NR

Complaints Procedure

 

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients.  When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it so that we can ensure that our service meets the highest standard.  If you have a complaint we would ask that you contact us with the details as soon as you are able to do so.

 

 

How will your complaint be handled?

 

1.       We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or provide further details of the matters you have 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 two 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 Paul Northwood, our Client Care partner, within three days.  If Mr Northwood is not available another partner of the firm will handle the complaint.

§  He will ask the member of staff who acted for you to reply to your complaint within five days.

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

 

4.       Mr Northwood will then invite you to a meeting and discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint.  He will do this within three days of completing his review of the complaint.

 

5.       Within two days of the meeting Mr Northwood will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.  If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Mr Northwood will send you a detailed reply to your complaint.  This will include his suggestions for resolving the matter.  He will do this within five days of completing his investigation.

 

6.       At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, we would ask that you contact us again.  We will then arrange to review the decision made by Mr Northwood within ten days of receipt of your indication that you are still dissatisfied.

 

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. 

 

8.       In the unlikely event that you are still not satisfied and you are a member of the public, a very small business, a charity, a club or a trust, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman who handles complaints against solicitors. (Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk ): The website sets out contact details for the Legal Ombudsman, which are as follows:

 

·                  Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.

·                  Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

·                  Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

 

          If you are unsure whether you have a right to bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, you should contact the Ombudsman directly to confirm this.  You will need to bring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our written confirmation of our final position on your complaint.

 

9.       If your complaint relates to our bill, then you may have the right to have the bill assessed under the Solicitors Act 1974 (Part III).

 

 

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

 

November 2018