Research from the UK’s Office of Fair Trading claims that only one client in eight (13 per cent) would make a formal complaint, and went on to call for the profession to implement simpler procedures.
The main cause for the low level of complaints was attributed to uncertainty over how and where to complain, plus added scepticism over whether complaining was worth the effort.
Streamlined
The survey – published last week -- also found that some 460,000 of the 3 million people who use the UK’s legal profession every year are dissatisfied with the service. Those results come only two years after the launch in England of the Legal Ombudsman office, which was designed to simplify and streamline the complaints process.
Mary Starks, the OFT’s senior director of services, infrastructure and public Markets, commented: 'We are encouraged by the recent reforms, which have improved the regulation of legal services and removed unnecessary barriers to firms offering new business models to consumers. However, our research shows that there is still room for improvement. Too many consumers are unhappy with the service they receive, yet are put off pursuing complaints by the complexity of the system.’
Better approach
She went on to say that a ‘better approach to handling complaints would not only support individual consumers' right to redress when things go wrong -- together with competition from alternative providers it would also drive a more customer-focussed approach by law firms, something our survey results suggest is still needed.'
The OFT has invited the legal profession, regulators and consumer groups to a roundtable next week to discuss complaints handling and other research findings.
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