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Solicitor witholding biometric card in lieu of payment
Client (who has just got LTR) has advised that solicitor is withholding his biometric cared until solicitor receives payment for services.
I havnt come across this before. The client is not disputing he owes the money but just does not have it. His ability to get work and benefits to pay the solicitor, is now being hampered by the fact (err) that he has no biometric card…..
Has anyone ideas?
Isn’t it the case that a solicitor holds a lien over client papers and is not obliged to return them whilst fees are outstanding? Is that perhaps what’s going on.
Claire might well know more about it than I do.
and here I am
the solicitors papers are NOT the client’s biometric residence card, IMHO. and my initial reaction was - they can’t do that.
I have rung the SRA Ethics team, i was so gobsmacked to read this. They agree with me, this is not allowed. They tell me that they have previously ruled that a solicitors lien doesn’t cover a person’s passport, and a biometric residence card is the same sort of documents.
the suggestions are
1. your client complains to the SRA - i.e., formally reports his solicitors (who will come down like a ton of bricks)
2. your client tells the Home Office directly what has happened
We have some information about complaining about solicitors in our factsheet Getting legal advice at section 12.
I’ve noticed that we direct people to the Legal Ombudsman and not the SRA (although we do note elsewhere the role of the SRA). Having had a look at the SRA website, I’m not entirely clear how to decide which body it’s best to raise a complaint with.
Any views Claire or others as I’m just updating this resource now so could add some more content on when a complaint should be directed to SRA?
Thanks guys. Will let you know.
We have some information about complaining about solicitors in our factsheet Getting legal advice at section 12.
I’ve noticed that we direct people to the Legal Ombudsman and not the SRA (although we do note elsewhere the role of the SRA). Having had a look at the SRA website, I’m not entirely clear how to decide which body it’s best to raise a complaint with.
Any views Claire or others as I’m just updating this resource now so could add some more content on when a complaint should be directed to SRA?
the Ombudsman would deal with e.g. service level complaints (taking too long to do something, generically providing poor service whilst getting the job done, etc.
The SRA deals with disciplinary type stuff. IMHO (and also in the view of the SRA, from my conversation with them) what’s happened here is that sort of thing.
where something involves professional negligence (buggering up a job completely) that’s for the PII insurer to deal with - even if it might ALSO involve disciplinary etc stuff.
so, for example
a solicitor deals so badly with a case that it is struck out. clearly, negligence, for the PII, and usually that wouldn’t involve the SRA at all. but it is entirely possible that the behaviour is ALSO so bad that it needs reporting to the SRA - impaired fitness to practice type things.
Nice one, thanks Claire, very helpful.
and of course things like stealing client’s money etc is SRA, telling lies, inventing documents that didn’t exist, all that sort of thing. been a fair few immigration solicitors done for stuff lately.
As anticipated, Claire knows rather more about it than I do.
Just a thought though - it might be worth checking that your client’s “solicitor” is in fact a solicitor, as against being some sort of OISC regulated immigration adviser - as then the complaint would be with the OISC rather than SRA (I imagine the result would be the same).
As anticipated, Claire knows rather more about it than I do.
Just a thought though - it might be worth checking that your client’s “solicitor” is in fact a solicitor, as against being some sort of OISC regulated immigration adviser - as then the complaint would be with the OISC rather than SRA (I imagine the result would be the same).
this is true on both counts.
for solicitors it’s SRA, for non solicitors is OISC, but i really can’t see OISC being at all happy about this!
Here’s the OISC ‘adviser finder’ if helpful:
and thinking about it further - whilst it’s clearly disciplinary, the ombudsman will want to know also - they can award compensation, which the SRA can’t.