Exter­nal com­plaints policy 

1. Intro­duc­tion

We are com­mit­ted to pro­vid­ing a high qual­i­ty legal ser­vice and to deal­ing with all our clients fair­ly. We acknowl­edge that we may not always get it right so if some­thing has gone wrong, includ­ing in rela­tion to the bill, we need you to tell us.

 

2. How do I make a complaint?

 

2.1

You can con­tact us in writ­ing (by let­ter, fax or email) or by speak­ing with our com­plaints man­ag­er, whose con­tact details are: Simar­jot Singh Judge– [email protected]

 

2.2

To help us to under­stand your com­plaint, and in order that we do not miss any­thing, please tell us:

 

2.2.1           your full name and con­tact details

 

2.2.2           what you think we have got wrong

 

2.2.3           what you hope to achieve as a result of your com­plaint, and

 

2.2.4           your file ref­er­ence num­ber (if you have it)

 

2.3

If you require any help in mak­ing your com­plaint we will try to help you.

 

3. How will you deal with my complaint?

 

3.1

We will record your com­plaint centrally.

 

3.2

We will write to you with­in sev­en work­ing days acknowl­edg­ing your com­plaint, enclos­ing a copy of this policy.

 

3.3

We will inves­ti­gate your com­plaint. This will usu­al­ly involve:

 

3.3.1           review­ing your complaint

 

3.3.2           review­ing your file(s) and oth­er rel­e­vant doc­u­ments, and

 

3.3.3           speak­ing with the per­son who dealt with your matter

 

3.4

We may also need to ask you for fur­ther infor­ma­tion or doc­u­ments. If so, we will ask you to pro­vide the infor­ma­tion with­in a spe­cif­ic peri­od of time.

 

3.5

We will update you on the progress of your com­plaint at appro­pri­ate times.

 

3.6

We may also, if appro­pri­ate, invite you to a meet­ing to dis­cuss your com­plaint. You do not have to attend if you do not wish to or if you are unable to. We will be hap­py to dis­cuss the mat­ter with you on the telephone.

 

3.7

We will write to you at the end of our inves­ti­ga­tion to tell you what we have done and what we pro­pose to do to resolve your com­plaint. Where pos­si­ble, we will aim to do this with­in 21 days of the date of our let­ter of acknowledgement.

 

4. What if I am not sat­is­fied with the outcome?

 

4.1

If you are unhap­py with the out­come of our com­plaints han­dling pro­ce­dure please first let us know and we will review the matter.

4.2

If you are still unhap­py you can ask the Legal Ombuds­man to look into your com­plaint. You can con­tact the Legal Ombudsman:

 

4.2.1           by post at PO Box 6806, Wolver­hamp­ton, WV1 9WJ

 

4.2.2           by tele­phone: 0300 555 0333, or

 

4.2.3           by email: [email protected]

 

4.3

You must usu­al­ly refer your com­plaint to the Legal Ombuds­man with­in six months of our final writ­ten response to your com­plaint and with­in six years of the act or omis­sion about which you are com­plain­ing occur­ring (or with­in three years of you becom­ing aware of it). Fur­ther details are avail­able on the web­site: www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

 

4.4

Alter­na­tive com­plaints bod­ies (such as Ombuds­man Ser­vices) exist which are com­pe­tent to deal with com­plaints about legal ser­vices should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. We have, how­ev­er, cho­sen not to adopt an ADR process. If, there­fore, you wish to com­plain fur­ther, you should con­tact the Legal Ombudsman

 

4.5

If we are unable to resolve your com­plaint, and it relates to a con­tract we entered into online or by oth­er elec­tron­ic means, you may also be able to sub­mit your com­plaint to a cer­ti­fied alter­na­tive dis­pute res­o­lu­tion (ADR) provider in the UK via the EU ‘ODR platform’.

 

4.5.1           The ODR plat­form is an inter­ac­tive web­site offer­ing a sin­gle point of entry for dis­putes between con­sumers and traders relat­ing to online con­tracts. The ODR plat­form is avail­able to con­sumer clients only, ie where you have instruct­ed us for pur­pos­es out­side your trade, busi­ness, craft or profession.

 

4.5.2           The web­site address for the ODR plat­form is: http://ec.europa.eu/odr.]

 

5. What will it cost?

 

5.1

We will not charge you for han­dling your complaint.

 

5.2

Please note that if we have issued a bill for work done on the mat­ter, and all or some of the bill is not paid, we may be enti­tled to charge inter­est on the amount outstanding.

 

5.3

The Legal Ombuds­man ser­vice is free of charge.

 

5.4

The ODR plat­form itself is free to use, but the ADR enti­ty to which the com­plaint is trans­mit­ted may charge for its ser­vice. The ADR enti­ty is respon­si­ble for inform­ing all par­ties of the cost of its dis­pute res­o­lu­tion procedure.