Our Complaints Policy
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. This will help us improve our standards.
Our Complaints Procedure
If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details.
What will happen next?
1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within seven days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our Complaint Handling Director, Dianne Steene who will review your matter and speak to the member of staff/fee earner who acted for you.
3. We will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange to review the decision. Someone independent and unconnected with the matter will review it. The reviewer will observe all the rules relating to confidentiality and data protection as the firm and the complainant has given their consent to this process in the client care letter (already received).
5. We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
6. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman at PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH about your complaint. Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be made within six months of you receiving a final response from us. From 1 April 2023, the time limits for the Legal Ombudsman accepting a complaint have decreased to ONE year from the date of act/omission, and ONE year from the date the complainant should reasonably have known that there were grounds for complaint. For further information you should contact The Legal Ombudsman on telephone number, 0300 555 0333 or at www.legalombudsman.org.uk
7. Where any complaint relates to our bill then you may also have a right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman or by applying to the Court for an assessment of the bill under the Solicitors Act 1974 however, the Legal Ombudsman may not consider a complaint about our bill if you have applied to the Court for an assessment.
8. If you are still unhappy with the outcome of these processes, you may complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This can be done via their website on www.sra.org.uk or in writing at The Cube, 199 Wharfside St, Birmingham B1 1RN or by telephone on 0370 606 2555.
9. The firm will not charge for handling the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman service is free of charge to the complainant. The SRA is also free of charge.