At 16.20 on 30 October we received an email from the SRA to the effect that this firm was uninsured as the insurer had not provided confirmation to the SRA. It appears it had provided the confirmation but the SRA had not picked up that the firm’s ID number had changed following our incorporation as a limited company during the year.
The email went on to say that the extended indemnity period would end on 30 October – that is, 40 minutes later and that failure to notify raised issues of conduct.
The email was rude and aggressive, and presumed we had no insurance. We believe it unlikely that we are the only firm to receive such an email.
Would any practitioners agree that before the SRA advertises for a ‘Knowledge Manager’ with a salary of up to £47,546.28 ‘to implement the SRA’s Knowledge Management Strategy across the business’, it should endeavour to recruit a person who can write polite and courteous correspondence and instil in its 600 staff, the ethos of public service – to serve both members of the public and the legal profession, and to keep in mind at all times that it is the legal profession which by and large pays its wages.
To whom do I complain? And, if I do, will the SRA have to pay a £400 fee simply because I have made a complaint?
Stephen Pocock, Pocock’s Solicitors, Whitstable
