Complaints Handling Policy
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 to improve our standards.
If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details.
What will happen next?
i. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
ii. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our client care director, Mr Christopher Bates, who will review your matter file and speak to the Solicitor who acted for you. If your complaint is about Mr Christopher Bates then the matter will be referred to Mr Richard Morris who will adopt the procedures set out below.
iii. Mr. Bates will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. He will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
iv. Within three days of the meeting, Mr. Bates will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions that he has agreed with you.
v. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, Mr Bates will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
vi. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another partner to review your complaint and the suggestions made by the client care partner.
vii. 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.
If we are unable to resolve your complaint then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman . The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers.
The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.
You should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
Legal Ombudsman,
PO Box 6806,
Wolverhampton,
WV1 9WJ
If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.
