As of December 2018 the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) has ruled that all regulated law firms should adhere to their Transparency Rules which are aimed at improving public access to legal services, by making sure more easy-to-understand information on legal service providers readily available to consumers.
See our complaint resolution procedure below.
Policy
We take very seriously all expressions of dissatisfaction from our clients. This note explains our procedures for handling complaints to ensure that each complaint is dealt with swiftly in an attempt to reach an amicable and satisfactory solution.
Reporting & Investigation Responsibilities
Informal verbal complaints should be addressed to your lawyer in the first instance. It would assist our investigations if you were to fully detail your concerns in writing so there is less room for misunderstanding your concerns and requirements. If you are not satisfied with your lawyers response, you may raise the matter with Richard Holt, the Partner responsible for formal complaints.
Response Times
Written complaints will be acknowledged in within 3 working days of receipt whereby the name of the person responsible for handling the complaint will be confirmed. A full reply will be sent as soon as the matter has been investigated and our proposals for dealing with your concerns have been agreed upon. This may include inviting you to a meeting to discuss your complaint and our proposals for dealing with it. In any case, we will always endeavour to provide a full response within 20 working days. If that is not possible, an interim response will be given explaining why it is not possible to meet this deadline, when we expect our investigations to be completed and a response finalised. If we have not finalised our response within 40 working days, you have the right to take your complaint directly to the Legal Ombudsman.
Unresolved Issues
If for any reason the complaint is unable to be resolved between us, the Legal Ombudsman operates a complaint and redress scheme and your complaint may be referred to them. Further details can be obtained from Richard Holt and you should refer your complaint in writing to him in the first instance.
The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted by post at PO Box 6806 Wolverhampton WV19WJ, or by telephone 0300 555 0333 or by email at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
The Legal Ombudsman will normally expect you to have taken the matter through our complaints procedure before he will investigate your complaint. You should normally make your approach to the Ombudsman within 6 months of the final letter from us about the complaint.
The time limits for the Legal Ombudsman’s scheme are as listed below:
- 6 years from the date of act or omission; or
- 3 years from when the complainant should have known about the complaint. However, the Legal Ombudsman will not accept complaints where the act or date or awareness was before 6 October 2010
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Firm is subject to the regulation of the Solicitors Regulation Authority https://www.sra.org.uk/ solicitors/standards-regulations/. You can also contact the SRA at Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham B1 1RN or by calling their contact centre on 0370 606 2555 (within the UK).
