Why must I wait 8 weeks when law firm is shut?
D.F. writes: I rang the Legal Ombudsman as I had been waiting months to find out if my complaint against Harraway Law Limited is still active. They said I had failed to provide proof that I had actually complained to Caroline Harraway herself, and that I must give her eight weeks to respond. I find the idea that I might have to write further letters to her as abhorrent.
I REPORTED in December that Harraway Law, based at Cottingham near Hull, was in a state of collapse. Its owner and sole director, solicitor Caroline Harraway, simply walked out and abandoned the firm last June, and in July it closed down for good. This left clients in a mess. You had paid hundreds of pounds for work that was never done.
Caroline Harraway denied that you had paid her, though your bank proved that the payment had been made.
She also suggested that you had done an under-the-counter deal with one of her own staff to have the legal work done by him, so avoiding paying her. This was false too, but I am not surprised that you think any further contact with her would not be pleasant.
With all this in mind, I asked the Legal Ombudsman to reconsider. Her law practice no longer exists, so why should you have to wait another eight weeks to get nowhere?
After a long conversation a few days ago with the Birminghambased Ombudsman, I am glad to say that common sense prevailed and officials agreed that it would be pointless.
The Ombudsman is now going ahead with considering your complaint as a matter of priority.