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, our procedure is outlined below.

Please note that making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

Our complaints procedure

If you have a complaint, contact us with the details in writing.

What will happen next?

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain the details set out. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint. You can expect to receive our letter within three days of us receiving your complaint.

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

3. We will then start to investigate your complaint.  This will normally involve the following steps: –

●    We will pass your complaint to the person referred to in your client care letter within three days.

●    We will ask the case worker who acted for you to reply to your complaint within 7 days.

●    We will then examine their reply and the information in your complaint file. And, if necessary, may also speak to them. This will take up to four days from receiving their reply and the file.

4. We will then if possible invite you to a meeting and discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.  We will do this within three days.

5. Within two days of the meeting 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 our suggestions for resolving the matter. We would hope to do this within five days of completing the investigation.

6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied you contact us again. We will then arrange to review our decision. This will happen in the following way: –

●    Another Partner of the firm will review the decision within 10 days.

7. We will let you know the result of the review within five days of the end of the review. At this time we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons. We will also give you the name and address of the Legal Ombudsman. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact them about your complaint.

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

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What do to if we cannot resolve your complaint:

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Please note that before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you decide that then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman it needs to be:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint; and
• No more than one year from the date of act/omission; or
• No more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them at

Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

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

The Solicitors Regulation Authority 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. Please contact them at

Website : www.sra.org.uk
Telephone: 0370 606 2555
Email: enquiries@sra.org.uk

Postal: The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham. B1 1RN. DX 720293 BIRMINGHAM 4