Complaints Procedure

COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

We want to give you the best possible service.  However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided then you should inform us immediately, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem.

In the first instance, it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage.  If you would like to make a formal complaint, you can read our full complaints procedure by clicking on the following link: Feedback & Client Complaints Policy.  Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case and you will not be charged for time spent handling your complaint.

The Legal Ombudsman may be able to help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves.  They will look at complaints independently and accessing the Ombudsman will not affect how we handle your case.  Most ‘consumer’ clients (as opposed to large businesses) will be able to make use of the Ombudsman scheme.  However, there are restrictions for some larger clients.  Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will normally check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first.  If you have tried to resolve your complaint with us but not achieved a satisfactory outcome, you can take your complaint to the Ombudsman.

Within 6 months of receiving a final response to your complaint from us, you must take your complaint to the Ombudsman.  From 1 April 2023, the Ombudsman also expects complaints to be made to them within 1 year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned (prior to 1 April 2023, this was 6 years) or within 1 year of you realising there was a concern (prior to 1 April 2023, this was 3 years).  The requirement to refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 years of our final response to you remains the same.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, you can get in touch using these contact details:

Website Address:        www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Telephone Number:    0300 555 0333 (between 9.00am to 5.00pm)

Email Address:            [email protected]

Postal Address:           Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Please note that the Ombudsman are there to deal with concerns about the level of service received.  Where there are more serious concerns that a solicitor or solicitor’s firm have been involved in professional misconduct then reports can also be made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the regulator of solicitors and solicitor firms.  This could be for quite unusual and serious acts of misconduct such as dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.  Obviously, do not anticipate any such problems arising and would ask that you notify the matter supervisor straight away if you have any such concerns.  You can find out more about the Solicitors Regulation Authority including their contact details and professional conduct rules on their website: www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/.