Our complaints policy
We are committed to providing a good quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us improve our standards.
Our complaints procedure
If you have a complaint, please write to us with the details.
What will happen next?
- We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within 14 days of receiving it. A copy of this procedure will be sent to you at the same time.
- Your complaint will be investigated by our Complaints Handling Partner, Jeremy Rowland. If you prefer that the complaint is investigated by a neutral third party, we will refer the matter to Norton Connor Limited or MCR Legal Limited who will conduct the process.
- Depending on the nature of the complaint and if it is considered that such a meeting is in the best interests of both parties and will facilitate a resolution, you may be invited to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. If appropriate the meeting will be scheduled within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
- If a meeting takes place, then within 14 days of the meeting, we will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you.
- If a meeting is not considered appropriate, then we will explain why we do not believe a meeting is necessary. In those circumstances we will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
- If you are still not satisfied having received our detailed written reply, you should write to us within 21 days requesting a review and explaining why. We will then arrange for someone unconnected with us to review the decision.
- We will write to you within 21 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming the final position on your complaint, and explaining the reasons as decided by the unconnected reviewer.
- If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why. You will not incur any fees for any time spent in dealing with your complaint.
- If you are still not satisfied, you can then contact the Legal Ombudsman (www.legalombudsman.org.uk). Their contact details are PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ, telephone 03005550333 (between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm) or email (enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk ). 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 realizing there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you. If you do not follow these timeframes, the Legal Ombudsman may not be able to review your complaint.
- Where any complaint relates to our bill, then you may also have a right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman or by applying to the Court for an assessment of the bill under the Solicitors Act 1974. However, the Legal Ombudsman may not consider a complaint about our bill if you have applied to the Court for an assessment.
- If we are unable to resolve the complaint and it relates to a contract that the firm has entered into with you online, or by other electronic means, for example client care letter and terms of business were emailed to you, you may also be able to submit their complaint to a certified alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider in the UK via the EU ‘ODR platform’. The ODR platform, is an interactive website offering a single point of entry for disputes between consumers and traders relating on online contracts. The ODR platform is available to consumer clients only. The website address for the ODR platform is http://ec.europa.eu
- The firm will not charge for handling the complaint. The Legal Ombudsman service is free to the complainant. The ODR platform itself is free to use, but the ADR entity to which the complaint is transmitted may charge for its services. The ADR entity is responsible for informing all parties of its dispute resolution procedure.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can be contacted at sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor .
