Complaint made with NSW Legal Services Commissioner
I engaged Alidenes & Co on a deceased estate matter in good faith. Unfortunately I had to make a complaint about them with the NSW Office of the Legal Services Commissioner.
There were significant delays in completing our case. At one stage, Alidenes & Co did not respond to me for almost 3 weeks despite follow up phone calls and emails. When they finally responded, their email outlined "perhaps you would be better off finalising it yourself" and attached an invoice. This invoice was for an amount that exceeded the limit set by the NSW Supreme Court (Schedule 3 – Costs for legal services for probate and administration matters).
I eventually had to get further legal advice on this situation and hire another solicitor to complete the work.
Through the NSW Office of the Legal Services Commissioner, I asked Alidenes & Co to:
1. Offer an apology
2. Return the liens (documents belonging to the case)
3. Discharge all invoices raised
4. Compensate for the additional legal costs incurred as a result of their handling of our case, which required me to seek other legal advice.
In resolving the complaint, Alidenes & Co completed 2–4 above. I have never received an apology from them.
I'm thankful that the NSW Office of the Legal Services Commissioner exists and that I was able to submit a complaint and get to some resolution on this case.