Request For Statistics For The Years 2015-2016 & 2016-2017
Dear Victorian Legal Services Commissioner,
Can you please provide the data showing the total number of complaints made to lsbc by clients who believe they have been over charged by a legal practitioner.
Basically any complaints or disputes where the clients communication with lsbc staff mentions that he/she is entitled to have some money refunded back from the practitioner.
For the following time frames
2015-2016
2016-2017
Can please provide data showing the outcome of the dispute/complaint from the above totals
just a simple 3 column format will be sufficient.
Example
_____________unsuccessful_____successful____pending
2015-16__________13____________105__________7
2016-17__________10____________167__________9
Yours faithfully,
steven
Dear Steven
I refer to your below email received by the Victorian Legal Services Board
+ Commissioner (VLSBC) on 1 December 2017.
You have sought information relating to the number of complaints received
by the VLSBC in relation to overcharging and how these complaints are
resolved. The relevant information that VLSBC holds is found in the 2017
VLSBC Annual Report. For your convenience I have extracted the relevant
tables and pasted them as images further down in this email. Here are the
points:
· Table 20, in the first row, shows that there were 505 new
complaints alleging overcharging in bills in 2015-16 and 622 in 2016-17.
· Table 22, in the first row, shows that there were 8 Consumer
Matters closed following a binding cost determinations pursuant to s
292(1) of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act (‘Uniform Law’)
in 2015-16, and a further 17 in 2016-17.
· Table 34 shows that as at 1 July 2017, there were 268
outstanding complaints containing a Consumer Matter element under the
Uniform Law (the sum of Consumer Matters and Mixed Matters).
Explanation of references in the Annual Report:
Consumer Matters covers all costs disputes, including overcharging
complaints, as well as other consumer complaints about the provision of
legal services.
Mixed Matters contain both consumer and disciplinary elements.
Please note that statistics are not kept solely on the resolution of
overcharging complaints.
[1]cid:image001.jpg@01D37432.CFB9E650
[2]cid:image002.jpg@01D37432.CFB9E650
[3]cid:image003.jpg@01D37432.CFB9E650
The above tables, Table 20, 22 and 34, are sourced from pages 60, 61 and
66 of the 2017 Annual Report. You can find the link to our complete annual
reports below:
· [4]Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner – Annual
Report 2017
Given the information I have provided is already publically available,
this request has been dealt with outside of the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (Vic). If you wish to make a Freedom of Information request please do
so in accordance with the explanation provided by the FOI Commissioner and
accessible [5]here. If you need further assistance requesting specific
information please call 03 9679 8001 and ask for either me or my colleague
Rian Chubb.
Kind regards
Abrahim Dahdoule
Data Analyst
[6]Logo - 2014-07-04 - Combined_RGB-cropped for email
Level 5, 555 Bourke Street Melbourne Victoria 3000
GPO Box 492 Melbourne Victoria 3001
Ausdoc: DX 185 Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9679 8001 Fax: +61 (03) 9679 8101
Email: [7][email address] Web: [8]www.lsbc.vic.gov.au
This email is confidential and intended solely for the use of the
individual to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient,
you have received this email in error and any use, dissemination,
forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If
you have received this email in error, please notify the Victorian Legal
Services Board + Commissioner on 9679 8001 and delete the email from your
computer or mobile device.
Our organisation complies with Victorian privacy laws. For a copy of our
privacy policy visit our website ([9]www.lsbc.vic.gov.au) or contact the
Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner on 9679 8001.
P please consider the environment before printing this email
Dear Abrahim Dahdoule,
the online data is organised in a very vague impractical manner almost as if lsbc don't want to reveal the outcomes of the 2 rows with the highest percentage of complaints.
you can deflect and defer until the cows come home but none of that can cover up the fact that lsbc is a gatekeeper for legal practitioners and the legal practitioners are the gatekeepers for the gender neutral lifeless admiralty jurisdiction by engaging their client as the All Caps dead entity and avoiding and keeping the gate locked on a common law court.
you must have some more comprehensive data , I'm requesting the more details versions of the same reports
Yours sincerely,
steven
Dear Steven
I refer to your email received by the Victorian Legal Services Board +
Commissioner (VLSBC) on 8 January 2018.
On 14 December 2017 I provided you with data from our Annual Report that
relates to the number of complaints received by the VLSBC in relation to
overcharging. I also provided you with data relating to how these
complaints are resolved. The data provided is the most pertinent to your
request that I am able to provide to you outside of the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Vic). Please note however, as I advised you
previously, statistics are not kept solely on the resolution of
overcharging complaints.
For a further search to be conducted you may wish to make a Freedom of
Information request. If you wish to make a Freedom of Information request
please do so in accordance with the explanation provided by the FOI
Commissioner and accessible [1]here.
Should you have any questions about making such a request, please call 03
9679 8001 and ask for either me or my colleague Rian Chubb.
Kind regards
Abrahim
Abrahim Dahdoule
Data Analyst
[2]Logo - 2014-07-04 - Combined_RGB-cropped for email
Level 5, 555 Bourke Street Melbourne Victoria 3000
GPO Box 492 Melbourne Victoria 3001
Ausdoc: DX 185 Melbourne
Tel: +61 (03) 9679 8001 Fax: +61 (03) 9679 8101
Email: [3][email address] Web: [4]www.lsbc.vic.gov.au
This email is confidential and intended solely for the use of the
individual to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient,
you have received this email in error and any use, dissemination,
forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If
you have received this email in error, please notify the Victorian Legal
Services Board + Commissioner on 9679 8001 and delete the email from your
computer or mobile device.
Our organisation complies with Victorian privacy laws. For a copy of our
privacy policy visit our website ([5]www.lsbc.vic.gov.au) or contact the
Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner on 9679 8001.
P please consider the environment before printing this email
Locutus Sum left an annotation ()
The applicant has not told Right to Know the status of this request and I have been asked to update the status. Originally, the applicant asked the agency for some information and some information was given to the applicant. She was unhappy with the format of the information and asked for additional information but the agency has asked the applicant to make a formal application before any further information is provide. There is no evidence on Right to Know that a formal application was made so I have treated the second part of the request as "refused".
Although an application under the Freedom of Information Act 1983 of the Commonwealth of Australia does not require an application fee, this is not the case with applications in the states and territories of Australia. Then an applicant must usually pay a fee, or the request is not valid. Also, the Commonwealth agencies might demand payment of a fee to cover extra processing costs. If the fee is not paid, the request will not be processed.