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,

There are undoubtedly dodgy solicitors firms, and these do seem to have provided poor service. I think you need to refer to thier regulatory body, as they are in breach of expected standards.

I can also partly see their point - your letter reads as if you won't complain to their regulator about them if they give you £150 to go away by a specific date. This is blackmail, and unrelated to the poor review you already left. You need to drop this threat asap.

I think you need to write a clear - in your own words - letter explaining that the service you received was so poor that you want the money you paid them to be returned to you, and drop any request for compensation for your time being wasted. The point about having to wait for an hour to be seen isn't really relevant - poor customer service, but not a breach of their professional code.

Because they've messed up by alledging that you were going to commit identity fraud, you're in a much better position than you could have been for your attempt to shake them down for £150.

I think you've taken the piss leaving a bad review then asking for money.

I don't know the legalities of this, but surely in any poorly handled service situation, you allow the "supplier" an opportunity to make good. You would surely submit your complaint directly to them with your requested outcome and see how that pans out.

If ultimately they leave you up shit creak, then sure leave a bad review. You've gone about this a very weird way.

Respect to you. I find folding chairs extremely untrustworthy.

See also: cherry tomatoes.

There has to be genuine suspicion- can't just say they looked shifty.

It doesn’t matter. The only thing that is in any way important here is the letter accusing the OP of a criminal offence.

Even if the first solicitor was entirely justified in everything they did (quite possible!), their response to the complaint does not comply with professional standards.

This is my original letter:

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint against the solicitor who saw me on 24th June. I attended your firm to sign a simple deed poll, yet the service I received was wholly unacceptable.

What went wrong

1. The solicitor appeared unfamiliar with the basic law governing deed polls; I had to Google the statute on my phone and explain it to them.
2. Their spoken English was so limited that simple points had to be repeated, destroying confidence in any advice.
3. I was kept waiting more than an hour past my appointment time without apology or explanation.
4. When finally seen, the solicitor failed to complete the deed-poll signing I had booked the appointment for.

Impact on me

1. I lost over two hours of my day and value that wasted time at £150.
2. The delay forced me to rearrange related paperwork, causing further inconvenience.
3. The experience left me feeling angry, insulted, and uncertain whether I can trust legal professionals.

What I expect you to do

1. Pay me £150 as a goodwill gesture for the time and inconvenience your firm caused.

Please treat this e-mail under your formal complaints procedure. If I have not received a substantive written response within 8 weeks, I will escalate the matter to the Legal Ombudsman without further notice.
I look forward to your prompt reply.

Yours sincerely,

Sounds like a complete over reaction from them and if it was fraud I doubt it would be a civil matter unless you were defrauding them?

As someone who works in this area I wouldn’t bother with the ICO. I am not sure why you believe they have breached your data protection rights? They will need to keep your information for a reasonable amount of time as dictated by law. Especially if they intend to take action. I think adding this in (without evidence or claims of what breach has occurred) is just confusing the situation. You can ask for their privacy notice and a copy of the information they hold (SAR) but at this point there is nothing to refer to the ICO.

This doesn’t line up with what you said you sent in the first post, asking re GDPR etc?

Of all the professions to choose to be so aggressive with and leave public damaging reviews, a solicitor would not be my first choice.

It is done now. I’d sit tight and see if anything comes of it.

Did you use AI to write your letter to them?

Post the entire, un-edited text of their letter to you OP. Or just send it to the SRA. Everything else is irrelevant.

I hope you’re not a lawyer because the scare tactics you’re using to silence the OP are awful.

You can't accuse a client of fraud unless you have very sound evidence- my opinion is the firm fucked up and are now trying to get out of compensating op for their very poor service.

I'd be interested in what the sra make of this.

Op - hold firm and see what the sra and legal ombudsman make of it. (Solicitor non-practising)

Is it really worth all the time, energy, stress and to have something hanging over you for weeks/months? For £150? Sometimes it’s best, in the words of Elsa, to just ”let it go”.

Xpost: Just read the OP’s letter - it’s fair enough. I don’t think I’d have bothered. And I would have used “refund” rather than ”please pay me”. But the response was batshit.

Doctors and lawyers are sacrosanct on MN. Some don’t realise how shit some solicitors can be.

The wording of the solicited letter would be important - I think what we have is how op had read it

@PoisedPearlHelper i think they are using their power to quieten you .
You left an honest review of your experience .
You made a request for compensation for the poor service .
You never said “I expect £150 compensation or I am giving a bad review “

A solicitor tried something with me once looking to be double paid . I had to go to some lengths to prove it had been paid already and get a third party involved, however I knew I was right and got proof .

I would however get back on touch with your second solicitor for advice.

For the love of God, stop digging

The document that was being witnessed op

The recipient of said deed has presumably contacted the solicitor about the deed for the solicitor to be accusing you of identity theft

to say there is a LOT more to this would be an understatement

to say that if the op pursues this, it will back fire terribly on her would also be massive understatement (and rightfully so)

I thought the £150 was the cost of the second solicitor? Now you're saying it's the value of your wasted time?

Nonsense. There will be zero consequences to referring the matter to the SRA.

OP, please disregard posts like this - this person doesn't know what they are talking about. I can assure you, and I know this from previous job experience, that there are plenty of dodgy and unscrupulous solicitors around, and it's not at all clear that this person isn't one of them given the poor service you received and the subsequent baseless threats issued by the solicitor which seem designed to intimidate you into removing your google review. Please contact The Law Society for advice. https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/public/for-public-visitors/using-a-solicitor/complain-about-a-solicitor

So you basically said pay me £150 or I'm complaining to the legal ombudsman? I'm not sure this is blackmail but can see why this would have rubbed them up the wrong way.

I'm not sure re the identity fraud side of it. I guess if they had any concerns about it, they did right not to witness it though?

Also interested in why a soliciter was used - you could have saved all the money with just 2 independent witnesses ?

So you were never billed by the first solicitors?

Asked from complete waste of time