How is dealing with my case

If you believe we should be able to investigate your complaint, even though you have already accepted a remedy, you will need to explain your reasons to us so we can make a decision about how to proceed. There are some services provided by these accountants that will be a legal service and some that are not. Services that are likely to be considered a legal service include:.

We will accept complaints where we consider that the complaint is about a legal service. We will not accept complaints about services that are NOT a legal service, such as preparing business accounts, or about any service they provided before the date that they became an authorised person.

Our job is not to decide whether what happened amounted to professional negligence or if there has been a 'legal wrong', such as breach of trust. We don't provide legal advice and normally we can't comment on the quality of service providers' legal advice either. Our job is to consider the level of customer service from the service provider. The question for us is not whether they were negligent but whether the level of service they provided was acceptable and, if it wasn't, what the consequences were for you.

Clearly, if something a service provider has done or not done looks like negligence it is also likely to be poor service. Coming to the Legal Ombudsman OR taking legal action for negligence are sometimes both remedies that could be pursued if something has gone wrong.

Both options might be open to a consumer where the same set of circumstances and facts apply and the consumer must choose which of them to pursue. We would not normally look at a complaint where the consumer was suing the service provider for negligence or where the court's decision had dealt with the same circumstances as the complaint to us. On the other hand, if you bring a complaint to us and accept our final decision you cannot then bring a court case against the service provider about the same set of circumstances.

The Legal Ombudsman has commissioned DJS Research, an independent market research company, to conduct research with complainants and service providers. You may receive contact from DJS via email or a telephone call.

Please be assured that your answers will be treated in the strictest confidence, and your feedback will go towards improving the service that the Legal Ombudsman provides. The Legal Services Act sets out specific duties for the Legal Ombudsman to share information with the front line legal regulators. We share general information about trends in complaints, similar to that we publish on the website, as well as specific information about individual cases where there may be potential issues of misconduct.

We have an agreed Memoranda of Understanding in place with each of the regulators which set out how we work with them and what information we share. You can read them here. We do not make conduct referrals to the LSB and we do not share with them any detail about individual cases.

We also have a Memorandum of Understanding in place with them which outlines how we work together. We get the vast majority of our funding from the annual fee that service providers pay to their regulators. In certain circumstances, we also charge a case fee to the service providers we have investigated. A legal service provider can be anyone who provides a legal service.

Not all are regulated. The Legal Ombudsman can only look into complaints about regulated legal service providers: solicitors, barristers, licensed conveyancers, cost lawyers, legal executives, notaries, patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys, law firms and companies providing legal services, such as some accountants.

Regulated legal service providers should tell you about the Legal Ombudsman, which is one way to tell if their service can be investigated by us. Our rules mean that we are only able to investigate a complaint after you have given your service provider an opportunity to deal with the complaint.

A service provider is entitled to eight weeks to address your complaint and try to resolve the matter with you before we get involved. There are limited circumstances where you may be unable to complain to you service provider, for example where they have closed down, and in those cases you should contact us to progress your complaint.

You should complain as soon as you are aware there is a problem. Problems are often sorted out early on. We have time frames in which we can help to resolve a complaint, so this is another reason to contact your service provider as soon as you are aware of the problem. Complain to the person who handles complaints for your service provider. Keep a copy of this and all the replies you receive.

You may find it useful to use our example formal complaint letter to help you write your complaint or for tips on what to say. Please see our How to complain to your legal service provider factsheet. Make sure you tell your service provider everything that you are unhappy about because we can only look at complaints you have already made to them. If you choose to make your complaint over the telephone or during a meeting, tell your service provider that you want to complain and ask them to record this on their file.

Make a note of the date, the issues you complained about, and who you spoke to. Ask for a written response. However, it is important to understand that your service provider may take court action against you to recover their fees and any investigation into your complaint by us does not prevent this. As such, you may wish to pay the fees but let the service provider know you are unhappy about doing so.

All solicitors have a process for handling complaints. Download a formal complaint letter template from the Legal Ombudsman website to complain to your solicitor. If you have complained to your solicitor about poor service and you are not satisfied with their response, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman. They will keep in contact with you and make sure your case is passed to an investigator for assessment.

If you have complained to your solicitor about breaching the SRA Code of Conduct and you are not satisfied with their response, you can report them to the SRA. We can only do this in certain situations. See our Guide to determinations. Ofgem run a number of environmental schemes for the government. If you have a complaint about our scheme services, you can find contact details for these in our Environmental and Social Schemes contacts page.

If you want to complain about a third party contact them directly. Third parties might include renewable technology installers, assessors or contractors you use. Ofgem does not set the policy for government schemes. Back bills are sent to you by your gas or electricity supplier when you've not been accurately charged. A guide to your rights. Call if you have a power cut and if you smell gas. You can get compensation for some supply problems.

Switching to a new supplier or energy tariff will probably save you money on your gas and electricity bills. Find out about moving from your existing deal or provider. Please enable JavaScript in your web browser to get the best experience. Check who's taken over your energy supply Guidance and support How you're protected when energy firms collapse. English Cymraeg. Talk to them. Explain the problem and what you want them to do.

You can complain by email, letter or telephone. Keep records of contact you have with the company. You can find company contact details on a recent energy bill.