# Solicitors' complaints procedure: what it must contain, the Legal Ombudsman's model procedure and what the proposed case fees would cost > What a small firm's complaints procedure must say, the Legal Ombudsman's two-stage model, the £400 case fee and the £200 to £1,500 fees proposed for 2027. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/solicitors-complaints-procedure-model-procedure-case-fees/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Solicitors, SRA, AML and transparency - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: The Legal Ombudsman's case fee is £400 today; the proposals consulted on until 2 September 2026 would make it £200, £750 or £1,500 depending on the stage a complaint reaches, plus £400 where the firm gave no final response within eight weeks, from 1 April 2027 if approved, so an unanswered complaint taken to a final decision would cost £1,900. - Sources: SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.2 to 8.5 and SRA Transparency Rules 2.1 (versions in effect from 11 April 2025); Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023 (rules 4.2, 4.4, 5.43, 6.2, 6.3); Office for Legal Complaints consultation on Scheme Rules, case fees and publishing decisions (June 2026) and case fee Q&A (13 August 2026); Legal Ombudsman Model Complaints Resolution Procedure page, guidance and template letters (29 July 2026); Legal Ombudsman news release on AI and complaints (1 October 2026) and Legal Futures' report of it for the 200 files; Law Gazette, 2 April 2026, for the Ombudsman's advice on updates; all read 2026-10-01. A complaint that a firm leaves unanswered costs it a £400 case fee at the Legal Ombudsman today. Under proposals that closed for consultation on 2 September 2026 the same complaint, taken to a final decision, would cost £1,900. **Free tool on the page:** Complaint acknowledgement and final response letter maker for law firms. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/solicitors-complaints-procedure-model-procedure-case-fees/#tool and asks for no sign-up. ## What the rules require | Requirement | Where it comes from | |---|---| | The firm has, or takes part in, a complaints procedure | SRA Code 8.2 | | At engagement the client is told in writing how to complain, to whom, and when they can go to the Legal Ombudsman | Code 8.3 | | The procedure is published on the firm's website, including how and when to complain to the Ombudsman and to the SRA | Transparency Rules 2.1 | | If the complaint is not resolved within 8 weeks, the client is told in writing of the right to go to the Ombudsman, the time frame and full contact details | Code 8.4 | | When the procedure is exhausted, the client is told the firm cannot settle the complaint, given the name and website of an approved alternative dispute resolution body, and told whether the firm agrees to use it | Code 8.4 | | Complaints are dealt with promptly, fairly and free of charge | Code 8.5 | The second row belongs in the [client care letter](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/client-care-letter-checklist-new-matter/) and the third on the page the [transparency rules guide](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/sra-transparency-rules-price-information-what-to-publish/) audits. ## The Ombudsman's model procedure On 29 July 2026 the Ombudsman published a Model Complaints Resolution Procedure. It is voluntary and does not change what the SRA requires. A firm that wants to say it uses the model must keep five features: 1. A link to the Ombudsman's resources on the model. 2. An acknowledgement of every complaint, saying what happens next. 3. An early resolution stage: a conversation aimed at settling the complaint, in place of a first formal stage. 4. A full investigation stage for complaints that cannot be settled early. 5. A written outcome, whichever stage produced it. In the three-month pilot 57% of complaints were resolved at early resolution, in seven days on average against 21 days for those needing a full investigation. The guidance for small providers says the early stage need not be run by a partner. It needs someone with the authority to settle, up to a limit the firm sets, who keeps a record. ## The stages inside the eight weeks The eight weeks run from the day the complaint is made (Scheme Rule 4.2). For a complaint emailed on Thursday 1 October 2026 the model's timings fall like this: | Stage | Model timing | Date | |---|---|---| | Acknowledge, with a copy of the procedure | within 5 working days | Thursday 8 October 2026 | | Early resolution, if it starts on acknowledgement | no more than 10 working days | Thursday 22 October 2026 | | Full investigation and final response | the rest of the 8 weeks, which is 56 days in all | Thursday 26 November 2026 | That leaves five weeks for the investigation if early resolution fails. The [complaint deadline calculator](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/complaint-deadline-calculator-law-firm-eight-weeks-legal-ombudsman/) gives these dates for any complaint, with the six-month and one-year limits that follow the final response. ## What the case fee is, and what is proposed Today the fee is £400 for every chargeable complaint. It is waived only where the complaint was withdrawn or closed in the firm's favour and the ombudsman is satisfied the firm took all reasonable steps under its own procedure (rule 6.2). Separately, an ombudsman can award a client up to £50,000. The Office for Legal Complaints has consulted on replacing the flat fee. Its paper expects any change, once approved by the Legal Services Board, from 1 April 2027. We found no decision published by 1 October 2026, so the right-hand column is a proposal. | How the case closes at the Ombudsman | Fee now | Fee proposed | |---|---|---| | Early resolution | none | £200 | | Investigation, without an ombudsman's decision | £400 | £750 | | Ombudsman's final decision | £400 | £1,500 | | No final response from the firm within eight weeks | no extra fee | £400 on top | The sum for the worst case: £1,500 plus £400 is £1,900, against £400 now, a rise of £1,500. The £200 would be charged only where poor service or poor complaint handling is found, and the waiver stays. The Ombudsman says about a quarter of the complaints it receives, around 2,300 in 2025/26, come from clients who say they had no final response. ## The final response, in the Ombudsman's order The model's template letter runs in this order: 1. When the complaint was made, who spoke to the client, and the list of issues the firm agreed to investigate. 2. The conclusion: the service was of a reasonable standard, or it fell short and here is the remedy. 3. Each issue in turn: the client's position, what a reasonable service would have been, the evidence looked at, the finding. 4. The remedy, if any. 5. The Ombudsman paragraph, with the six-month warning and full contact details. Scheme Rule 4.4 makes the six-month limit depend on it. Code 8.4 adds two sentences that the Ombudsman paragraph does not cover: > [Name and website] is an approved alternative dispute resolution body that could also deal with this complaint. We [agree / do not agree] to use it. ## Complaints written with AI The Ombudsman reported on 1 October 2026 that 54% of people who had made or considered a formal complaint about a regulated service had used AI, and that 51% of the complaint files it examined showed signs of it (200 files, on Legal Futures' account). Step 1 above is the answer to a long complaint: write back with the issues as you understand them, ask the client to confirm them, and answer those. The firm's own use of AI on a reply is covered by its [AI policy](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/sra-ai-warning-notice-small-law-firm-ai-policy/). ## In the firm The Ombudsman's advice to conveyancers is short, predictable updates even when there is nothing new to report, and the [client update template](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/conveyancing-client-update-email-template/) costs less than any complaint. Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) can set up an AI assistant that drafts those scheduled updates for a fee earner to send. A supervising solicitor reviews and signs anything a tool drafts, a complaint response most of all, and this page is general information, not legal advice. ## Short answers from this page **How much does the Legal Ombudsman charge a law firm for a complaint, and is the fee going up?** The Legal Ombudsman's case fee is £400 for each chargeable complaint. Proposals consulted on until 2 September 2026 would replace it with £200, £750 or £1,500 depending on the stage a complaint reaches, plus £400 where the firm gave no final response within eight weeks, from 1 April 2027 if approved. No decision had been published by 1 October 2026. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.