Complaints Procedure

On receipt of your initial instructions we will write to you to inform you of the details, name and status of the person that is directly responsible for your matter, and the details of the person, if different, who has overall responsibility for your work.

All our clients are informed that if there is anything at all that they are unclear about in relation to the work on their matter that they should not hesitate to contact the person handling their matter for the further information or clarification that they require. The person with day to day responsibility for the matter will make every effort to ensure that the client is fully informed at all times.

However, if you feel that there is a problem, or some issue or concern has arisen with regard to your matter and the services provided, you should raise that matter with the person dealing with your case directly. Mr Jon Hallett, as director of the firm, will be responsible for dealing with any concerns that you have.

When a complaint is received by us, whether orally or in writing, or any form of grievance is expressed, it is immediately notified to Mr Jon Hallett, as our compliance officer. A record of all complaints is kept, as is the record of the manner in which they are dealt.

You will receive a written acknowledgement of your complaint advising you that it is being investigated. This will come from the person dealing with your complaint, and you will be able to communicate directly with them about it. This will normally be Mr Jon Hallett. We aim to provide this to you within 5 working days of receiving your complaint. The investigation will usually involve a review of your case and the records of your matter. You will be invited to meet with us to discuss the complaint and hopefully resolve it. We aim, within 10 working days, to provide you with a detailed response following investigation and review of your file, including providing any suggestions for resolving the matter. If you agree that the suggested remedy is sufficient to rectify the problem we will write to you again to confirm the details of the action that has been taken and the reasons why the action was taken. If however, you are not satisfied, you should contact us again, and we will be happy for Mr Hallett to meet you again to discuss what you are dissatisfied with and to reconsider the decision.

If a decision is referred to be reviewed and reconsidered we may refer it to an independent solicitor for further consideration and recommendations.

Every effort will be made to deal with every complaint within the timescales set out above, and to the satisfaction of our client. If we need to alter the timescales for any reason we will inform you and let you know why it is necessary. However, if you are still not satisfied with the final decision, then you are reminded that you are entitled to bring the matter to the attention of the Legal Ombudsman whose contact details are provided in our terms of Business on engaging as a client of our firm. Alternatively, they can be contact at www.legalombudsman.org.uk

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if you 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. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint, and no more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about (or no more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint). The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted on the website address given above or by post to:-

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH

Alternatively, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”) can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money, or treating you unfairly because of your age, disability, gender, race, or other characteristic. If that is your area of concern then you can contact the SRA at www.sra.org.uk