Guided negotiation meant that Ms P received compensation for the emotional impact of this firm's mistake…
Ms P instructed the firm in the administration of her father’s estate. Ms P complained about the firm’s completion of the Inheritance Tax forms, in particular that there were errors and discrepancies in the documents she was sent to sign.
The firm accepted that there were errors in their complaint response and offered a reduction in their costs in respect of the work on the forms.
Ms P bought the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, because, as a result of the issues with the form’s they believed they may be responsible for a significant Inheritance Tax bill, which the estate assets may not have been able to meet. We therefore contacted the firm as part of our guided negotiation process, and recommended a further remedy to reflect the emotional impact of the service failing on Ms P. The firm offered a further £250, in addition to the costs reduction. This was accepted by Ms P and the case was closed without the need for an investigation.
Guidance: Our approach to putting things right | Legal Ombudsman
