Complaints

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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. If you would like to make a formal complaint, we hope you will not have any reason to complain, but in case you do, you should follow the procedure below.

The time limits for bringing a complaint to our attention is within six months of the end of the matter on which you instructed us, or within three months of you becoming aware of the circumstances giving rise to your complaint, whichever is the later. If you wish to complain about our service after the expiry of these time limits you may still be able to make a complaint directly to the Legal Ombudsman, but we will not be obliged in those circumstances to consider your complaint under this procedure and you should contact the Legal Ombudsman to establish whether your complaint falls within the time limits of the Ombudsman’s scheme.

First stage

• In the first instance, please raise your concerns directly with the person dealing with your case or transaction by email, post or over the phone.
• If you feel that it is too delicate for you to raise this directly with them, or they have not addressed all your concerns to your satisfaction, you should raise your concerns with their manager. Their manager’s name will be mentioned in our engagement letter to you, sent at the beginning of your case or transaction. Alternatively, you may simply ask your lawyer for their manager’s name or contact us to request that information.
• If neither your lawyer nor their manager can resolve your concerns to your satisfaction, your complaint will reach the second stage.

Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case.

Second stage

• You may progress your complaint to our Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, and also Director, Mr Andrew Crossley.
• When you do so, please set out as much detail as possible regarding your complaint. You can find a template letter on the Legal Ombudsman’s website (http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/).
• We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within five working days.
• We will tell you how long it will take us to investigate your complaint. This normally is around three or four weeks but it could be less or more (either due to the circumstances of your complaint, illness or holidays). In any event it should never be more than eight weeks after acknowledging receipt of your complaint.
• We will review your file and if necessary talk to the person dealing with your case, their manager, or a Director in the practice.
• We will send you the result of our investigation by email or post, depending on how you contacted us in the first place or any preference you may have. We may also offer to meet with you to discuss your complaint and resolve it.
• If we agree with you and we find the service you received was not as we would have like it to be, we will work with you to try to find a way to resolve your complaint.
• If we find that your complaint does not support a finding of poor service we will let you know the reasons why. We will let you know what to do if you are unhappy with our decision: we will tell you whether we agree to using Alternative Dispute Resolution, or whether your complaint can proceed to Stage 3.

Third Stage

What to do 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.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and
• No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
• No more than three years 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.

Contact Details

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Address: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority