Complaints

Complaints

If something has gone wrong, tell me. Here is exactly what happens next, and what you can do if I do not put it right.

Email me

I would much rather hear that you are unhappy than not hear it. Most problems are misunderstandings about scope or timing and can be sorted out in a day. This page sets out how to raise a complaint, what I will do, and where you can take it if you are still not satisfied.

How to complain

Email me at geoffrey@caesar.co.uk, with 'Complaint' in the subject line. Tell me what has gone wrong and what you would like me to do about it. You do not need to use any particular form of words, and you will not be charged for the time I spend dealing with a complaint.

If you would rather write, my correspondence address is Geoffrey Caesar, 66 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NA.

What I will do

  1. I will acknowledge your complaint within three working days and tell you who is dealing with it, which will be me.
  2. I will investigate. That usually means reviewing the file and the correspondence, and it may mean asking you for more detail.
  3. I will give you a full written response within eight weeks, and normally much sooner. The response will explain what I found, whether I think something went wrong, and what I propose to do about it.
  4. If I have got something wrong, I will say so and put it right. That may mean redoing the work, correcting a document, or refunding some or all of the fee.

If you are still not satisfied

If you are unhappy with my final response, or if eight weeks have passed since you first complained to me without the matter being resolved, you may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman to look at it. The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about the service a lawyer has provided.

As an SRA-regulated freelance solicitor I am within the Legal Ombudsman's jurisdiction in the same way as any other solicitor. The scheme is open to individuals and to smaller businesses, charities and trusts. Not every client is eligible by size, and the Legal Ombudsman will tell you whether yours is a complaint it can consider.

There are time limits. You normally need to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of my final response to you, and within one year of the act or omission you are complaining about, or within one year of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint. Check the current limits on the Legal Ombudsman's website, since they can change.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Legal Ombudsman deals with poor service. If your concern is about my behaviour rather than the quality of the service, for example dishonesty, discrimination or a breach of the SRA's rules, you can report it to the Solicitors Regulation Authority instead.

  • Report a solicitor: sra.org.uk
  • My SRA ID is 483394 and my freelance practice SRA number is 666497. You can check my entry on the Solicitors Register at sra.org.uk

If you are unhappy with a bill

Tell me first. Because I quote a fixed fee in writing before starting, and take payment before the work begins, disagreements about fees are rare, but if you think you have been charged for something outside the agreed scope I will look at it. You may also have a right to have the bill assessed by the court under the Solicitors Act 1974, subject to time limits.

Complaints about how I handle your data

See the privacy notice, which explains your right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

What I ask in return

Please raise it with me early. A complaint made when a problem first appears is almost always easier to fix than the same complaint made three months later, and the time limits above run from when the problem arose rather than from when you decided to mention it.

Last reviewed: August 2026. To raise a complaint: geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.