Complaints Procedure

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. We want all our clients to enjoy the best service we can give and if we have unfortuantely failed to do that in your case, we would like to put things right.

This procedure is for the benefits of clients of this firm. If you are not a client and wish to make a complaint, we will respond but we may choose not to follow this procedure. 

How to complain

If you wish to make a complaint, please contact us in writing and give  us: 

  • your full name and address

  • our reference

  • what you think we have done wrong

  • any evidence in support of your complaint

  • how you feel we can properly address your complaint. If we have to change any of the responsibilities or the timescales set out below we will let you know and explain why.

How we will respond

  1. We will send you a letter or an email acknowledging your complaint and asking you to confirm or explain any details. If it seems appropriate we will suggest a meeting at this stage. 

  2. We will record your complaint in our central register. We will also investigate your complaint by examining the relevant file.

  3. Either - we will then write to you with our response to your complaint which we will usually do within 28 days. When we write in response to your complaint, we will set out our views and any redress that we feel to be appropriate.

  4. Or - we will invite you to a meeting to discuss and resolve your complaint. We will aim to be in a position to meet with you within 28 days of receiving your complaint. If you prefer not to meet, we will write instead. 

  5. Within 14 days of any meeting we will write to you to confirm what took place and any suggestions that we have agreed with you.  

If you are not satisfied with our response

If you are not satisfied, and your complaint is about poor service, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman about your complaint:

Visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Tel: 0300 555 0333 

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk  

Post: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ.

You must usually take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of our final written response. Further details are available on the Legal Ombudsman website above.

Alternatively, if your complaint is about dishonesty or a breach of SRA principles, you should contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority:

Visit: www.sra.org.uk

Tel: 0370 606 2555 or +44 (0)121 329 6800 (from outside the UK)

Post: Solicitors Regulation Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN

Timescales

We will do our best to keep to the above timescales but do not guarantee to do so in very case. 

Cost

We will not charge you for responding to your complaint. If you have not paid our fees, they will remain payable while the complaint procedure is in progress and we may charge you interest on all sums outstanding in accordance with our terms of business. 

The Legal Ombudsman service is free of charge.