Legal Services Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing a high quality legal service to all our Clients.  When something goes wrong we would like you to tell us about it.  This will help us to meet your dissatisfaction and to improve our service to all Clients.

To help understand your complaint, and in order that we do not miss anything, please tell us:-

• Your full name and contact details
• What you think we have got wrong
• What you hope to achieve as a result of your complaint
• Your file reference number (if you have it)

If you require any help in making your complaint please let us know. The Strategic Partner, an external impartial organisation will be responsible for investigating and handling your complaint. They may use discretion to involve other senior members of staff in the investigation and handling of your complaint. 

What Will Happen Next?

1. We will write to acknowledge your complaint and we will send you a copy of this procedure.
2. We may ask you to confirm or explain the issues of your complaint in more detail.
3. We will confirm the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint.
4. We will record your complaint in our central register to include your name, your file number, and the issues you are complaining about and what (if anything) we are going to do to resolve them.

The investigation

Our investigation in to your complaint will involve one or more of the following steps.

• Reviewing your file.
• Asking the member of staff who acted for you for further information
• Asking you for further information.
• Reviewing all of your issues and providing you with a final response on the outcome of each issue and how we intend to resolve your complaint.

We will ensure that these things are done as quickly as possible and we aim to complete the investigation and give you a response within 8 weeks.  If this is not possible an explanation as to why will be provided.

The Legal Ombudsman

We hope that we have been able to resolve your complaint satisfactorily. However, if you remain unhappy with our response then you can refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, an independent complaints body established under the Legal Services Act, who can investigate complaints about the legal service you have received from us. The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you. The Legal Ombudsman’s contact details are: -

• Telephone: 0300 555 0333 Minicom: 0300 555 1777
• Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
• Post: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

If it takes more than 8 weeks to resolve your complaint, you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman without waiting for a final response, although you may choose to wait for a final response in any event as this may be helpful. If we have to make a significant change to any of our timescales mentioned above, you will be informed with an explanation.

We will not charge you for the handling of your complaint.   The Legal Ombudsman service is also free of charge.  However please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the matter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be entitled to charge interest on the amount outstanding. Please also note that we have a lien over your file until the bill is paid in full. This means that we will not give you a copy of your file until the bill has been settled.

Solicitors Regulation Authority

We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and they can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with them by visiting their website at www.sra.org.uk

Alternative Dispute Resolution