Complaints Policy

Complaints Handling 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. We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

What will happen next?

1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three 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 client care partner, who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
3. We will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. The client care partner will do this within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
4. Within three days of the meeting, the client care partner will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions s/he has agreed with you.
5. If you do not want a meeting or it is not possible, the client care partner will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his/her suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
6. At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another partner or someone unconnected with the matter at the firm to review his/her decision or an appropriate alternative such as review by another external solicitor not connected with the firm to review the decision.
7. 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.
8. If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint, on the address below:

Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ

Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint or within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or if outside of this period, within three years of when you should reasonably have been aware of it).

For further information, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman on 0300 555 0333 or at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.

You may also be able to object to our bill by applying to the court for an assessment under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. If you exercise this right, you could be prevented from making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. In addition, if you apply to the court for an assessment and if all or part of the bill remains unpaid at the end of that assessment, we are entitled to charge interest. There are strict time limits that apply to this process and you may wish to seek independent legal advice.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority may be able to help you if you are concerned about our behaviour, for example, if you are concerned about dishonesty, taking or losing money or being treated unfairly because of your age, a disability or another characteristic.