Our policy in relation to client concerns
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.
Our procedure in relation to client concerns
You have contacted us in writing with your concerns. We will follow the procedure set out below.
What will happen next?
The Practice Manager (or in her absence, the Client Care Partner) will send you a letter acknowledging your concerns within 3 working days of receiving your correspondence. In that letter she will give you the name of the person (“the Supervising Partner”) who will be looking into matters for you. The Practice Manager’s role in the process is limited to ensure that the Firm’s procedures are followed rather than investigate matters on your behalf.
We will record your concerns in our central register and open a file.
We will then start to investigate your concerns. This will involve following steps:
The Supervising Partner will review your matter and speak to the member of staff who acted for you to obtain all relevant information to enable the Supervising Partner to provide a response to your concerns.
Once the review is completed, the Supervising Partner will then do one of the following:
Send you a detailed reply to your concerns including proposals for resolving the matter; or
If it is felt appropriate, invite you to meet the Supervising Partner to discuss and hopefully resolve your concerns. You may decline the meeting and this will not affect how we answer your concerns (as we understand them). A letter will be sent to you following the meeting summarising what was discussed and any proposed steps agreed to be taken.
If, on receiving the Supervising Partner’s written response to your concerns, or following a meeting between you and the Supervising Partner and you receiving the letter summarising what was discussed, you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, you can write to us again and ask for a review of the decision. We will then take one of the following steps:
Invite the Supervising Partner to review their own decision.
Arrange for someone in the firm who has not been involved in your concerns to review it.
Mr Simon Thomas, our Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, will review your concerns.
Once the review is completed, a written response will be sent to you with the firm’s final decision on your concerns and proposed steps to resolve them. We will also give you the name and address of the Legal Ombudsman should you remain dissatisfied with the outcome. It will be at this point the internal complaints procedure will have completed.
Timescales
These depend on the nature of the concerns you have raised and whether your matter has been closed. If your matter has been closed, we will need up to 10 days to retrieve the file from archive from the date the firm’s Practice Manager sends the letter to you acknowledging your concerns together with this policy.
Once we have the file, the Supervising Partner will commence the review of your matter and contact the member of staff who acted for you. If the member of staff is no longer with the firm, we may try to contact them to assist in our understanding of the work carried out on your behalf. Former employees will be given up to 14 days to respond. If we do seek the assistance of a former member of staff we will write to you at that stage to inform you that we are taking that step as it affects the timescale in which we will be able to respond to you. The letter will advise you of any change in timescale as may be appropriate.
The Supervising Partner will then either send a written response to your concerns within the following 28 days. If the Supervising Partner considers it appropriate to invite you to a meeting, the invite will be sent to you within the following 14 days.
If you attend a meeting with the Supervising Partner, we will write to you within 3 working days of the meeting to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you.
If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome and request the Supervising Partner’s decision is reviewed, this will be completed and a written response sent to you within 14 days of receiving your request. This will be the firm’s final decision. We will also give you the name and address of the Legal Ombudsman. Any complaint to them must be made within 6 months of the date of our final decision. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact them about your concerns.
If we have to change any of the timescales above we will let you know and explain why.
Legal Ombudsman
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.
We have 8 weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not addressed it within this time, or you remain dissatisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman. If you wish to go down this route, you will need to take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving a final response from us about your complaint.
Where the firm’s complaints procedure has not been invoked, you will need to refer your compliant to the Legal Ombudsman within:
one year from the date of the act or omission which you are concerned about; and
one year from the date when you should have realised that there was cause for complaint.
The Legal Ombudsman has a discretion to extend the 1 year time limit if, on the evidence, it is fair and reasonable to do so. Further details are available on the website www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman contact details:
Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH
Tel: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
The Solicitors Regulation Authority
We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (Authorisation no. 70173). If you have a complaint about our behaviour, particularly in relation to dishonesty, financial wrongdoing or discrimination the SRA may be able to help you. Further information is available at: SRA | Reporting an individual or firm | Solicitors Regulation Authority and they may be contacted at:
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Cube
199 Wharfside Street
Birmingham
B1 1RN.