Barclays are being sued for hundreds of thousands of pounds by a woman who claims the bank’s Will writing service resulted in her losing a stake in her late father’s London home. Although the bank is contesting the reports, Telegraph Money have revealed that when the complaint was assessed by the Financial Ombudsman Service, the bank was found at fault so the complaint has been progressed to the High Court.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO), for the time being, will not accept complaints from third parties – that is individuals who are not the lawyer’s direct client. This is due to concerns that it is difficult to define which third-party cases should be included and which should be left out of the settlement process. Additional worries included the impact on LeO charges and workload and the negative Scottish track record in accepting third-party complaints.

Effective complaint handling helps legal service providers to build a solid reputation and can have a positive impact on business, says a recent YouGov report, commissioned by the Legal Ombudsman and the Legal Services Consumer Panel.