Solicitor falsely accused me of blackmail and identity fraud – what can I do?

[PoisedPearlHelper]

Hi everyone,
I’m feeling extremely distressed and could really use some advice.
A solicitor I approached just to witness a deed poll (literally a 10-minute job) has now written me a formal letter accusing me of identity fraud and blackmail, all because I left a Google review and asked for £150 compensation for the poor service I received.
To be clear:

• I turned up to the appointment on time, waited over an hour past the scheduled slot without apology, and was treated incredibly rudely throughout.
• The “identity fraud” claim appears to be based on my use of a perfectly valid house name (e.g., “The Croft”) in the deed poll, which is how my address appears on HMRC letters and utility bills.
• I corrected a typo on the deed by hand with their permission before it was witnessed.
• I later went to an independent solicitor who confirmed everything was fine and properly re-witnessed the deed poll.

Despite this, I received an aggressive letter warning me I would "hear from enforcement agencies," and treating my Google review + complaint as a criminal blackmail attempt. It’s left me shaken. I’ve now written a response asking them to:

• Retract the accusations
• Destroy my ID documents unless legally required
• Justify their data handling under UK GDPR
• Comply with the law around AML and GDPR disclosures

I’ve said if they don’t comply by 19 August, I’ll report them to the SRA, ICO and Legal Ombudsman. What else can I do to protect myself? Has anyone else experienced this kind of intimidation from a solicitor? Is it worth actually taking this to the police under harassment laws, or am I overreacting? I have a paper trail and am confident I’ve done nothing wrong, but I’m worried this could escalate or damage my name. Any legal or practical advice much appreciated – even just solidarity would help. This has genuinely shaken me. Thanks so much,

Still waiting for a BSB response. Escalated to his chambers first and they were dismissive, glossed over it and said they'd have a word about his 'tone' - but in general terms not directly addressing what he said. No apology or anything.

Agree.

Did you pay the first solicitor anything? Is relevant as to whether you're reasonable asking to be reimbursed for the second set of solicitors.

It does sound like there is more to this tbh.

Presumably because they don’t think you have a case

But the risk is that if the solicitor is right and has the will to pursue this, OP could find herself in a lot of legal bother.

Maybe so, but unlikely as he put it all in writing!

The whole thing sounds very very odd.

Just because solicitors put something in a letter, it doesn't mean it is legally accurate nor a guarantee that a court/regulator would look upon it that way.

I seem to be in a minority here, but ... ignore them? The offences they are accusing you of are criminal offences; they will have to go through the police. (They are not planning to do this; they are bullies and are just trying to scare you. )You have clearly not committed the offences and the police will probably laugh them out of the room. In the extremely unlikely event this goes to court, they are not going to be able to provide any evidence of the offences and you will very easily be able to demonstrate you were not committing fraud.

It would be worth complaining to the relevant authorities. If you are feeling bold you could add something to your Google review about being accused of blackmail (a claim which you have incontrovertible evidence of) ...

Something doesn’t quite add up

Oh I know, I’m just saying the risk is that if they are right, they have plenty of resources with which to fight the OP through the courts if necessary.

Yep. That's the bit I'm interested in.

Definitely.

So she shows the letter to the SRA and lets them decide.

You are “in the minority” for bloody good reason

I really wouldn’t just ignore a solicitors letter without getting some proper legal advice first. I don’t think OP should do anything else except get a lawyer and listen to them.

Lolling at the idea that there is no such thing as a dodgy solicitor.

I think the missing bit might include "I expressed my frustration", which they called panicking. What happened there OP?

Have you genuinely sent that long Chat GPT ramble to them?

Expect things to escalate pretty rapidly if you have..

The SRA won’t give a rats arse until the proper avenues have been followed - the firm’s complaints procedure and then the ombudsman.

I don’t think anyone has said otherwise, just that OP shouldn’t assume they’re dodgy - she needs to find herself a lawyer and get some legal advice before she lands herself in hot water.

Seriously, you don’t even need to explain any background. Just send the letter to the SRA and let it speak for itself. They will advise.

Drop this OP, drop it.

Silly to start an argument with lawyers 😂

She really doesn’t.

Rather than leaving a scathing review on Google why didn’t you write to the solicitors and actually complain about the length of time you waited beyond your appointment time and the manner in which you were addressed.