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COMPLAINTS

COMPLAINTS  POLICY

 

My complaints policy

I am committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all my clients. When something goes wrong I need you to tell me about it. This will help me to maintain and improve my standards.

My complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, please contact me with the details.  Making a complaint will not have any negative effect on how I handle your case.

What will happen next?

1. I will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details. I will also let you know who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive my letter within three days of me receiving your complaint.

2.  I will record your complaint in my central register and open a file for your complaint. I will do this within a day of receiving your complaint.

3. I will acknowledge your detailed reply and confirm what will happen next. I will acknowledge receipt of your reply within two days of receiving it.

4. I will then start to investigate your complaint. This may involve one or more of the following steps:

  • If I acted for you, I will consider your detailed complaint. I will investigate the matter and complete my investigation within 15 working days of receiving your detailed complaint.
  • If someone else acted for you, I will ask them to give me their reply to your complaint within ten working days.  I will refer the matter to them within two days of receiving your detailed complaint.
  • I will then examine their reply and the information in your complaint file. I may also speak to the person who acted for you.  I will do this within three working days of receiving their reply and the file.   This investigation will be completed within 15 working days of receiving your detailed complaint.

5. If I decide a meeting is appropriate I will within three working days of completing my investigation write inviting you to meet me and discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. Within two working days of the meeting I will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions I have agreed with you.

6. If it is not appropriate or convenient to hold a meeting or if you do not want a meeting, I will within five working days of this decision send you a detailed reply to your complaint in writing. This will include my suggestions for resolving the matter.

7. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you can let me know. I will then arrange to review my decision. I may decide to proceed in one of the following ways:

  • I will review the decision myself within five working days.
  • I will arrange for someone who is not connected with the complaint to review my decision.  I will do this within 10 working days.
  • I will ask my local Law Society or another local firm of solicitors to review your complaint within 10 working days.  I will let you know how long this process will take.

8. I will let you know the result of the review within five working days of the end of the review. At this time I will write to you confirming my final position on your complaint and explaining my reasons. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint within six months of my final letter.

If I have to change any of the timescales above, I will let you know and explain why.

 

Contacting the Legal Ombudsman

The Legal Ombudsman is an independent body and can help you if I am unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction.  Before accepting a complaint for investigation the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with myself first.

Complaints should be sent within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; no more than six years from the date of act or omission or no more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman you can contact them at www.legalombudsman.org.ukor by telephone to 0300 555 0333 or by email to enquiries@legalombudsman.org.ukor by post to Legal Ombudsman P.O. Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ.

 

Contacting the Solicitors Regulation Authority

If your complaint is about my behaviour such as dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic you can raise your concern with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.  You can contact them at www.sra.org.uk.