Complaints Policy

Policy

The firm is committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need to put it right. This will help the firm improve its standards. The firm has a complaints handling policy to ensure that complaints are recorded and dealt with in an appropriate manner.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our professional behaviour. This could be for the things like dishonesty or if we have deliberately overcharged you or discriminated against you because of your age, disability, or other characteristics.

You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors regulation authority.

sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitors/

Full details of the firm’s complaints handling policy are listed below.

Definition of a complaint

The firm defines a complaint as: ‘A reasonable adverse comment on the firm’s performance from a client which is perceived by them as serious enough to warrant being drawn to the firm’s attention’. Notification can be verbal or written.

Identifying Complaints and Causes of Complaints

Identifying Complaints

Each staff member is asked to identify a Complaint as defined above, record it and respond to it. Checks are made on incoming post daily and will identify written complaints, mark the fact that the letter contains a complaint and ensure it is recorded in the Central Record.

Causes of Complaints

Staff are to firstly determine whether a complaint is justified or not justified. If justified they are to place the complaint into the appropriate category type, which may include the following (this is not an exhaustive list)

– Administrative
– Procedural
– Personal

Examples will be – caused frustration, caused financial loss, created delay, discriminated, failed to give clear advice on costs, failed to attend Court, failed to keep client up to date with any developments.

Complaints Handling Policy
If at any stage we are failing to meet the standards which you expect of us, you should tell the person in the firm who is acting for you so that we may put matters right. If you are not happy with the response you have received, please write to Mr Ian George our Client Care Partner, who has specific responsibility for Complaints

If we receive a complaint our procedure is as follows: –
• Your complaint will be acknowledged within 3 days of receipt by us, we may need to ask you for further clarification/information.

• Your complaint will be recorded on a Central Register within the firm.

• Your complaint will be thoroughly investigated, by Mr Ian George our Client Care Partner who will liaise with the person, within the firm, who had conduct of your case. We will do this within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.

• Following investigation of your complaint, Mr George will invite you to a meeting with him if you are agreeable. This will allow you to talk about what happened and respond to your concerns.

• You will then receive a full response to your complaint within 14 days of the above meeting. If we require more time to fully respond/gather further information we will write and tell you.

• If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, we will send you a written reply to your complaint within 14 days of its investigation being concluded.

• At this stage if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another Partner to review matters.

• We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review confirming our firms position on your complaint.

• If we are unable to resolve your complaint, then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers.

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