Complaint handling in legal services “not good enough”

The Legal Services Consumer Panel’s 2024 Tracker Survey reveals that complaint handling in the legal services market is inadequate, necessitating robust regulatory intervention to establish consistent standards. A significant finding is that 33% of consumers who knew how to complain did not trust their lawyer to handle it properly, while 32% feared delays and 28% worried about increased bills.

Tom Hayhoe, Chair of the Panel, emphasised the importance of building consumer confidence in the complaints process, stating, “Consumers need to have confidence that when something goes wrong, there is a clear and simple route to complain. Our research shows this isn’t the case. Only half of consumers know how to complain. Another significant proportion feel they cannot raise complaints with their legal professionals because they do not trust them to handle it properly, in a timely manner or without charging more.”

Key findings include:

• 51% of consumers know how to make a complaint, with 28% uncertain and 21% unaware.
• 33% do not trust their service provider with complaints.
• 32% believe complaining would delay proceedings.
• 28% think it would increase their bill.
• Overall satisfaction with legal services is at 87%, up from 85% in 2023.
• Satisfaction with case outcomes remains at 89%.
• Face-to-face service delivery rose slightly to 45%.
• C2DE social grade consumers more frequently used and valued face-to-face services.
• Self-funded legal services increased to 73%.
• The proportion of consumers shopping around for legal services rose to 41%.

Hayhoe called for regulators to mandate standardised complaint procedures and clear communication to ensure consumers understand how to complain and are assured of professional handling. He also suggested publishing first-tier complaints to drive sector-wide improvements.

“Legal services providers need to improve their processes for handling complaints, and do so quickly. Clear routes and speedy resolution of complaints are the minimum. Together regulators should mandate standardised language that ensures consumers know how to complain, understand the procedures and are assured that complaints will be handled professionally. Publishing first tier complaints to law firms will also help drive improvement in the sector. Regulators must act now.”