Complaints information can provide an additional perspective when comparing law firms.
However, individual complaints won't tell the whole story and should be considered alongside other factors such as reputation, price and regulatory history.
For the pilot platform, complaints information is based on published decisions from the Legal Ombudsman relating to residential conveyancing and property matters. The Legal Ombudsman is entirely separate from Choose My Lawyer and is the official body responsible for investigating complaints about legal service providers. More information about the Ombudsman's role can be found on its website.
Choose My Lawyer only includes published decisions where poor service has been identified. We do not include allegations, unresolved complaints or unpublished information.
This information is then organised and presented using a consistent approach across all firms so that you can compare information more easily.
Where relevant, Choose My Lawyer may also provide additional context relating to the size of a firm.
For example, larger firms may naturally have more published decisions because they may carry out a greater volume of work. We provide this information as context only and do not adjust the underlying complaints information or assume what it means.
CML provides context without changing the underlying information.
Choose My Lawyer does not apply discretionary judgment when presenting complaints information. Instead, published outcomes are processed using a fixed and consistently applied framework so that information is presented in a structured and comparable way.
We also provide direct access to the underlying information so you can explore it further if you wish.
The complaints score is then compared across firms within your search results to produce a relative complaints result. This allows you to understand how a firm's complaints history sits alongside other available firms, rather than considering information in isolation.
Complaints history provides an additional signal to support informed consumer choice, but the final decision always remains with you.
CML organises and explains. You decide.