Complaints Handling Policy
We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When
something goes wrong, we want our clients to tell us about it so we can improve our services.
Once you report a problem, one of our partners will respond and try to address your concerns. If you wish to proceed with a formal complaint nonetheless, you will be required to complete a Complaints Form and send it to our Complaints Manager, Jay Moghal.
All Client Complaint Forms are forwarded to the Complaints Manager (Download the form here or fill out the online version here).
- Following receipt of the Complaints Form, the Complaints Manager will acknowledge the complaint within five working days and will invite you to a meeting to discuss the complaint and attempt to resolve it.
- If the complainant is not able or does not want to attend a meeting, the Complaints Manager will explain in writing, and if possible also by telephone, the outcome of their investigations and a suggestion for resolving the complaint
- If a meeting is held, the Complaints Manager will write to you within two working days of the meeting, confirming the discussions that took place and any solutions that have been agreed.
- A letter sent to the complainant at this stage will contain details of what to do if the complainant is still unhappy. The complainant will be asked to write a ‘secondary complaint letter’ to the firm explaining why they are unhappy with the conclusion.
- The firm will then arrange for a review of the Complaints Manager’s decision. This will happen in one of the following ways:
- Another Principal or senior member of staff will review the complaint, and if necessary, re-investigate the details of the complaint or
- the local Law Society or another firm of solicitors will be asked to review the
complaint. - The Complaints Manager will ask the complainant to agree to independent mediation.
- The Complaints Manager will write to the complainant within five working days of the conclusion of the review, detailing the outcome of the review, and what the firm’s final position is with regards to the complaint.
- This letter will contain details of the Legal Ombudsman, who should be contacted if the complainant is still not satisfied.
These details are:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
Phone: 0300 555 0333 or if calling from overseas +44 121 245 3050
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
The Legal Ombudsman now 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. Most of the time, complaints about solicitors are about poor service, and therefore should be sent to the Legal Ombudsman. If the Legal Ombudsman thinks your case involves a breach of our Principles, they will refer your case to the SRA. Likewise, if you report a solicitor for poor service, the SRA will refer you to the Legal Ombudsman;
The SRA do not have the power to award compensation for poor service, or to reduce or refund your legal fees. However, you should report the matter directly to the SRA if you think the firm or anyone regulated by the SRA has breached an SRA Principle.
If you consider that we have breached a regulatory obligation, you may refer the matter directly to the SRA here: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor. The postal address is Solicitors Regulation Authority The Cube 199 Wharfside Street Birmingham B11RN. You may also telephone them on 0370 606 2555 or email them at report@sra.org.uk.
