A recent Legal Ombudsman development has raised an important question for solicitors and their clients: can solicitors charge for dealing with complaints? 

While the immediate issue concerns complaints handling, there is a wider legal costs question behind it. Solicitors need to distinguish between work undertaken as part of their complaints obligations and substantive legal work that may properly be charged under the terms of the retainer. 

This distinction can become particularly important where a complaint concerns the firm’s fees, the quality of legal work provided or the terms on which the solicitor was instructed. What begins as a service complaint can develop into a solicitor-client costs dispute, raising questions about whether particular charges were properly incurred, contractually recoverable and capable of being challenged through the appropriate costs process. 

For costs practitioners, therefore, the issue is not simply whether a solicitor can charge for responding to a complaint. It is about identifying the boundary between complaints handling and chargeable legal work, and understanding the potential consequences for legal costs, billing and costs recovery. 

 

What Is a Solicitor’s Complaints Procedure? 

Regulated law firms should have an appropriate complaints procedure through which clients can raise concerns about the service they have received. Complaints may concern delay, communication, advice, conduct, billing or other aspects of the service provided. 

The purpose of the complaints process is to give the firm an opportunity to investigate the issue and, where appropriate, put matters right before the complaint is escalated. 

From a legal costs perspective, however, it is important to distinguish the existence of a complaint from the work undertaken in response to it. Not every piece of work performed after a client complains will automatically be chargeable, particularly where that work forms part of the firm’s ordinary complaints obligations. 

Where a complaint remains unresolved, a client may be able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, subject to the relevant requirements. A complaint about service and a formal dispute concerning the solicitor’s costs may, however, involve different processes. 

 

Can Solicitors Charge for Dealing with Complaints? 

Generally, solicitors should not charge clients for the ordinary work involved in handling a complaint under their firm’s complaints procedure. 

A client who raises a complaint about poor service should not ordinarily find that investigating that complaint generates a further legal bill simply because members of the firm have spent time responding to it. The firm’s complaints procedure should provide an appropriate mechanism for investigating the concerns raised and providing a substantive response. 

This is particularly important where the complaint relates directly to the solicitor’s own conduct or standard of service. Charging a client for investigating their complaint could create a conflict between the firm’s commercial interests and its obligation to deal with the complaint appropriately. 

For costs purposes, firms should therefore be careful about treating all post-complaint work as ordinary chargeable time. The nature and purpose of the work, together with the terms of the retainer, will be relevant when determining whether a particular charge has a proper basis. 

 

What Counts as Complaints Handling for Costs Purposes? 

A solicitor may need to review the client’s file, investigate the concerns raised, consult the firm’s complaints policy and prepare a written response. These activities would ordinarily form part of dealing with the complaint itself. 

The position can become less straightforward where the complaint develops into a separate substantive matter. For example, a client may formally dispute the solicitor’s bill, allege professional negligence or require independent legal advice concerning their position. 

The fact that work arises because a client has complained does not automatically determine whether it is chargeable. The nature and purpose of the work must be considered. 

From a costs perspective, firms should be able to distinguish between: 

• Ordinary complaints handling, such as investigating the complaint and preparing a response  

• Administrative or regulatory activity connected with the firm’s complaints obligations  

• Separate substantive legal work arising from an issue raised by the complaint  

This distinction can become particularly important if the client’s bill is subsequently challenged and individual costs entries are scrutinised. 

 

What About Complaints Concerning Legal Costs? 

The distinction becomes even more important where the complaint itself concerns legal costs. 

A client may complain that their solicitor’s bill is excessive, unclear or inconsistent with the terms on which they were instructed. This may initially be capable of being addressed through the firm’s complaints procedure, but a dispute over costs can develop into a more formal challenge. 

Depending on the circumstances, questions may arise about: 

• The terms and scope of the solicitor’s retainer  

• Whether particular work was authorised or properly undertaken  

• Whether the amount charged is reasonable and recoverable  

• Whether the client has rights to challenge or seek assessment of the bill  

A complaint about a bill and a formal solicitor-client costs dispute should not therefore be treated as interchangeable. 

This is where specialist costs advice can become particularly valuable. A costs draftsman can help establish what has been charged, whether the charges have a proper basis and what procedure may be available if the bill is disputed. 

 

Legal Ombudsman, Costs Disputes and Assessment 

The Legal Ombudsman forms an important part of the complaints landscape, but its role should not be confused with the separate processes that can apply to disputes about legal costs. 

