Complaints Procedure
We are committed to providing a service to our clients of the highest quality. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to sort out any mistakes or misunderstandings, and to improve our standards.
In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working/has worked on your case to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. If you would like to make a formal complaint, then you can read our full complaints procedure below. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case. Our Complaints Manager is Kevin Hill, who can be contacted at 7 Trinity, 161 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, BH1 1JU.
What will happen next?
- We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within 3 days of receiving it.
- We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve our Complaints Manager reviewing your file and speaking to the member of staff who acted for you.
- Within 14 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter our Complaints Manager will invite you to a meeting to discuss and resolve your complaint. If you do not want a meeting, or it is not possible to facilitate a face-to-face meeting, our Complaints Manager may instead offer you a chance to discuss the matter by telephone.
- Within 3 days of the meeting, or any telephone conversation we have with you instead of a face-to-face meeting, our Complaints Manager will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions we have agreed with you.
- In all cases, the Complaints Manager will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the written acknowledgement of your complaint referred to in paragraph 1 above (or within 7 days of the face-to-face meeting/telephone conversation, whichever is the sooner.
- At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another Manager to review the decision.
- We will write to you within 14 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons. We will also inform you in writing (within 8 weeks of your original complaint) of any right you have to complain to the Legal Ombudsman (see paragraph 8 below). Additionally, if the complaints procedure is exhausted and we cannot settle the complaint, where we agree to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) we will provide you with the name and website address of an approved ADR provider competent to deal with the complaint.
- A record of all complaints will be kept in a complaints file and reviewed by the Complaints Manager annually.
- If we have to change any of these timescales we will let you know and explain why.
What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case. Note that the Legal Ombudsman service cannot be used by businesses or most other organisations unless they are below certain size limits. Further details are available from the Legal Ombudsman. The time limits for taking your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman have been changed, with effect from 1 April 2023.
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 a final response from us to your complaint
and
- Within one year the date of act/omission; or
- Within one year of you realising there was a concern.
The contact details for the Legal Ombudsman are:
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333 Minicom: 0300 5551777
Post: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help 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, a disability or other characteristic.
Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
If you have any questions or need advice