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Complaints
Our aim is to provide a high standard of service in our dealings with you. If you are dissatisfied in any way with the way in which this office and its staff have dealt with your case, please let us know as soon as possible. As well as trying to resolve any particular problems, this gives us an opportunity to examine the services we are providing, and to consider making improvements. All complaints will receive a written response within 15 days. Complaints should be made, in writing, to the Complaints Officer at the following address:
Official Solicitor
81 Chancery Lane
London
WC2A 1DD
DX0012 London/Chancery
You can e-mail your complaint to us.
Please note that e-mailed complaints have the same 15 day target as all written complaints.
What information should be included?
Our response to your complaint
If you are not satisfied with our response
If not satisfied with the response you receive from the Official Solicitor
If your complaint is about general office management and administrative issues
What information should be included?
In your letter you should:
- Provide your name and address to send a response;
- Give the name of your case and the reference number if you have one; and
- Explain what you are complaining about, giving as much relevant detail about your complaint as possible by including dates and events, and making clear what you feel is wrong.
What will happen next?
Your complaint will be acknowledged by the Complaints Officer within 3 working days of receipt. It will be passed on immediately to a senior manager who will investigate your complaint. Our aim is to provide a response to every complaint within 15 working days. If there is going to be a delay for any reason, we will let you know within 15 working days and give you a date by which we expect to provide a full reply. You can ask for information about the progress of the investigation into your complaint from the Complaints Officer, at the above address, or by telephone on 020 7911 7142.
Our response to your complaint
After the investigation you will receive a full reply, which will uphold, partially uphold or fail to uphold your complaint. If your complaint is justified or partially justified, you will receive a full apology, together with proposals about what we intend to do to put things right and to ensure that such a mistake does not occur again. Even if your complaint is not upheld, we would hope to have explained to your satisfaction why we do not feel you have cause to feel dissatisfied with the service we have provided.
If you are not satisfied with our response
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive to your complaint, you can write to Alastair Pitblado, the Official Solicitor at the above address. He is responsible for the conduct of their representatives, but is not able personally to supervise every aspect of a case. He or his deputy will, therefore, wish to undertake an investigation of an unresolved complaint against their staff.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Official Solicitor
If you are dissatisfied with the response you receive from Alastair Pitblado, it may be possible for you (or your legal representative) to refer your concerns to the court, or to pursue a right of appeal. The Official Solicitor is an independent public officer, responsible to the court, for the manner in which he conducts his duties. You may ask the Official Solicitor to identify any court or right of appeal that applies to your particular circumstances.
If your complaint is about general office management and administrative issues
If your concerns relate to general office management and administrative issues rather than decisions in an individual case, you can write to:
Corporate Management Director
Ministry of Justice
8th Floor
Selborne House
54-60 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QW
If you are still dissatisfied
If you still feel that your complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily, you can ask an MP to consider referring the matter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman). However, the Ombudsman cannot consider complaints about the commencement or conduct of civil proceedings or investigate any action taken at the direction of any person acting in a judicial capacity.
Financial Compensation
You may be eligible for compensation if there has been financial loss which cannot be recovered as a result of a mistake or delay by the OSPT. e.g. loss of interest, tax penalties for late submission of tax returns, or loss on investments. You may also be eligible for an ex gratia payment for inconvenience, anxiety worry or distress caused as a result of action or inaction by the OSPT.
Other types of complaints
You cannot complain to the Official Solicitor If you do not agree with the decision a judge or magistrate has made. You should seek advice from a solicitor, local law centre, Citizens Advice Bureau or Community Legal Services.
If you wish to complain about the way a judge, registrar, magistrate or coroner has behaved towards you, you should contact:
Office for Judicial Complaints
4th Floor, Clive House
Petty France
London SW1H 9HD
If you wish to complain about a barrister, you should contact:
The Bar Council
289-293 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7HZ
If you wish to complain about a solicitor, you should first contact the solicitor's firm, but if you are still dissatisfied you can write to:
The Consumer Complaints Service
The Law Society
Victoria Court, 8 Dormer Place
Leamington Spa
Warwickshire CV32 5AE