A client may initially use the firm’s complaints procedure and, where appropriate, escalate an unresolved complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. However, a dispute about the amount or validity of a solicitor’s bill may raise separate questions concerning the retainer, the charges incurred and any applicable costs assessment procedure. 

The appropriate route will depend on the nature of the dispute. A complaint about poor service, a challenge to a legal bill and a substantive claim against a solicitor are not necessarily dealt with through the same mechanism. 

Understanding that distinction can help prevent unnecessary costs and ensure that a dispute is directed towards the appropriate process from the outset. 

 

What Should Solicitors Do About Time Recording? 

From a legal costs perspective, firms should be particularly careful about how they record time spent following a client complaint. 

Where time is recorded as ordinary chargeable work, questions may arise about whether it falls within the firm’s complaints obligations or instead represents a separate service for which the client has agreed to pay. 

Good time recording should make it possible to establish what work was undertaken and why. This can be particularly important where a client later challenges the bill. 

Clear records can help distinguish between complaint handling and substantive legal work, while also providing an evidential trail if individual costs entries become the subject of a dispute or assessment. 

 

What Do the Law Society and SRA Position Mean for Firms? 

The Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) both have an important role in setting expectations around client care, complaints handling and professional conduct. 

For firms, this reinforces the importance of having a clear approach to complaints-related work and ensuring that it is not simply treated as additional chargeable time without considering its purpose and contractual basis. 

This is particularly valuable where a complaint concerns a complex bill or develops into a solicitor-client costs dispute. 

 

What Does This Mean for Clients? 

For clients, receiving a bill following a complaint should not necessarily be accepted without question. The important issue is what the client has actually been charged for. 

Where a charge has been raised following a complaint, clients may wish to consider: 

1. What specific work has been charged for?  

1. Was the work part of the firm’s ordinary complaints procedure?  

1. Does the work instead relate to a separate substantive legal issue?  

1. Does the firm’s retainer provide a contractual basis for the charge?  

Where the dispute concerns the solicitor’s bill itself, the client should consider whether there are formal avenues for challenging or seeking assessment of the costs. Independent legal advice from a suitably experienced costs professional may be appropriate where the dispute is substantial or legally complex. 

 

How Greener Costs Can Assist 

At Greener Costs, our focus is on legal costs and the processes surrounding the preparation, review, negotiation and assessment of legal bills. 

Where a complaint develops into a dispute concerning solicitor-client costs, our costs expertise can help identify the issues that need to be addressed. This may include reviewing the bill against the relevant retainer, considering whether charges have been properly incurred and assessing the reasonableness and recoverability of the costs claimed. 

Where appropriate, we can also assist with the preparation and negotiation of costs documentation and the wider costs process arising from a disputed bill. 

The distinction between a service complaint and a genuine costs dispute is important. Once an issue moves beyond ordinary complaints handling and into questions about the validity, reasonableness or assessment of legal fees, specialist costs expertise can help ensure that the appropriate process is followed. Contact Greener Costs’ costs lawyers and costs draftsmen today on 01204 263047 or info@greenercosts.co.uk. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Can a solicitor include time spent investigating a complaint on a client’s bill? 

The key consideration is what the time relates to. Work forming part of the firm’s ordinary complaints procedure should generally be distinguished from separate substantive legal work. The retainer and nature of the work will be relevant when determining whether a charge has a proper contractual basis. 

What happens if a client disputes charges for complaint-related work? 

The client can ask the solicitor to explain the work undertaken and the basis on which it has been charged. If the disagreement develops into a substantive dispute concerning the solicitor-client bill, the appropriate costs dispute or assessment process may need to be considered. 

Can a solicitor’s costs be assessed if a complaint concerns the amount of the bill? 

Potentially. A complaint about the level or validity of a solicitor’s fees is not necessarily limited to the firm’s internal complaints procedure. Depending on the circumstances, there may be formal mechanisms through which solicitor-client costs can be challenged or assessed. 

When should a disputed complaint-related bill be referred to a costs draftsman? 

Specialist costs advice can be particularly useful where the dispute involves a substantial bill, complex retainer provisions, questions about the recoverability of individual time entries or uncertainty about the appropriate costs procedure. A costs draftsman can help establish whether the issue is primarily a complaint, a solicitor-client costs dispute or a matter requiring formal assessment.