The Law Society has raised “serious concerns” over proposed changes to fees for the Legal Ombudsman.
The 12 week consultation period on The Office for Legal Complaints’s (OLC) proposed changes to the Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO) Scheme Rules closed on 2nd September.
Under the proposals, case fees would increase from £400 to £600, with £750 for an investigation and £1,500 for an ombudsman decision.
While the Law Society supports the OLC’s “ambition to improve the efficiency, proportionality and effectiveness of the Legal Ombudsman scheme” it says the “proposed reforms are at risk of unfairly shifting the costs of a struggling complaints system to legal service providers, rather than tackling the root cause of the issue”.
Law Society president, Mark Evans, said: “We are concerned that several of the proposals could undermine confidence in the complaints process and therefore risk restricting access to justice. Particularly the proposed increases to case fees, which are not supported by evidence to demonstrate that they are necessary, proportionate or fair.
“Smaller practices and legal aid providers may be especially impacted if these reforms are implemented.”
The Law Society raised concerns that the £1,500 when a complaint requires a final ombudsman decision may be “tacked onto additional fees in certain circumstances, resulting in further financial burden” for firms.
Evans added: “There is a real risk that the proposals will encourage firms to settle complaints regardless of merit, simply because it is cheaper than pursuing a legitimate defence. This would be unfair to legal providers and would distort the purpose of the complaints system.
“Ahead of any proposed reforms, the OLC needs to further engage with the profession. A detailed equality and cost-benefit impact assessments also need to be carried out to examine how the proposals will affect firms and the wider profession.”
