We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it. This will help us maintain and improve our standards.
Most complaints are likely to come from clients but may originate from beneficiaries, third parties, other professionals or suppliers.
We do not charge for investigating a complaint.
If we find evidence of poor service we shall aim to provide an appropriate remedy which might include:
- An apology;
- Putting things right;
- Reducing your bill;
- Compensation for inconvenience and or loss suffered.
Our Procedure
If you have a complaint please contact the member of staff concerned with the details. If you do not feel able to discuss this with him or her please raise the matter with Adrian Stables.
What will happen next?
1.You will be sent a letter acknowledging your complaint and if necessary asking you to confirm or explain the details. You will be told who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect us to do this within 5 working days of receiving your complaint.
2.We will record your complaint in my central register and open a file for your complaint.
3.We will then investigate your complaint and aim to conclude the investigation within 20 working days of our acknowledgement or from the date we receive clarification of your complaint where such clarification is requested, . This may involve one or more of the following steps:
- A review of your file;
- Discussion with the member of staff concerned.
4.You may then be invited to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. If we meet we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, we will send you a detailed reply to your complaint. This will include suggestions for resolving the matter.
5. At this stage, if you are not satisfied with the response, you can, within 14 days, request a review. This may happen in one of the following ways:
- The review will be conducted internally;
- We will arrange for someone who is not connected with the complaint to review the decision.
6.We will acknowledge receipt of your request for a review within 5 working days of receiving it and complete the review 20 working days thereafter.
At this time we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ (telephone 0300 555 0333) about your complaint. A complaint to the Ombudsman must be made within 6 months of our written response. You cannot, save in exceptional circumstances, complain to the Ombudsman within 8 weeks of your complaint.
7.The Solicitors Regulation Authority can also deal with complaints in relation to conduct such as dishonesty for example mis appropriating your money or treating you unfairly because of age, disability or other characteristic.
8.If we have to change any of the time-scales above, we will let you know and explain why providing a revised date.
