaints Service (CCS) - same shit, different day? If you are VERY patient and persistent (bloody minded?) ... here's where... http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/redressscheme.law
Expect delays, brush-offs and "ignore letters"...
The Office for the Supervision of Solicitors has now been changed to Consumer Complaints Service, but is the same people doing the same job just as badly as before. - Source RoughJustice - Site has some advice which MAY help
One person described the Law Society as “a body that is ‘drinking at the same waterhole’ as the legal hyenas it purports to be checking up on.” - Source Which?
England has a serious problem with organised crime - The Law Society and solicitors ARE the problem. The Law Society exists to protect solicitors, not individual rights, the public interest or justice. - Source UnjustIS
This is the place for complaints against barristers... I've never tried but there is LOTS of evidence in cyberspace that they're every bit as BAD as the Law Society ... so ... If you are VERY patient and persistent (bloody minded?) ... here's where... http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/document.asp?languageid=1&documentid=616
Have you ever complained to 'The Bar Council' and these 'Mythical Gods' instantly pounce on you throwing your evidence back at you, saying it is part of your 'litigation' and then accept identical evidence from the Barrister? - Source Flint
The Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman (OLSO)
Who watches over the "regulators"? In theory - the Legal Services Ombudsman. When you've received your final brush-off from the Law Society and the Bar Council you can go here ...
Would anyone believe there are around 440,000 disillusioned Law Society consumers every year? Well it appears Ol' ZM thinks so, click Here to find out.
Have you ever paid a Barrister for an ‘opinion’ on the solicitors and find you have a bigger fight on your hands? You find the Barrister has written a 'defence' for the solicitors based on lies the solicitors had told. You then find the Legal Ombudsman writes to you agreeing the 'Barrister's Opinion' is 'inaccurate' and cannot be 'relied upon' but decided she will do nothing about it. - Source Flint
The Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC)
The Solicitor's Disiplinary Tribunal (SDT)
The Police
http://www.ukfathers.co.uk/mediamegaphone.htm
Reminder: Our standard disclaimer applies to all information given on this site
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